Career of children more important than their happiness in life for India's middle class parents: HSBC survey

Counterview Desk
A global survey by top international bankers, HSBC, has suggested that most Indian parents professional success more important than a happy life for their children. Titled The Value of Education: Learning for Life, the study, which is based on a survey of 5,500 parents across 16 countries in the world, says that 49 per cent of them said a happy life for their children was important, worst in the world.
Interestingly, the study also finds that, by sharp contrast, to 51 per cent Indian parents career success is more important for their children than all other countries, with the sole exception of Mexico. According to the study, this in sharp contrast to how parents in the developed countries like the US, UK, Canada and Australia think.
To achieve the sought-after careers, Indian parents want their children to continue their education in university and to graduate level more aggressively compared to any other country of the world. Almost 90 per cent of them, the largest proportion globally, said that a master’s degree or higher would help their child achieve their life goals as adults.
Not only are the parents willing to pay more for higher studies of their children, the survey has found, they are even willing to rope in grandparents for additional funds. Further, they are willing to take loans. However, at the same time, the report comments, parents often “tend to underestimate how long it will take their child to repay their university debts.”

Interestingly, the survey shows that while parents across the world want their children study medicine, in India, they want them to pursue engineering degree, especially computer engineering. And, if the survey is to be believed, they are willing to pay to extra amount for their children’s education to achieve it this. Seven in 10 Indian parents participating in the survey said they would do so.
According to the survey, the US and UK are much less likely to pay for extra academic support for their kids – only about 25 per cent of them said they would do so. Also, their view that university education is too expensive is also quite strong – 71 per cent of them in the two countries think this way.
The survey was carried out in March-April 2015, and appears to have involved largely middle class parents from India. The study says, “Parents in developed economies are more likely to take into account their child’s individual strengths when considering a desired occupation.”
Carried out keeping in view the reach out to parents wanting loan, the study adds, “Parents in India – a country renowned for its emerging technology sector – are more than twice as likely as the average to want their children to go into a job in computer science.”

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog