BY – MS.KALPANA SAHOO
Introduction: When a Nation’s Youth Waits at the Doorstep of Opportunity
Imagine 600 million people below the age of 25. A nation younger than most civilisations in history. A nation whose youth are supposed to be its “demographic dividend” — the fuel for its rise in the 21st century. That nation is India.
Yet, for millions of these young Indians, the promise of opportunity feels like a locked gate. Degrees hang on the walls, but jobs don’t knock at the door. Skills are acquired, but they don’t match what the market wants. The result? Frustration, underemployment, wasted potential, and a silent crisis that bleeds into every corner of society.
This is not just an economic problem. It is a civilizational question: Can India’s youth dream with dignity? Can a nation sustain growth, peace, and human well-being if its young minds are restless, unemployed, or under-skilled?
Section I: The Anatomy of the Problem
1. The Numbers Behind the Silence
Youth unemployment in India hovers around 10–12%, but this hides the sharper edge: among graduates aged 20–24, some surveys place it at over 40% (India Today, 2025).
According to the India Skills Report 2025, only 54.8% of graduates are employable; Mercer|Mettl’s Graduate Skill Index puts this even lower at 42.6% (IndiaTracker, 2025).
2. The Paradox of Education
India produces millions of graduates every year. Yet employers often complain: “We can’t find job-ready talent.” Why?
Curricula often belong to the past, not the future.
Industry evolves faster than universities.
Soft skills, creativity, and adaptability — the very traits employers seek — are absent in many classrooms.
This paradox means India has educated unemployment: young people are educated enough to expect good jobs but under-skilled to secure them.
3. The Geography of Inequality
Urban vs Rural: Tier-1 cities absorb jobs, Tier-3 towns send their youth away. Rural India remains undertrained, underconnected, and underemployed.
Men vs Women: Women’s labour force participation in India is among the lowest globally, hovering around 25%, largely due to mobility, safety, and social norms.
Elite vs Ordinary Institutions: IITs, IIMs, AIIMS vs thousands of lesser-known colleges where placement is an afterthought.
Section II: Causes Beneath the Surface
1. Broken Bridges Between Education and Industry
Curriculum reform moves more slowly than technological disruption. While the world embraces AI, robotics, renewable energy, and cybersecurity, India’s classrooms often remain stuck in outdated syllabi. (The Hindu BusinessLine, 2024)
2. Vocational Training — Promise and Pitfall
India has over 15,000 ITIs and polytechnics, yet quality is inconsistent. Short-term skilling programs (under PMKVY, DDU-GKY) have trained millions, but job placement rates are modest. Certification without employability is just another piece of paper. (Skill Development Ministry, 2025)
3. The Speed of Technology
Jobs of yesterday vanish faster than curricula change. Automation has hollowed out middle-skill jobs. New roles require hybrid skills — coding plus creativity, data analytics plus decision-making. Most graduates aren’t prepared. (Ganuthula & Balaraman, 2025)
4. Social Barriers
Caste, class, and gender still dictate access to quality training, networks, and confidence. A rural Dalit girl with a diploma does not enter the job market on the same footing as an urban upper-class boy with connections.
Section III: Consequences Beyond Economics
Unemployment and skill gaps aren’t just about “lack of jobs.” They spill over into society in three dangerous ways:
1. Impact on Well-Being
Financial instability delays life milestones.
Mental health struggles grow: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.
Wasted human capital: society invests in education but fails to convert it into productivity.
2. Threats to Peace
Idle, frustrated youth are more vulnerable to crime, violence, and radical ideologies.
Inequalities between communities deepen mistrust.
Mass migration strains cities, often sparking local tensions.
3. Sustainability at Risk
Growth without jobs creates instability — a ticking time bomb.
Poorly employed workers turn to unsustainable livelihoods (illegal mining, overfishing, deforestation).
A wasted demographic dividend means India may grow old before it grows rich.
Section IV: Current Responses — Achievements and Shortfalls
1. Government Efforts
PMKVY, PMKK, DDU-GKY: Skilling millions, but placement ratios remain modest.
Employment Linked Incentive Scheme (₹1 lakh crore, 2025): Aims to create 35 million jobs (Reuters, 2025).
2. State Innovations
Karnataka Skill Development Policy 2025-32: Emphasis on Industry 4.0 training (Times of India, 2025).
Telangana ATCs: Setting up 65 advanced technology centres in ITIs (TOI, 2025).
3. Private & NGO Initiatives
NGOs like IAHV blend life skills, vocational training, and women empowerment. Corporates run CSR skilling programs, but scale is limited.
4. The Gaps
Quality is sacrificed for quantity.
