India can be educational hub if it builds world class universities: Rajan

The country can become an educational hub for Asia and Africa if it builds world-class universities, former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram G Rajan has said.

He said what the country needs is to create an environment where an educational eco system can flourish.

"We can be the educational hub for Asia and Africa if India can build world-class universities," he said in a press statement here on Tuesday.

Rajan, advisor-Governing Council and Academic Council, Krea University, said this while interacting with students and faculty of the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences and IFMR Graduate School of Business at nearby Sri City, Tada.

On employment and job creation, he said, "What we need is an atmosphere where young graduating students are motivated to create new businesses rather than relying on corporate jobs."

Rajan said the students have great challenges borne out of an extremely fast-paced and complex world.

The challenges of the 21st century are substantially different in scale, scope and pace. The leaders of tomorrow would be highly adaptable individuals who are purpose driven with a strong moral compass, he said.

The mission of Krea University was to create a new generation of Indians who would contribute to the global development, he said.

He opined there was no shortage of talent in the country. What was required was creation of an eco system that provided high-quality education to all, irrespective of their social and economic status.

Rajan urged the students to be courageous and develop a spirit of curiosity that questions everything, learn from the past and take bold new steps for the future, the release said.