Transforming a nation of job seekers

The draft national skill policy is a comprehensive document, but it can do more on taking entrepreneurship deeper into underserved regions

- Madan Padaki Arup Roychoudhury

DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND, a term used for over two decades to denote India's biggest advantage in the global marketplace, essentially means the country has been in a sweet spot where around 50% of its population is below 25 years of age and 65% below 35, creating a "youth bulge".

There has been long talk of taking advantage of this by ensuring its working-age population is provided with education, skills, and meaningful employment to enable them to contribute significantly to India's economic growth. Many leading economies like China, Europe, and Japan are facing ageing, shrinking workforces, creating a massive opportunity for India. But if not harnessed, the "demographic dividend" could become a "demographic disaster" and burden India with high unemployment and increased social conflict.

As things stand, given India's population, no number of jobs created by central and state governments, PSUs, and the private sector will be enough. In order to achieve Viksit Bharat goals, mass employment needs to be supplemented by mass entrepreneurship. This is something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken about, and the draft national skill policy 2025, released recently, shows the government's intent.

The draft policy says that 110 million students, 220 million "not in employment, education or training" individuals, and 20 million unemployed persons are either actively seeking or poised to seek employment, illustrating the scale of the challenge in our job market. It primarily focuses on skilling job-seeking youth, especially from underprivileged communities. It rightly states that India's demographic opportunity is inspiring, but not inevitable. It needs to be harnessed through timely policy and strategic interventions that are aligned with industry and workforce needs.