Monitoring outcomes (real jobs, retention, wages) is weak.
Rural and marginalized communities often left behind.
Section V: A Manifesto for Transformation
To say this is just about jobs would be an understatement. It is about the soul of India’s youth. To resolve unemployment and skill gaps, India must embrace a human-centered, sustainable model.
1. Reimagine Education as Lifelong Learning
Merge vocational training into mainstream schools.
Encourage continuous upskilling with digital platforms.
Break the wall between “degree education” and “skill education.”
2. Build Green and Future-Ready Jobs
Skilling in renewable energy, climate tech, and sustainable agriculture.
Green jobs not only fight unemployment but also secure an ecological future.
3. Invest in Soft Skills and Well-Being
Communication, adaptability, and empathy must be trained alongside coding and mechanics.
Include mental health, resilience, and creativity in curricula.
4. Empower Women and Marginalized Youth
Subsidized training, safe mobility, and workplace inclusion.
Women are not just participants but multipliers of societal well-being.
5. Create a National Skill–Peace Compact
Link skilling policies with peace-building.
Ensure inclusive representation so that every caste, gender, and region feels invested in the nation’s growth.
Section VI: Why This Matters Beyond India
India’s choices will ripple globally:
As the world’s largest youth workforce, India could either supply the world with skilled talent or with unemployed frustration.
If it succeeds, India becomes the engine of global sustainability and peace. If it fails, unrest will not remain within borders.
Constitutional & Legal Framework :
Right to Work (Directive Principles of State Policy – Article 41, Constitution of India)
Article 41 directs the State to make effective provisions for securing the right to work, education, and public assistance in unemployment, old age, sickness, and disablement.
(Constitution of India, 1950, Article 41)
Right to Education (Article 21-A)
Provides free and compulsory education for children between 6–14 years.
(Constitution of India, 1950, Article 21-A; inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002)
Equality of Opportunity in Public Employment (Article 16)
Guarantees equal opportunity in government jobs, but lack of skills makes it less effective in practice.
(Constitution of India, 1950, Article 16)
Labour Laws and Employment Schemes
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005
Ensures 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in rural areas.
(Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development, 2005)
Apprentices Act, 1961 (Amended 2014)
Legal framework to regulate and promote apprenticeship training.
(Apprentices Act, 1961, amended by Act 29 of 2014, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India)
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
Established in 2009 as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to promote skill development.
(National Skill Development Corporation, Annual Report 2023)
Skill India Mission (2015)
Launched to provide industry-relevant skill training to youth.
(Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, 2015)
Labour Codes (2020)
Consolidation of 29 labour laws into 4 comprehensive codes:
Code on Wages (2019)
Industrial Relations Code (2020)
Code on Social Security (2020)
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020)
(Government of India, Ministry of Labour and Employment, 2020)
Judicial Interpretations
Olga Tellis vs Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985)
The Supreme Court held that right to livelihood is part of the right to life (Article 21).
(Olga Tellis & Ors. v. Bombay Municipal Corporation & Ors., 1985 SCR Supl. (2) 51, Supreme Court of India)
State of Punjab vs Jagjit Singh (2016)
The Court ruled that temporary workers are entitled to “equal pay for equal work.”
(State of Punjab & Ors. v. Jagjit Singh & Ors., (2017) 1 SCC 148, Supreme Court of India)
Conclusion: From Crisis to Possibility
Unemployment and skill gaps are not mere statistics. They are broken dreams, restless nights, and unheard stories of millions. They are also untapped energy, waiting to be transformed.
India stands today at a decisive moment. The question is not only how many jobs it creates, but what kind of society it builds. Will it let its demographic dividend decay into a demographic disaster? Or will it reimagine education, skilling, and human dignity as the foundation of sustainable peace and well-being?
The answer will decide whether India becomes the world’s workshop of hope — or the world’s warning of wasted potential.
References
India Skills Report 2025.
Mercer | Mettl, Graduate Skill Index 2024–25.
“Indian graduate employability crisis.” India Today, July 2025.
“AI Era: India’s graduate employability falls amid skill mismatches.” IndiaTracker, July 2025.
“Skills gap in industry must be addressed.” The Hindu BusinessLine, 2024.
Ganuthula, K., & Balaraman, K. (2025). Skill-Based Labor Market Polarization in the Age of AI. arXiv preprint.
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India (2025).
“India Cabinet Approves $117B Employment Incentive Plan.” Reuters, July 2025.
Times of India (2025). “Karnataka Cabinet Approves New Skill Development Policy.”
Times of India (2025). “65 ATCs set to be opened in Telangana.”
International Association for Human Values (IAHV) – India Skill Development Initiatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment