Delivering education and creating jobs for the subcontinent's vast cohort of young people is a global challenge comparable to combating climate change. And Australia has a role to play in harnessing the energy and talents of that crucial demographic, one of Australia's top India experts says. 
Professor Craig Jeffrey, the director of the Australia India Institute, says India's leaders are very focused on the need to provide skills and know-how for young Indians and see Australia's education sector as a key contributor in this task.
"One in every 10 people in the world is an Indian youth," he said. "The size of this demographic is just huge. There are more nine-year-olds in India than there are people in Australia."
Professor Jeffrey will chair Engaging with India 2016, an annual trade and investment forum, in Sydney on Monday, sponsored by The Australian Financial Review and the Australia India Business Council.
India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had a goal to provide skills for 500 million people by 2022 and Professor Jeffrey said he was "actively looking to Australia" to assist.
"Mr Modi specifically identified Australia, along with the UK, as a source of information and experience on vocational training," he said.
The export of Australian education-related services to India was worth $2.1 billion last financial year, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade figures show.
The Reserve Bank's quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, released last week, drew attention to the growing importance of services exports to Asian markets and said there were more than 50,000 students from India at Australian educational institutions, or 10 per cent of international students here.
"Universities are now looking at where the next big wave of students will come from and I think a lot of the smart money is on India," Professor Jeffrey said.
"We are in a stage of transition where universities that have benefited from an influx of Chinese students are now looking at possibilities for attracting Indian students, particularly in the science and technology areas," Professor Jeffrey said.