India’s youth population had overtaken its non-working population. India has attained its demographic dividend in 2018, which is expected to last until 2055. 1 among 3 Indians is a youth. 64% of India’s population lies in the working-age group. While the western world, China, and Japan are ageing, India is the youngest country in the world with an average age of an Indian being 29 years.
Youth forms the dynamic part of the population in any country. Younger generations are the future. The direction they would move is going to be the direction of development of the country. Only youth has the power to transform India. Youth oriented in the right direction can strengthen the economy, fight corruption, bring social and economic equality, conserve the environment and help in eliminating social evils.
India has lots of expectations from its population structure. There are several shortcomings in youth that must be corrected in time. Indian youth is hyperactive on social media. According to Business Standard, on average, an Indian spends 18% of his time per week in productive activities and has 71% time in leisure, learning, and personal care. Another survey confirms Indian youth is still conservative when it comes to women's rights, caste, and religious issues. The youngsters are concerned more about their looks, fashion, and gadgets than education and learning. They are anxious and uncertain about the future due to the all-time high unemployment rate and pandemic. They are diverted from real life and living a virtual life on social media. Also, it seems that government is not really interested in the welfare of youth.
Today's youth is tomorrow’s leader and administrator. Millennials and Generation Z constitute the workforce. Therefore, the government needs to invest more on them, provide them with good quality education, better health facilities, and job opportunities. At present, unemployability is an enormous problem for Indians. We have degrees but we lack skills. So, the government must strengthen the education sector to make us skillful and industry-ready. We need to develop an entrepreneurship mindset.
Today, it is nearly impossible to imagine multinational tech giants without Indian employees and CEOs. If provided better opportunities and facilities, no task exists which cannot be accomplished. All we need is a sincere effort from the government and our side. So, this year, let’s pledge to work hard, acquire skills and contribute to making India self-dependent and a developed nation. If we do not make efforts now, this large manpower which brought development opportunities has the potential to become a nightmare for our country.