India, July 20 -- Every nation debates how to build stronger institutions, better economies and safer societies. Few ask where nation-building actually begins. It begins long before a child enters the classroom, long before a young adult joins the civil services or the armed forces. Nation-building begins at home.

This is not merely a cultural or philosophical argument; it is also an economic and developmental one. Multilateral institutions increasingly recognise that a nation's greatest asset is not its natural resources or infrastructure, but its people. The World Bank's Human Capital Index reflects this reality: a country's future productivity depends upon the health, education and development of its children today. Human capital begi...