Youth and India

A Reckoner

World Scenario and Youth

The amount of money spent on arm manufacturing and armed

conflicts across the world is four and half time more than what is
spent on the youth world over.
Latest reports on World human resources point out to a rather
disturbing picture on the state of youth across the world.
Of the 6.23 billion people across the globe, more than 52 per cent
people are below the age of 35 years, !
Over 220 million people, live on less than $1 a day and another
515 million on less than $2 a day.
Approximately 117 million youth are currently enrolled in
University level education . Yet more than 134 million youth are
illiterate. !
Despite wider avenues of education and skill learning, youth
unemployment at approximately 923 million is the highest in West
Asia, North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.

World scenario and youth 2

HIV/AIDS is the first cause of mortality of youth

followed by violence and injuries of various
kinds.
More than 1,215 million people currently live with
AIDS , mostly in Africa and Asia.
Over 1.3 million people under the age of 18 years
are participating in armed struggle in Africa.
WHO report in 2007 says that armed violence is
resulting in the death of 35 persons every hour in
the age group of 15 to 40 years across the world

Youth and South Asia

South Asia has emerged as the poorest, the most

illiterate, the most malnourished and the least
gender sensitive region in the world with illiterate
adults and over 40% of the worlds out of school
children.
It has the worlds lowest literacy rate at 49%
More than 48% South Asian primary school
children drop our before reaching 3rd standard.
South Asia has the worst teacher-pupil ratio in
the world.

Situation in India

More than 20% ( nearly 250 million) of Indias 1.2 billion

population still lives below poverty line.
India would add to 130 million workers in the global market
in this decade.
A major challenge would be to create jobs for additional 71
million people by 2013 who would be joining the work
force.
Over 58 per cent population of India is below the age of 24
years. That means the figure stands at 564 million people
below the age of 24 years.
That means the number of unemployed people by 2012
in India would be twice the population of USA. !!

India2

The working population of India is going to be approx. 800

million people by 2016.. posing an enormous challenge for
providing adequate education and employment.
Near 170 million children in rural areas dont have access
to schools.
More than 300 million children dont have freedom from
hunger, illiteracy and disease.
More than 318 million people dont have access to safe
drinking water.
More than 250 million people do not have access to basic
medical care.

India3

More than 630 million people dont have access

to accepted sanitation facilities and children and
women still defecate at public places.
Nearly 51 per cent children in the age group of 5
to 10 years remain undernourished.
Around 52 % primary schools have only one
teacher for every two classes.
Over 300 million people live hardly on Rs 454 per
month as their earning and with no money for
their clothing, schooling for their children,
shelter and medical care.

India4core issues

. A major chunk of todays youth is stressed,

distressed and even confused in choosing the
right path. Younger lot is revolting against the
oldies because it finds them out of date and even
hypocritical. There is a widening Gulf between
the young and the Old in terms of perceptional
as well as practical terms. They no longer find
Oldies as exact idols and models of emulation.

Core issues2

No link between education and employment.

Instead of igniting their minds and soul to do
something spectacular, they have become an
agency for distributing degrees which, in most
cases are not even worth the paper they are
printed on. By and large, there is a mismatch
between the system of education and the
requirements of the industries.

Frustration and anger

Today, the youth in India forms as one of the

most vulnerable groups who, on the one hand
are expected to be the leaders to determine the
destiny of India and on the other hand .are
exploited and confused group.
Frustration and the anger against the system has
made many youth to anti-social groups and
become terrorists and take part in Naxal
movement.

Youth is stressed

The biggest problem is faced by the youth in the

age group of 18 -24 years. This part of youth
invariably suffers from extreme restrictions
which includes the suppression of thoughts,
feelings and anxieties leading to repression.
Most of the time, the problem of maladjustment
is accompanied by factors like the family, social
and educational background and their inability to
catch up with the constructive aspects of
modernism. This brings out conflicts of values
and create frustration among the youth.

Youth and stress

In addition, illiterate parents, home and family

crisis, problem related to finance, religious
rigidity, poor economic conditions, remote
village areas, and sex discrimination in
traditional and orthodox community hinders
even the educational foundation.
Yet another trend is the large number of youth
committing suicide because of failure in the
exams, pressure for performance in schools and
colleges and at times, wrong career decisions.

Growing fear and frustration !

A Bangalore based institution, working on the problems

faced by the youth came out with frightening figures in
terms of their extreme actions in the last 10 years.
Accidental deaths and permanent handicaps in youth
every year has been rising at the rate of 9 %.. On the
average, there were 20,000 accidental death and 21, 500
plus permanent handicaps across the country by
2000.Now that figures has gone to 26,700 and more than
28000 permanent handicaps !!
In the same way, there were around 17,000 suicidal deaths
reported in 2001 apart from 16 to 18 lakh attempted suicide
cases for various reasons.
By 2008, that figure went up to 23,000 and over two lakhs
respectively. .

Health hazard

More than 350 million youth even today do not have ready made access to health
care. More than that an alarming decline in the male-female ratio. There are only 927
women against 1000 men in at least 5 states including UP ,Haryana, Punjab,
Rajasthan , Bihar and the ration is tilting more against the girl child.

Misuse of advanced pre natal diagnostic techniques has led to sex selection with the
widespread termination of female fetuses, contributing to a rapidly declining girl to
boy child ratio.

Every 7 minutes a woman dies due to complications arising from pregnancy and
child birth in our country. This transcends to 301 deaths for every 10000 deliveries.
Infant mortality rate in India is still 60/1000 live births per year.

Out of every 100 children, 19 continue to be out of school and of every 100 children
who enroll, 70 drop out by the time they reach the secondary level.
India is also home to the highest number of child labourers in the world and it has
the worlds largest sexually abused children. That is 53 per cent as per government
figures.

What needs to be done ??

technical and skill oriented educational programmes should be

initiated by public and private institutions in India.
developing mechanism for improving accountability.
The youth should be persuaded and encouraged to pursue careers in
line with their vocational interest than being attracted to those careers
which given them status and high income.
The schools. Colleges and other institutions should have facilities for
vocational and emotional counseling and voluntary organizations can
play an important role in offering such services.
keeping in view the socio economic conditions of the country,
competitions and opportunities available, the youth should set up
realities goals and prioritiesThe youth should be engaged in social services and encouraged to
develop a feeling of pride in our country.

Corruption is the scourge !

India ranks 4th amongst the most corrupt Nations

in Asia
It has failed in curbing corruption. Corruption
drains resources from productive investment,
distorts true cost of doing business, undermines
efficiency and rewards influence rather than
performance.
India faces the danger of running the race of
globalization with our ankles tied together

For a better future !!

Effective poverty alleviation schemes

Over population needs to be curbed by iron hand. !
Growing unemployment needs to be arrested.
Politicization of development has to be avoided
Need to ensure transparency and fair play
Curb demographic imbalance and create job
opportunities at local and regional levels.
7.Need to upgrade national infrastructure hardware)
and strengthen the national human capital( software)
without which no country develops.