NITI Aayog’s latest report highlights an emerging national challenge: an estimated 8.7 crore people in India aged 15-29 are not studying, working or undergoing any employment-related training. Findings in ‘Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047’ categorise these youngsters under the acronym NEET (Neither in Education, Employment or Training). The description is ironic, given that the recent youth protests centred on demands for accountability and reforms in the education sector, following the NEET question paper leaks. The findings are based on data from the National Sample Survey of 2021 (78th round); these numbers have likely risen. They provide a reality check for planners and policymakers who bet on India’s young population as a demographic dividend of immense social and economic consequence.
With a large component of the country’s youth remaining outside the productive landscape and dependent on others for their needs, the narratives around demographic dividend demand a reevaluation. These youngsters remain suspended in a system without employment and, crucially, without the requisite qualifications for employment. They point to a systemic failure in channelling human potential. Excluded from a productive labour force, this cohort, which spans about 15 years, comes with an economic cost borne by society. A large section of the youth remaining unemployable can also translate into substantial social and political costs. The report calls the NEET youth “constrained by the absence of income and the sunk cost of prior education”. Its findings indicate that the dividend now risks turning into a liability.
NITI Aayog recommends greater emphasis on skilling and vocational education to navigate this challenge. It proposes early-stage skilling embedded in the school system (from grade 6 through grade 12) to ensure employability. The report points out that a stated objective of the National Education Policy (NEP), to integrate skilling and employability into early school years, has not been effectively pursued. The planning body has recommended a shift towards demand-driven skilling aligned to high-growth sectors such as EVs and green industries, and the mainstreaming of apprenticeship programmes. However, skilling will not help if there is no employment requiring those skills. India’s development model has not created jobs on a scale that meets the needs of its burgeoning population. The findings should act as a pivot for the government, helping it shape policies to create jobs in industry, services, and other key sectors. A skilled and unemployed population can be no better than the NEET group. (Source: DH)
