The Crisis of India’s Youth Can Make The Country Increasingly Unstable
Most young individuals would remain unsuitable for integration into any modern production process, even with additional re-training.
No country can surpass the potential defined by the quality of its human resources. While India’s leadership and segments of its business and intellectual elites increasingly celebrate the narrative of the nation as an emerging global power, it is worth revisiting Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s assertion: “India is the only country in the world that is trying to become a global economic power with an uneducated and unhealthy labour force.” This poignant reminder underscores the vital role of human capital in nation-building.
India’s education system, in terms of quantity and quality, remains dismal, with only a handful of institutions making a marginal impact. Unfortunately, even these are absent from the global rankings making of top-tier universities. Alarmingly, the system continues to deteriorate as poorly planned policies and ideologies determine public education. The recruitment of underqualified teachers to fulfill electoral promises further exacerbates the issue. Over 11 million students graduate from higher education institutions in India annually, yet only a minuscule percentage are equipped with the skills needed to match their academic qualifications.
Sharing my message for the National Youth Festival in Lucknow. Highlighted a variety of issues including the thoughts of Swami Vivekananda and our Government’s efforts towards empowering India’s youth. https://t.co/SQ29QqmNNH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020
The concept of “Paper Qualifications” is particularly relevant in this scenario. The harsh truth is that a significant proportion of these graduates are unemployable. For instance, the World Economic Forum highlighted in 2020 that only 20% of engineering and 10% of general graduates possess employable skills. The Consistency with findings from the National Employability Report for Engineering (2019), revealed that 80% of Indian engineers lacked field-specific skills. Similarly, a Niti Ayog report from 2024 confirmed that 80% of electronics engineers in India fall short of Industry requirements.
The advent of disciplines like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and big data analytics has widened the gap between the skills produced by India’s outdated educational framework and the demands of the modern economy. Rapid technological advancements further highlight the rigidity and ineffectiveness of the current system, creating a growing mismatch between education and employability.
The state of education is even more concerning at the primary and secondary levels. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023, 25% of students aged 14-18 could not read a class II text in their regional language, while nearly 65% struggled with basic division problems. Additionally, 61% were unable to use a scale for measurements correctly. Vocational training is rare, as the report states that only 5.6% of youth experienced it.
While policymakers emphasize India’s youthful demographic advantage, this so-called “demographic dividend” could backfire if the youth remain directionless. History reveals that societies with a “youth bulge” often face increased violence and unrest, as frustrated individuals gravitate toward extremist or criminal activities. Approximately 65% of India’s population is under 35, with 429 million between 15 and 29 years old—a particularly volatile group.
Unemployment, corruption, inequality, and divisive politics exacerbate the challenges faced by India’s youth. If left unaddressed, these issues threaten the nation’s stability, making it vulnerable to internal strife and external pressures.
