╅Inclusive Growth: Challenges and the Way Out╆ ed. Beg, M.A./ISBN 978-93-83334-66-7 2014 1 | Page Education and Sustainable Economic Development: Parameters, Progress and Prospects Mohammad Shaheer Siddiqui * Abstract The need of education in an economy, where physical capital is increasing, is inevitable for the fuller utilization of capital resources. Investment in education particularly, in India, is of paramount desire for promoting and sustaining the quality of manpower. Education is most effective tool not only for growing an attitude for development but also it provides solutions to many problems. Sustainable Economic development is concerned with qualitative aspects of various components. Development of ‘Human Resources’ in India is also termed as ‘Social Development’. It requires multidimensional efforts in promoting education, skills, training and manpower planning. It results in an upward movement in the conditions of literacy, health, drinking water availability, provision of food and basic amenities. It means liberalization from all forms of discrimination on the ground of sex, caste, colour, religion and race. Social development also means living in economic security, fostered by rapid national economic development accompanied by distributive justice. This paper is an effort to explore the problems, opportunities, challenges and prospects of Economic development in India with special reference to education through the decades both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Empirical data are used to analyse the parameters of growth in education and its outcome for sustainable economic development. Key Words: Sustainable Development, Human Capital, Man power Planning You have to decide whether development means affluence or whether development means peace, prosperity and happiness. -Sunderlal Bahuguna Introduction Development is a wider concept. In post-modern concepts of development sustainability has emerged as broad perspective of assessing the prosperity of a nation. Mere GDP does not indicate it rather the quality of education, health, life, environment and security of her people are also the prime indicators of the national development. All the components are interrelated. Education is the prime factor to manifest the take-off condition for development. The economic importance of education is concerned with its three main tasks- transmission of indigenous knowledge, collaborating tradition with technology and to convert knowledge into skills. *Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan 731235 W. Bengal, mdshaheersiddiqui@gmail.com