India’s brightest young minds are the secret to unprecedented growth

By Lodha

Strong leadership, political stability, and consistent policy reforms in the past decade have fueled India's journey toward becoming a global economic powerhouse. These elements have positioned the country for promising future growth, with the world optimistic about its potential. To maintain this momentum, it is crucial for policy, philanthropy, and citizen action to collaborate in building India into a $5 trillion economy by 2047. With a youthful population, India’s next phase of growth will be shaped by the knowledge, abilities, and influence of its younger generation, with a valued focus on empowering women. Their impact will not only transform India but also resonate globally. In response to this, the Lodha Foundation launched the Lodha Genius Programme initiatives to identify, support, and guide India’s most talented young minds from 9th grade through their early careers.

Schools often prioritise improving the learning outcomes of average students, largely driven by the Right to Education Act, which aims to provide broad access to education. As a result, academically gifted students often receive insufficient attention. The assumption is that high achievers, due to their strong test scores, need no additional support. However, this approach overlooks their untapped potential, as they miss out on vital opportunities like mentoring, advanced skill development, and exposure to new experiences. As a result, many talented children in India fail to reach their full potential. It is estimated that over 6 million high-achieving children in India have their talents underutilised.

Research indicates that high achievers in the classroom often make significant contributions to society. These exceptional students typically go on to demonstrate future leadership skills and roles and make a substantial impact through their work. Therefore, it is crucial to offer these bright minds the support they need to realise their full potential.

Countries worldwide are progressively adopting programs for gifted and talented education. In the United States and Australia, gifted education is offered at the federal level as part of public schooling, with private and residential schools also providing specialized programs. In Asia, nations like Singapore and Hong Kong have well-established educational initiatives tailored to gifted children. Over the past decade, regions such as the Middle East and East Asia have increasingly focused on gender equality and supporting high-achieving students with STEM scholarships in their fields.

Meanwhile, in India, there is a lack of education research, policies, and practices focused on gifted and talented education. For example, the National Curriculum Framework of India does not mention services or programs for gifted students.

We found that in India, the nurturing of exceptional talent not only receives very little attention but also limited funding. Hence, Lodha Foundation's decision to support this important cause to build a stronger nation in the future. As India's economy quadruples in size in the next two decades, we are likely to face a chronic shortage of high-quality talent. This will not just be in the business sphere but also in other important areas such as the political, administrative, and judicial. We believe it is imperative for national growth to significantly increase the quantum of high-calibre students who achieve their maximum potential.

The Lodha Genius Programme, a collaboration between the Lodha Foundation and Ashoka University, offers a distinctive combination of immersive science and mathematics courses, practical life skills training, continuous mentorship, and exclusive access to prestigious internships. This fully funded, multi-year program supports India's brightest young minds from Grade 9 through to the early stages of their careers.

Each year, 200 students are selected based on merit to participate in the program, which includes an annual 4-week campus experience at Ashoka University, along with year-round learning modules. Participants have the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty and guest speakers from renowned institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology, and the University of Warwick, among others. In its second year, the program attracted over 3,000 applications from 27 states across India.

ABOUT THE LODHA FOUNDATION

The Lodha Foundation enables and champions transformative projects in the fields of education, women and empowerment, and sustainable urbanisation on behalf of the Lodha group, to create a positive impact on the environment and society.