Is The Future of Young India Dark?

Future of Young India

KAKALI DAS

Youth has unlimited mobile data but limited understanding of truth. They might act cool and but also have tendency to overheat on facts. What happened to the dreams and hopes of the youth?

In this article, let’s discuss about 8 facts related to Youth and their future.

JOBLESS

PhDs are looking for peon jobs. As inflation is rising, salary is stagnating, casual labour or disguised unemployment is on the rise. Young and educated are finding it had to get hold of a job. MoUs signed under Make in India banner did not manifest on ground. CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) stated the following rates of unemployment – Rate of Unemployment in India in April 2022 was 7.83% and in March was 7.57%.

So as per CMIE data, unemployed numbers declined in March, 2022. But it isn’t because people found jobs, but because unemployed people stopped looking for jobs. Meaning, the labour force is opting out of labour. That’s why they aren’t counted as unemployed. 

In March 2022, labour force participation was 39.5% (less than that in second wave of pandemic). Global average of labour force participation is 60%. Thus, a large chunk of our population is not working. They are no longer looking for jobs. This is the result of crippling economy. That is why everyone is after a government job. It is hard to get but very secure.

Shrinking Government

Government job vacancies are shrinking, delays in examination and result, delay in joining, delay in result declaration, hence graduates are looking for mental work. This is a matter of shame. In 2016-17, SSC elected 68,889 candidates for central government jobs. Whereas, in 2020-21, this number is only 2,106 (96% less). Headlines like these – in Tamil Nadu, engineers and MBA are looking for sweeper jobs – can be seen in every newspaper almost every day.

In Madhya Pradesh, engineers, law graduates and MBA are in race for 738 peon jobs. Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, PhD students seek jobs of peon, gardener, cook, etc. In Uttar Pradesh, 81,700 graduates including 3,700 PhD-holders have applied for 62 peon posts.

Paper Leaks & Scams

In FY 2020, 1,19,000 permanent jobs were created in the central government. Whereas, in FY 2021, this number was 87,423.  Examination scam, paper leak – students cannot handle this mismanagement.

In Rajasthan, paper for the eligibility exam for teacher was leaked. In Himachal Pradesh, constable exam paper was leaked, and sold to 2000 candidates for 5-8 lakh. Bihar Public service Commission (BPSC) exam paper was also leaked; 6,00,000 candidates disappointed. UPTET paper leaked. You may be aware of RRB NTPC exam, students protested, against alleged faulty result.

Railway suspended the exam, imagine the pain of 1.25 core applicants. West Bengal teacher recruitment scam in which examinees with less marks secured high rank.

If I start counting these paper leaks and scams, this article will exceed the length of a thesis. Every scope of scam is utilized.

UPSC: A Tough Nut To Crack

UPSC is one exam that a lot of students still look up to. UPSC is by far the most trusted examination body. It is a well managed exam and follows given schedule. But competition is skyrocketing. The number of jobs is declining in this rank as is the case in SSC, banking and railway recruitment.

In 2014, UPSC vacancy stood at 1364. This dropped by 47.8% as of 2020, almost half. Whereas, competition is increased.

Problem of Unemployability

Bigger problem than unemployment is unemployability. Is youth skilled enough for new age jobs? There is no Indian higher education institute in top 100 QS graduate employability ranking, 2022. 2019 employability report by Aspiring Minds states that India is facing stubborn unemployability.

Engineers employability is stagnant. We are hesitant to learn new skill. Only 3.84% engineers are employable in new age startups.

Nowhere Generation

Does these numbers affect everyone? Since there is no shortage of data, youth is busy in games, WhatsApp university or reels. Cheap data is misused in Political propaganda, pornography and potboiler movies. Scholar Craig Jeffery calls this ‘nowhere generation’,  young and educated but unemployable. 20 years ago, power of youth was way more relevant before invention of smartphone and cheap data.

On average, people in India spend 6 hours on Internet a day, of which 2.5 hours on social media. Not surprising then, that half of 900 million – 45-crore people – combined population of USA and Russia, in India are not looking for job.

Brain Drain

There is still a lot of untapped talent. But the problem is that the ambitious, hard working, talented people are settling in abroad. In 2020, 2,61,406 students went abroad for studies. How many will return? India is becoming the biggest exporter of skilled labour and students. High net worth individuals are also leaving. 

Why so negative, you ask. Does it matter to population of crores if few lakh exit the country? YES, it matters a lot. These hard working talented people could be job providers in India only. Their migration equals job loss and tax loss. New companies created in India are lowest in 4 years in FY22. Youth is running away from India instead of starting up.

“Government job vacancies are shrinking, delays in examination and result, delay in joining, delay in result declaration, hence graduates are looking for mental work. This is a matter of shame. In 2016-17, SSC elected 68,889 candidates for central government jobs. Whereas, in 2020-21, this number is only 2,106 (96% less). Headlines like these – in Tamil Nadu, engineers and MBA are looking for sweeper jobs – can be seen in every newspaper almost every day. In Madhya Pradesh, engineers, law graduates and MBA are in race for 738 peon jobs. Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, PhD students seek jobs of peon, gardener, cook, etc. In Uttar Pradesh, 81,700 graduates including 3,700 PhD-holders have applied for 62 peon posts.”

Demographic Nightmare

Demographic dividend got more than dependent population in 2018. We have most number of employable people – 90 crores. Japan, South Korea like countries took advantage of this time in their histories. They found opportunities in their demographic dividend and progressed. But in India, alarm bells are rising despite stable government.

Economic experts fear that this demographic dividend may turn into nightmare, if population advantage is not used wisely. If you ask these questions, pandemic or war may be blamed. But CMIE data of 5 years show that the numbers are falling year by year.

Conclusion – But why is it happening? Because our focus is not on core problems. If China is external threat, then unemployment is internal. It needs to be solved soon. History is good to know about, but future is important too. If present is spent, there will be no future of youth. So, be mindful of your time.

Hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. Distractions are endless but you have to find strength to maintain focus.

Headline Image: The bleak view of India’s future depicted in a scene from NETFLIX  series ‘Leila’

12-06-2022

Images from different sources

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