Root causes: On India’s youth crisis

The crisis highlights a profound mismatch between educational aspirations and institutional capacity, a key concern under GS Paper 2 (Education). The reliance on high-cost private coaching, which consumes up to a quarter of an Indian family's education budget by higher secondary years according to MoSPI data, creates systemic inequality, disproportionately affecting students from lower-income backgrounds. Furthermore, the sheer volume of aspirants competing for a limited number of seats in premier institutions like those covered by the NEET (medical) and JEE (engineering) indicates a failure to expand quality educational infrastructure at pace with demographic growth. The concerning drop in undergraduate enrolment, particularly among young men in states like Uttar Pradesh, suggests a growing disillusionment with higher education's ability to guarantee employment, pointing towards a shift towards diploma courses. This necessitates a critical evaluation of the quality and relevance of higher education in India, moving beyond mere access to focusing on employability and skill development, as envisioned in the National Education Policy 2020.

The editorial underscores the structural deficiencies in the Indian economy, a core theme in GS Paper 3 (Employment & Labour, Industry & Manufacturing). Despite a headline growth rate of 6%-6.5%, the economy exhibits signs of jobless growth, where economic expansion does not translate into proportional employment generation. The Periodic Labour Force Survey data reveals a grim reality: only a fraction of young graduates secure regular salaried employment, and even fewer have jobs with formal contracts and social security benefits. The manufacturing sector, traditionally the engine for mass employment absorption, remains stagnant at around one-sixth of the Gross Value Added (GVA), falling short of the government's ambitious targets under initiatives like Make in India. The decline in private corporate investment, despite significant corporate tax cuts in 2019, indicates a lack of business confidence and structural bottlenecks hindering capital formation. To address this, the article advocates for a shift towards export-oriented industrialization, mirroring the success of countries like Vietnam, and increased public investment to crowd-in private capital.

The government's response to the crisis, such as announcing free online coaching via India's digital public infrastructure, is a typical example of addressing the symptom rather than the disease, a frequent critique in GS Paper 2 (Governance Reforms). While leveraging digital platforms can improve access, it does not solve the underlying scarcity of quality institutions or the lack of job opportunities. The editorial points to a need for deeper structural reforms, including a more supportive regulatory environment that encourages, rather than stifles, medium-sized enterprises, which are critical for job creation. Overzealous enforcement and regulatory uncertainty can deter investment and expansion, particularly for smaller firms that lack the resources to navigate complex compliance landscapes. The government must focus on creating an enabling environment for businesses, investing in public infrastructure, and aligning educational outcomes with industry needs to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth, rather than relying solely on populist measures.