Business
Young graduates most likely to be wrong about student loan repayments – poll
Nearly three in five young graduates wrongly believe they must start repaying their student loans as soon as they get any job, a report has suggested.
A study, by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL), and the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, reveals a number of misunderstandings about universities – including tuition fees and student debt.
The survey, of more than 2,000 adults in the UK in June, suggests that the public believes around 40% of graduates would not go to university if they could choose again.
But the actual proportion who say this is only 8% – as measured in a survey last year, the report said.
Many also misunderstand how student debt works, particularly young graduates themselves, it found.
More than a third (35%) of the public wrongly think university graduates must start paying back their student loan as soon as they get any paid job, which rises to 58% among graduates aged 18 to 34.
The report also suggests that the public underestimates higher education’s contribution to the economy.
Only 6% correctly ranked the University of Oxford as having the highest revenue out of a list of seven organisations – even though its income was more than £1 billion higher than Greggs (the second on the list).
The study also found that 13% of the public believe that remaining in the UK to seek asylum is the most common outcome among overseas students who entered the country three years prior.
But only 0.5% of international students do this, the report suggested.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the policy institute at KCL, said the standout finding for him was the “overestimation” of the sense of regret about going to university.
“This will be driven by vivid, individual stories of graduate regret and the generally negative background noise about the declining value of a degree,” he said.
Prof Duffy: “It’s extremely difficult to first get public attention, and then cut through the noise of individual negative stories that are much more likely to stick in our minds.”
Nick Hillman, director of the Hepi, said: “Universities are bigger in terms of income and employment and more successful in terms of student outcomes than the public often recognise.
“However, it would be absurd to blame the voters for this major misunderstanding.
“Those of us who work in the higher education sector have not done a good enough job of telling people the true role of universities in modern Britain today.
“We should start correcting that record by inviting more people onto more campuses more often.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK (UUK) said: “Universities create new opportunities for millions, underpin the government’s industrial strategy and supercharge the whole UK economy.
“They deserve to be celebrated as one of the UK’s greatest success stories. In 2021-22, the sector contributed more than £265 billion to the economy.
“However, the results of the survey demonstrate that the sector and the Government must work better together to ensure that the public have the information they need to make informed choices about their future, including how student finance works, so more people see going to university as a realistic option.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This report shows that we have a world class higher education sector that can deliver great outcomes for students, and university remains a fantastic option for people looking to get in-demand skills and get into a rewarding career.
“We have been clear that universities must deliver a high-quality experience and we are determined to support the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university – regardless of their background.
“We will soon publish our plans for reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White Paper as we fix the foundations of higher education through our plan for change.”
Business
Budget 2026 Should Support MSMEs, Critical Minerals For Boosting Trade Resilience: Deloitte
Last Updated:
Deloitte India urges FY27 Budget to boost MSME support and critical mineral security, job protection and advancing India’s global manufacturing and clean energy goals.
Budget 2026 Expectations.
Budget 2026: Deloitte India has pitched a sharper focus on MSME support and critical mineral security in the FY27 Union Budget, arguing that these measures are essential to strengthen India’s trade resilience and reduce external vulnerabilities amid rising global uncertainty.
In its Budget expectations note, Deloitte India said micro, small and medium enterprises play a pivotal role in the economy, accounting for nearly 46% of India’s exports and emerging as the second-largest employer after agriculture. According to the firm, easing financial and compliance-related pressures on MSMEs would help them cope with global volatility, sustain production and remain competitive in overseas markets.
The Union Budget 2026-27 will be tabled on Sunday, February 1.
“Strengthening MSMEs will safeguard jobs and drive inclusive economic growth, boost rural incomes and support India’s ambition to become a global manufacturing hub,” Deloitte said.
The firm recommended measures such as enhanced export credit availability, concessional financing and simplified digital compliance systems to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. It also called for comprehensive training programmes to improve last-mile competitiveness of MSMEs, particularly those linked to global value chains.
Deloitte further suggested targeted export incentives or enhanced duty drawback support for tariff-sensitive sectors such as ready-made garments, gems and jewellery, and leather, which are more vulnerable to global trade disruptions.
Highlighting the risks from an increasingly protectionist global environment, Deloitte Economist Rumki Majumdar said rising uncertainty from tariff hikes, changes in rules of origin and non-tariff barriers could disproportionately affect Indian exporters. While the direct impact of global trade frictions on GDP growth may be limited to 40-80 basis points, the spillover effects on MSMEs and employment could be far more severe.
