Day 49 – Q 4.Educated unemployed youth is one of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Do you agree? Substantiate. What measures should the government adopt immediately to address this challenge? Suggest.

4. Educated unemployed youth is one of the most vulnerable sections of the population. Do you agree? Substantiate. What measures should the government adopt immediately to address this challenge? Suggest. 

शिक्षित बेरोजगार युवा आबादी के सबसे कमजोर वर्गों में से एक है। क्या आप सहमत हैं? पुष्टी करें। इस चुनौती को दूर करने के लिए सरकार को तुरंत क्या उपाय अपनाने चाहिए? सुझाव दें।

Introduction:

India’s rate of unemployment has doubled in the past two years, according to the State of India’s Environment (SoE) figures, 2019. This has particularly affected young people where the unemployment rate among the educated is worse. The rate among people with at least a graduate degree was 13.17 per cent in September-December 2018, up from 10.39 per cent in May-August 2017.

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• Young Indians (aged 15-24 years) constitute nearly a fifth of India’s total population, according to the country’s 2011 Census. By 2020, they are predicted to make up a third of the country’s population.It is noted that the youth (between 20-24 years), who constitute around 40 per cent of India’s labour force, have an unemployment rate of 32 per cent.
• The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2017-18 released by National Sample Survey Office too shows that unemployment rate increased with education level.
• The rate of unemployment in urban India is lower than that of the rural across at higher levels of educational categories (secondary and above) and also for all the study periods. However, it is higher in the case of urban India than rural at lower levels of educational categories (less than secondary). 
• The unemployment rate among educated is lower in the developed nations as compared to developing nations at the international level, it is evident that the developed states within India account for higher rates of educated unemployment than the developing and underdeveloped states. This may be due to the fact that the developed states account for higher number of educated people than the developing and underdeveloped regions
• In India, not only is the rate of unemployment higher with an increase in levels of education, but also, when it comes to the issue of gender bias, it becomes obvious that women face much higher rates of unemployment as against their male counterparts across all the educational categories. 
• The probability of finding jobs increases as age increases but, after a certain age, the probability decreases irrespective of the levels of development across states. This may be mainly due to the presence of age restrictions in the formal job market and a decrease in productivity with an increase in age.
• Their mental makeup, their behaviour and their actions in their period of waiting are influenced by a varied set of factors. For example, it matters how their families treat them – which to some extent may depend on their financial status.
• Many are burdened by student debt, which begins to weigh heavily in the absence of proper employment. Other factors such as the company they keep, the nature of cultural and political discourse and the political and other activities of the major parties and their leaders also matter.
• In India, where the economy is growing but where it is not clear whether employment prospects have improved, young people with higher levels of education are even more likely to feel cheated, frustrated, resentful, or even angry than under conditions of economic stagnation.
• The problem of unemployment for the educated gives rise to the problem of poverty. Young people after a long time of unemployment indulge in illegal and wrong activities for earning money. This also leads to an increase in crime in the country. Unemployed persons can easily be enticed by antisocial elements. This makes them lose faith in democratic values of the country. It is often seen that unemployed people end up getting addicted to drugs and alcohol or attempts suicide. These factors surely make the educated unemployed one of the most vulnerable.

In this regard, following can be some of the measures the government may adopt immediately to address this challenge:

1. There are a number of labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments. Special packages, individually designed for each industry are needed to create jobs.
2. Public investment in sectors like health, education, police and judiciary can create many government jobs. Along with it, decentralisation of Industrial activities is necessary so that people of every region get employment.
3. Entrepreneurs generate employment to many in a country; therefore, the government needs to encourage entrepreneurship among the youth. Similarly, concrete measures aimed at removing the social barriers for women’s entry and their continuous participation in the job market is needed.
4. Government needs to keep a strict watch on the education system and should try to implement new ways to generate skilled labour force. Further, the effective implementation of present programs like Make in India, Skill India, Start up and Stand-Up India is needed.
5. There is a need for National Employment Policy (NEP) that would encompass a set of multidimensional interventions covering a whole range of social and economic issues affecting many policy spheres and not just the areas of labour and employment. 

Conclusion

Putting in place the above given appropriate policy responses to tackle the issue is of utmost priority. As multiple forces ranging from technological advances to climate change to demographic changes transform the world of work, the absence of decisive policy action will disrupt livelihoods and exacerbate problems for the vulnerable and further increase social fault lines.