How to make India a knowledge-based society

The National Knowledge Commission set up by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in 2005 was, perhaps, the first of its kind. One of its three objectives is to make India a knowledge-based society. Among the important areas in the country where problems need to be addressed to achieve the above objective, three—education, knowledge empowerment of Panchayats (the lowest of the three-tier local self-government system in India), and ethical commercialization of the country's creative and cultural tradition—are briefly described in the article. Some steps that need to be taken in each area are stated. For example, in regard to education, we must decommercialize school and higher education, and set up 400,000 high schools in the country where children would receive high-quality free education for 10 years—that is, up to the age of 16. As regards the Panchayats, we need to institute a system so that they are empowered through knowledge in areas of immediate interest to them as well as knowledge that would make them truly informed citizens of the country. In regard to traditional knowledge, it needs to be ensured that the keepers and practitioners of this knowledge are compensated adequately and fairly if such knowledge is commercialized.