“MSMEs contribute 30.1 per cent to GDP, account for 45.79 per cent of India’s exports and employ nearly 290 million people; disruptions in export markets or tightening trade rules pose serious risks to jobs and income stability,” Majumdar said.
Beyond MSMEs, Deloitte emphasised the need for a strategic push on critical minerals to secure supply chains and support India’s clean energy transition. It proposed setting up a dedicated critical minerals fund to finance overseas acquisitions and technology partnerships, ensuring long-term access to essential resources.
The firm also recommended deeper global collaboration with regions such as Africa, Australia and Latin America to secure upstream access to minerals, alongside joint research and development in mineral processing and recycling. In addition, it called for incentives to promote investments in renewable energy, green hydrogen and grid-scale energy storage.
Deloitte said expanded funding for exploration, extraction and processing of key critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt and rare earth magnets, would be crucial to reduce import dependence and strengthen India’s strategic and economic security in the years ahead.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google.
January 16, 2026, 15:02 IST
Read More
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday staged a strong comeback, breaking the long bearish momentum as snowballing forex reserves have lifted investor sentiment.
During intraday trading, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained a whopping 3,146.23 points to climb to 184,602.56 points, marking a positive change of 1.70%.
Out of 562 active companies, share prices of 375 advanced and of 67 declined while rates of 120 companies remained unchanged.
Economic analysts said the uptick offered some breathing space for the economy, even as the country continued to keep a close watch on external inflows and outflows.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves inched up by $16 million over the past week, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The central bank said its official reserves rose from $16.0557 billion to $16.0718 billion, showing a modest gain during the week.
Overall, the country’s total reserves climbed to $21.2484 billion.
The State Bank also noted that commercial banks’ holdings went up by $5.6 million, reaching $5.1927 billion.
The central bank projects the FY26 current account deficit at 0–1% of GDP and sees reserves at $17.8 billion by June 2026 with planned official inflows.
A day earlier, the stock exchange dropped by over 1,100 points due to massive selling pressure.
The PSX had extended losses after recording an increase for a brief period as investors seemed cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran.
During intraday trading, the KSE-100 index touched 183,717.53 due to strong buying in the early sessions before it turned bearish by losing 69.29 points to close at 182,500.52 points.
International officials have warned that US military intervention in Iran now appears likely and could take place within the next 24 hours amid sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East.
American, European and Israeli sources said preparations for possible action were under way as Washington began evacuating personnel from its major air base in Qatar.
NEW DELHI: People with job cards assigned under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme will be able to get work without disruption when transition takes place to new rural employment framework under Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act.Even though exact timeframe is not known yet, rural development ministry officials said the VB-G RAM G scheme will come into force in the coming financial year after the Centre frames and notifies the rules. After govt notifies the Act’s commencement date, states will get six months to make their schemes to enable implementation of the law.To ensure there is no disruption and job guarantee is upheld during transition from MGNREGA, it has been proposed to enable workers to use the same job cards issued under MGNREGA with Aadhaar-based eKYC.The officials said that as of now, around 75% of job cards have been verified with eKYC under the ongoing scheme. Moreover, ongoing projects under MGNREGA, if incomplete when the transition happens to the new scheme, would stay on course.Meanwhile, work is on to frame rules, lay out regulations on normative allocations, fund flow plan, IT framework, a national-level steering panel and social audits.Under the new law, focus will be on transparency to weed out leakages and duplicacy of work,the social audit system will be strengthened, and technology leveraged to create systems to establish work progress, timely wage payment and accountability through ‘e-measurement’ books, sources said. Demand for work will have to be entered on a digital platform. Officials made it clear the new law in no way interferes with demand-driven character of the scheme.
Budget 2026 Should Support MSMEs, Critical Minerals For Boosting Trade Resilience: Deloitte
Australia’s apparel imports fall, textiles rise in July-Nov 2025
Robert Downey Jr. hails Timothée Chalamet as ‘one of the greats’
-
Politics1 week agoUK says provided assistance in US-led tanker seizure
-
Entertainment1 week agoDoes new US food pyramid put too much steak on your plate?
-
Entertainment1 week agoWhy did Nick Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson withdraw from case?
-
Sports5 days agoClock is ticking for Frank at Spurs, with dwindling evidence he deserves extra time
-
Business1 week agoTrump moves to ban home purchases by institutional investors
-
Sports1 week agoPGA of America CEO steps down after one year to take care of mother and mother-in-law
-
Tech3 days agoNew Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State
-
Business1 week agoBulls dominate as KSE-100 breaks past 186,000 mark – SUCH TV