Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law Technical Report Series
The Lackadaisical Position of India on Knowledge Economy Condition of India’s Knowledge Economy India2 is primarily and agrarian economy, as per the 2018 Economic Survey of India, 50% of India’s Total Workforce is employed in the Agricultural Sector, however this sector only contributes 17 to 18 % of the Country’s GDP (Sunder, 2018). At the same time, India’s network of high-quality educational institutions generates 200,000 professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based fields, but the economic benefit of this addition is not realised as the employment opportunities for the same are not abundant. i.e., there is a mismatch between the number of Knowledge Makers and Knowledge Takers. The dependence of India’s population on agriculture is a cause for worry as agriculture is sector that is heavily dependent on natural conditions that humans cannot control in an effective manner. Thus, there is a strong reason to shift a portion of the agrarian workforce over to more productive sectors and knowledge economy centric activities. Doing so will: - Reduce dependence on Agriculture Sector The authors propose that a knowledge economy is composed of 3 essential pillars: 1. Knowledge Makers: Those that generate new knowledge This encompasses universities, think tanks, independent researchers, and other bodies that convert intellectual inputs into intellectual outputs. 2. Knowledge Holders: Those that store, distribute and disseminate knowledge This encompasses schools, universities, experts and communities as a whole, people or groups of people that have a large amount of knowledge on specific topics and have the ability to use it as capital. Knowledge holders also become a point of contact for the next pillar. 3. Knowledge Takers: Those that utilise, purchase or apply existing, or soon to exist knowledge Commercial Entities, universities and other community members that are willing to exchange knowledge for some monetary amount and then apply it or implement it. 2
100
