The biggest asset of a nation is its people and it couldn’t get better for India as the country’s demographic dividend in terms of youth population is a key factor that is expected to catalyse all the drivers of economic growth.
A demographic dividend is defined by the United Nations Population Fund as economic growth resulting from a shift in a population’s age structure, mainly when the working-age population is larger than the number of dependents.
India is the second most populous country in the world and also home to a fifth of the world’s youth population. The staggering numbers of the country’s youth population create a demographic dividend that will play an important role in helping India achieve the ambitious target of becoming a five trillion-dollar economy.
Workforce and market
The big numbers mean much more than that. India’s youth population is not just a workforce that will help in the country’s growth and bring prosperity but the high youth population in India is also a very promising market that is already drawing investments from big industries, foreign investors, etc.
India’s gigantic youth population is driving a range of factors towards growth. India’s young are catalysing and leading a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Presently, with the more than 1.3 billion people, the average age in India is 29 years – making it one of the youngest populations globally.
The steady rise of India’s middle class had changed many variables that drive economic growth in a nation, namely higher literacy rate, new skills, financial security, improved quality of life, higher dispensable income, increased investments, etc.
Data from a recent report reveal that India has beaten all other countries of the world in creating engineers and science graduates – 25 per cent of world’s science and engineering graduates are from India. In terms of research, India lags behind and China and USA are the leaders. Still, by contributing the highest number of qualified engineers and technologists to the global workforce even today, India is leading the tech race.
Tech and start-ups
India’s tech industry is on a roll with the Information Technology sector registering a 15.5 per cent YoY growth for FY 2022 and the tech sector revenue exceeding two hundred billion dollars. The youth have contributed in a big way to achieve this.
India is a start-up haven. The total number of recognised start-ups in India rose from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 as on 30 June 2022. Presently, there are more than 25,000 tech start-ups in the country including more than a hundred such ventures that have now achieved unicorn status (Unicorn companies are those that reach a valuation of one billion dollars without being listed on the stock market and is the dream status of any tech start-up) and eleven start-ups that have launched an IPO.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stressed upon the global position of India in the technology sector when he was giving his speech during the 76th Independence Day celebrations. He emphasised on India’s invaluable contribution towards the fourth industrial revolution.
To encourage youth participation in the tech sector and support their start-up ventures, the government has extended support through various incubation centres and initiatives such as Seed Fund, Digital India Programme, Atal Innovation Mission, Start-up India, Software Technology Park (STP) Scheme and campaigns like Think Digital, Think India.
The government of India’s Skill India Mission aims to empower the youth with adequate skill sets that will enable them to work across relevant sectors and also improve productivity. With an increase in literacy rate among the youth and higher internet penetration across rural and urban India, there has been a drastic increase in digital literacy among the youth.
At a time when upgradation of skills and knowledge is mandatory for improved career prospects, the young in India are racing to grab opportunities and create more for others. Access to internet, availability of online resources, affordable smartphones and gadgets, etc. are helping them upgrade themselves and prepare for the market demands of the future.
Creating opportunities
India’s youth are a formidable force not just in numbers but in talent and skill. They are not only availing opportunities to grow but creating many more for themselves and for individuals like them. The start-up boom in India is fuelled by the youth creating such opportunities. With the inundation of disruptive technologies, internet-based services, access to information and resources, there’s no stopping for India’s youth.
India’s population presents itself as not just a workforce but a market also and the youth are skilfully tapping on that. The young entrepreneurs are creating services or environment for services that has many takers.
In areas such as education or edu-tech, healthcare, fitness and wellness, sustainability, etc. there are many opportunities of entrepreneurship. The availability of e-commerce, online wallets, diverse credit facilities, etc. is enabling the digital savvy young to take risks and venture into entrepreneurship. Government initiatives are further enabling entrepreneurship ecosystems and employment opportunities for the youth in India.
India’s youth have proved their mettle in all spheres of life
Melting pot of cultures
Today, Indian cities and bigger towns are fast becoming a melting pot of cultures. The youth from villages and smaller towns are migrating to the cities that have become the centre of employment and entrepreneurial ventures.
The movement of people is making the urban pockets more and more culturally diverse. The interaction of people is enabling exchange of ideas, skills, innovative thinking, languages and creative and sustainable solutions that is leading to the formation of a young, robust and productive workforce.
India’s demographic dividend opportunity is the longest in the world that will be accessible for the next 50 years beginning from 2005. The rapid increase in the working population of the country that is young and productive is the basis of India’s promising future and economic expansion and the opportunities are endless. It will be relevant to note here that India is also set to become one of the largest consumer economies in the world.
India’s youth have proved their mettle in all spheres of life – sports, education, technology, science, literature, arts, music, etc., and their thirst for achieving more is not dying anytime soon. Not only are they scaling heights for India, they’ve become the country’s brand ambassadors worldwide.
Neeraj Chopra became India’s first field athlete to win a gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and he is inspiring millions of young Indians to push boundaries. He is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in Men’s Javelin throw. Kedarnath’s Parikul Bharadwaj is India’s youngest social worker. She has won the National Bravery Award for saving the lives of the two pilgrims.
Mumbai’s Malhar Kalambe started a drive with his friends in 2017 where they would collect the garbage thrown by visitors and locals at Dadar beach. A weekend activity soon became a mass clean-up initiative engaging over 20,000 people. His efforts led to the collection of around 1,000 tons of plastic waste and other waste material from the beach and the United Nations recognised his work by felicitating him on the International Volunteer Day on 5 December 2018.