If the Indian knowledge economy is to fly high, it is better to understand the ground realities before clearing the academic hurdles which lie ahead.

Recent worldwide trends include the information revolution, the explosion of biotechnologies, globalization of markets, acceleration of the transition from research to markets, increased awareness of ecological fragility and a growing aversion to technological risk. These create new needs, opportunities and constraints, both in the workplace as well as in higher education. The definition of old disciplines has become increasingly ill-adapted and the need for interdisciplinary education more pressing.

Yet, students must be solidly anchored in specific domains to be able to address more complex problems and design new tools. Competition and globalization demand that students be prepared to operate in the changing world with a sound base, flexibility, financial savvy and having an appreciation of cultural, ethnic and gender diversity. This particularly affects the economies which are becoming more and more knowledge-based and therein lie many academic challenges. Thus, the biggest challenge faced is constructing coherent and relevant academic programs. There is a need to develop centres of excellence around existing disciplines and specific problems. This requires that all synergies be exploited to maintain the cutting edge of academic research and industrial needs.

Indian Knowledge Economy, Information Revolution, Biotechnologies, Ecological Fragility, Markets Globalization ,Technological Risk, Economic Growth, National Knowledge Commission, NKC, Human Capital Development , HCD, UNICEF, UNDP, Literacy Rate, National Common Minimum Program.