1) Human capital: meaning
Human capital refers to the stock of education, skills, health and capabilities embodied in people that raises productivity and earnings.
Why economists care:
- higher productivity and growth,
- better labour market outcomes,
- intergenerational benefits (education/health of children),
- supports demographic dividend.
2) Education: key concepts and issues
2.1 Education and growth
Education improves:
- skills and employability,
- innovation and technology adoption,
- social mobility.
2.2 Key challenges (CUET-friendly)
- learning outcomes vs enrolment gap,
- dropout rates (especially at secondary level in some groups),
- quality and teacher training,
- digital divide and access inequality,
- higher education quality and research ecosystem.
3) Health: key concepts and issues
3.1 Health as human capital
Better health:
- increases labour productivity,
- reduces absenteeism,
- increases life expectancy and quality of life.
3.2 Common challenges in India (broad)
- uneven access to healthcare (rural/urban),
- out-of-pocket expenditure burden,
- public health capacity constraints,
- communicable + non-communicable disease burden.