In News:

• India would see the highest decline in South Asia due to learning losses for the young.
• This has been highlighted by a new working paper published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

What’s in Today’s Article:

• Asian Development Bank
• Asian Development Outlook
• News Summary

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• ADB (founded in 1966) is an international development finance institution.
• Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.
• Headquartered in Manila, ADB is owned and financed by its 68 members, of which 49 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe.
• The two largest shareholders of the Asian Development Bank are the United States and Japan.
• ADB is an official United Nations Observer.

Asian Development Outlook (ADO)

• The Asian Development Outlook is a series of annual economic reports on the developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank.
• The ADO provides a comprehensive analysis of macroeconomic and development issues for the DMCs of ADB.
• It analyzes economic and development issues in developing countries in Asia.
  • This includes forecasting the inflation and GDP growth rates of countries throughout the region, including China and India.

News Summary

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published a working paper on ‘Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 related School Closures’.

Key Highlights of the report

• 
• GDP of India would see the highest decline in South Asia
  • As per the paper, the gross domestic product (GDP) of India would see the highest decline in South Asia due to learning losses for the young.
    • India is among the countries with the longest school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• GDP decline: in numbers
• Starting with a $10.5 billion dent in 2023, the country’s economy could take a nearly $99 billion hit by 2030.
• This translates into a 3.19% reduction in GDP from the baseline growth trends.
• India’s contribution in global GDP decline
  • India may account for over 10% of the global GDP decline of $943 billion estimated by the ADB on account of earning losses in 2030.
  • Jobs for skilled labour is expected to decline by 1%, and unskilled labour by 2% that year.
• Rural areas are worst hit
  • India has notable enrolment in secondary education and among students in rural areas.
  • Pandemic-induced school closures have also been more extensive there and students on rural areas lack access to stable Internet connection needed to study online.
• Learning and earning losses will be significant
  • Learning and earning losses are significant because a notable portion of the impacted population will migrate to the unskilled labour force.
  • A large part of India’s work force is constituted by unskilled labour — 408.4 million as per the ADB paper’s estimates, compared to 72.65 million skilled workers.
• Number of students in India
  • India has the highest number of children enrolled in primary and secondary education among the Asian economies covered in the paper, at 255.74 million.
  • The number of students in tertiary education were second only to China at 36.39 million.
• Most immediate challenge
  • As per the paper, the most immediate challenge is to help students recover “lost opportunities” by conducting assessments among impacted children.
• Recommendations
  • The paper mooted greater investments in education and skills with a focus on narrowing the digital divide.
  • It is important to identify the learning gap and specific learning needs of individuals.
  • Effective learning programs should be devised to offer appropriate support such as tutoring or special classes and help them to bridge the learning gap.
  • It is important to keep school-age children in education as much as possible by providing financial support and incentives, while giving additional support for skills training to youth already out of school.