Education and Human Capital Formation in Emerging India: Integrating Skill Development and the Panchkosh Framework under NEP 2020

Abstract

Education and skill development is a central issue in augmenting the productivity and employability in the emerging economies like India and human capital formation is a key determinant of the economic growth and development in such economies. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a broad-based educational policy to overhaul the education system in India with a focus on multidisciplinary learning, flexibility of curriculum, competency-based education, and skill-based education in accordance with global standards. The policy is aimed at building up the human capital by linking education with the needs of the labour market, encouraging innovation, inclusiveness and lifelong learning. This study aims at assessing the impact of education and skill development in the framework of NEP 2020 on human capital formation with a focus on the regional divide in North Indian perspective.

The methodology employed in the study is Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA 2020 framework, aimed at systematically identifying, screening, evaluating and synthesizing peer-reviewed studies in the period 2020–2026. The Panchkosh framework of Indian philosophy, which is a holistic model of human development, is also explored. The Panchkosh framework, which is derived from the Upanishad Taittiriya, is complementary to NEP 2020, which focuses on human capital going beyond employability to human development, by highlighting the aspects of physical growth, emotional development, intellectual development, ethical development, and overall personal development.

The results show that NEP 2020 makes a great impact in the formation of human capital by competency-based education, vocational training, Digital Learning and Internationalisation in Higher education. The review, however, shows that some regional gaps remain across North India, such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, and Jammu & Kashmir, where variation in the infrastructure of education, connectivity, institutional capacity, and policy implementation is still affecting the effective implementation of NEP 2020. The research brings together 50 peer-reviewed studies and finds that, though NEP 2020 has transformative potential, its long-term success would require equitable implementation across regions, better digital infrastructure, and the embedding of the concept of Panchkosh in order to ensure a more holistic human capital formation.