I’m here because like every other 14 year old I thought becoming a doctor only takes considerable amount of studying and good amount of heart to serve others. Well, it turns out to be totally opposite. Number of hours spent in mugging up how deoxygenated and oxygenated blood are separated, I realised perhaps ‘heart’ isn’t really for me. So I asked my brain what else I can manage to do, so it brought back certain memories of me fighting ( Indians don’t debate, we fight- for proof, kindly switch on republic TV) on political issues, ill-informed policies, general miss guided physical and mental health, education and not to forget my all time favourite Modi ji.

I have always been an all rounder ( that’s what my relatives and I believe mutually for the first time), always been in top 5 of the batch till I changed my school in 9^th standard ( I was earlier in Xavier’s School and changed to Jesus And Mary- this was a dream school for my parents and thank god at least I completed one). After 9^th, my academic graph is not less than a roller coaster or perhaps just like India’s employment rate.  I remember changing school and this whole swapping affecting grades but it turns out I found myself in the process. I became outspoken and put my views without any hesitation of criticism. Once, there came an interschool event and we had to prepare a debate for it. I was one of the few students who actually prepared one. I, at that time, didn’t know being a new student and participating in interschool activity was a big deal until I got applauded for not only the effort but also the substance of the debate. I remember my class teacher telling my father ‘ I’m proud to have her in class’. Coming this from a teacher who is known for her strictness was a huge compliment for me. I felt like a warrior that day. Soon I realised life can teach you well in a day because when I went for the final round the teacher had already selected her favourite student and didn’t even let me audition. I literally walked away from there feeling how congress must have felt like in 2014 but I don’t know what I had eaten that day I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I walked back and asked her to at least listen to me and even then if she still feels I’m not worth it then have to accept it. I guess I didn’t make a comeback like congress and was selected by the majority (she made her favourite student and me present in front of a class. Teacher chose the other student and the class chose me). That day I realised two things :- 1. Never give up 2. Majority wins

To conclude, I want to make a change. Not a change our politicians promise but actual change that I want to see in society. I want my views to be neutral and unbiased. I wish to change how people think about politics and elections. I want to inspire youth. It’s cliché but I really do want to make my parents proud.

The growing number of young people worldwide seems to be one of the sources of future economic growth in India. However, the number of Indian youth in labor has been declining. The paper says the problem of youth unemployment and unemployment will remain a major policy issue for many years to come in India. In this context, it highlights the issues and problems of the youth by looking at trends in the youth labor market and people outside the workforce.

The report notes that unemployment among Indian youths is three times higher than among adults in general. In addition, youth income levels are lower than those of adults. With regard to education, the authors note that 89% of young people have not yet undergone any kind of skills training, and among the rest almost half of them have received an education in heritage practices. As a result, this reflects the neglected level of formal vocational training among young people.

The Global Employment Trend for Youth 2020 noted that there has been a steady decline in youth participation in the global workforce. The number of young people increased from 1 million to 1.3 million in the period between 1999 and 2019, but the number of young people involved in labor (whether employed or unemployed) saw a decline from 568 million to 497 million over the same period. The most disturbing pattern for young people worldwide, one in five young people (20%) of young people, and 30% of women and 13% of men – those between the ages of 15 and 24 (the global definition of youth) – is currently classified as NEET. In total, 267 million of the 1.3 billion people worldwide do not have access to the labor market, or earn money from work, or improve their education and skills – suggesting that their work remains unused.

India, at present, is home to the world’s largest population. ‘Indian National Youth Policy’ (2014) defines youth in the country as people aged 15-29 years. According to Census data (2011), young people make up 28% of the country’s population and contribute more than 34% of the national income. Recent estimates show that about 27% of the 1.3 billion people by 2020 are young.

A positive development has been the enrollment of young people in higher education and higher education, which has resulted in better skilled workers and an increase in decent work in many countries. However, the Periodic Labor Force Survey for the period 2017-18, reported a dramatic increase in unemployment rates in the youth population. Of particular concern is the increase in unemployment among educated youth (15-29 years), which has almost tripled from 6.1% in 2011-12 to 17.8% in 2017-18. In particular, technical graduates are known to go the extra mile with an unemployment rate of 37.3%, followed closely by graduates and above (36.2%), graduates (35.2%), and young people with skills (33%). For young women, the unemployment rate is worse in terms of employee participation as well as unemployment. Women are out of work in large numbers, but among those who remain, unemployment rates are higher than among men. This is true even of women who are educated or trained, and the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 epidemic.