100 community college on US model to be set up

To help meet the workforce needs of local communities and propel India as the third largest economy in the World, the US has plans to establish 100 community college models in the country, Rajan Natarajan, Deputy Secretary of State for Policy and External Affairs, Maryland, said today.
Maryland has already signed an MoU with five educational institutions in the country, including O P Jindal Institute, University of Delhi and a University in Agra, Natarajan said during a discussion on 'Leadership' organised by Sri Krishna Institutions here.
Stating that a 110-member delegation from Maryland had visited Hyderabad, Maharashtra and New Delhi to identify community colleges on US-model, he said considering the abundant pool of talent, it wanted to set up 100 community colleges across the country.

Natarajan said India, which would become the third largest economy by 2020, may require 10,000 more colleges by 2030, to become global leader in the education system.
Compared to US and other developed countries, women entrepreneurs were very less in India, whereas 10 per cent of Government contract projects was awarded to women entrepreneurs in US, he said.
In order to increase the number of women entrepreneurs, all states in India should set a policy, Natarajan, the first Indian American to hold the highest administrative position in Maryland's history, said.
Natarajan said he has met Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Puducherry and Karnataka in this connection.

Replying to a question on how India could become number one economy, he said by utilising 60 per cent of the available power and water, India has a GDP of seven per cent. If India provided all round water and energy supply to the manufacturing sector, it could attain a GDP of 40 per cent, Natarajan, born in a village in Pudukkotai district of Tamil Nadu, claimed.