Even the blistering heat that took hundreds of lives from all over the country in the month of May has not been able to stop the discussion of Modi Government's completion of one year in the office. From air-conditioned corporate pubs to the dusty shades of local teashops, people, regardless of locality, caste, creed, class, economic status or social strata have been dissecting the pros and cons of the new government, which had promised the nation some 'Achhe Dins.' Within the circumference of past one year's developments in the country, the promised good days seem to be near but not close enough. Keeping the hopes alive is the positive ripples in the education arena, which is said to be the most powerful tool for advancement of the nation and most potent weapon to fight poverty.

One of the promises that Modi's election manifesto put forth was the increase in education spending to 6 percent of GDP, up from 4 percent in the previous year. Being true to its words, the government allocated Rs. 158555.26 Crore in 2015-16 union budget, which was higher than Rs.13000 crore allocated in 2014-15. With an increase of 22 percent in the budget towards higher education, finance minister announced plans for an IIT in Karnataka and the upgrade of the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad into a full-fledged IIT along with the proposals to start IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh. Passed is the same year, which offered a meager relief to the long cry of industry for skilled workforce as the government initiated a separate Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It was one of the major moves that hailed by most of the educationalists as India Inc is estimated to require nearly 150 million skilled workers between 2012 and 2022.

In the very first year, the new government could bring few changes in the education sector. However, many more issues have to be resolved in a quick time. Until then, the promise of 'Acche Dins' will remain like a utopian dream for the country, which is suffering from the abundance of countless common men battling daily on the streets for their betters days.

Striving for a better tomorrow, we at SiliconIndia Education has released the latest edition of 'Top 100 Engineering Colleges,' an exercise that we have been conducting since the past five years. In the cover, we have featured IILM College of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida, an institute that has been producing innovative engineers who can be a part of the nation's growth.