India is a country with a rapidly increasing population. According to the 2021 World Population Review, India is home to 1.37 billion people and is projected to become the world’s most populous country in the next decade. In fact, India is expected to surpass China’s population this year itself. The growth is driven by India’s large, dynamic and young population, with 65% of Indians being under 35 years old.
While China faces challenges including a shrinking workforce with an aging population, 600 million people are aged between 18-35 in India at present. This means that India has the largest number of millennials and GenZ on the planet.
The core question: Is this an opportunity or a demographic disaster?

One of the biggest challenges facing young Indians is employment. The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that the unemployment rate in India increased from 4.9% in 2018 to 7.5% in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the situation.
A majority of the unemployed are young graduates, who scrap to find decent employment and are often forced to take low-wage jobs. Such circumstances lead to social unrest, poverty and a widening rich-poor inequality gap. Good news is the Centre has taken notice and action.
PM Modi has taken several steps to boost job creation and economic growth. One such step was the establishment of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, which provides funding and skill development opportunities to individuals and enterprises.
A flagship programs launched by the government to support small businesses and entrepreneurs is the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY). PMMY provides loans to small and micro-enterprises and businesses, helping them to start, expand or upgrade their businesses. Similarly, Stand Up India was launched to provide financial assistance and support to women and SC/ST entrepreneurs.
Such measures not only encourage entrepreneurship and small businesses in India but also attract foreign investment into the country. Additionally, the expansion of infrastructure and increased investment in the country has further facilitated the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurship.
Education is another major challenge in India. According to a report by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), only 59.5% of young Indians are literate, with disparities in the quality of education still existing in urban versus rural areas and within socioeconomic categories. This lack of skilled workers hinders the nation’s economic development.
This is getting addressed as well. There are more higher education institutions in India than ever before, with 150 new universities and over 1,570 colleges built from 2015 to 2018 and 7 more IITs and 7 more IIMs approved under the NDA government after 2014.
The Indian Government is also working on expanding existing schools, colleges and universities, improving teacher training and building more holistic curricula under the National Education Policy (NEP), which was revised in 2020 after almost three decades. NEP’s key objectives include:

But coming back to the core question: Is India’s young population a boon or doom?
India’s youthful demographic presents a complex scenario with both positive and negative implications. On the one hand, a large youth population can bring significant economic benefits, as they represent a significant portion of the workforce and potential consumers. Furthermore, a youthful population can also drive innovation and creativity, contributing to the growth and development of a country.
Simultaneously, there are concerns about ensuring sufficient employment opportunities for such a large population and providing adequate education and training to equip them with the skills necessary for a rapidly changing global economy. Additionally, if the youth are not adequately integrated into society and do not have access to opportunities for personal and professional development, they can become a source of social and political unrest.
The answer: It is up to the government, educational institutions, and society as a whole to address the challenges and harness the potential of this demographic to establish India as a global power. This will require focused and sustained efforts to create opportunities for education, employment, and personal development, and to address the issues of poverty, inequality, and social exclusion.

NEW DELHI: “Abb senior World Cup title jeetna hai, Richa” (Richa, it’s time to win the senior World Cup title now) – a smiling Shafali Verma said while putting her hand around Richa Ghosh‘s shoulders.
The duo, who were part of India’s victorious u-19 World Cup team were in Ahmedabad, for a few hours on Wednesday, to attend their felicitation ceremony. They are now on their way back to South Africa, the venue for the senior women’s T20 World Cup, which starts on February 10.
India are scheduled to play Pakistan on February 12.
India’s victorious women’s U19 team, led by Shafali were felicitated by batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and the BCCI at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The India Under-19 team defeated England by 7 wickets in the title clash to win the inaugural edition of the tournament.

“Shafali led from the front. She injected confidence into the team. She always said ‘chinta mat karo, hum jeetenge‘ (Don’t worry, we will win). She said this before every match. Her words encouraged us to do well,” Wicket-keeper batter Richa told TimesofIndia.com from South Africa before boarding the flight to Ahmedabad.

Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh (Image credit: Richa Ghosh’s Twitter handle)
“We have won the World Cup title. I have no words because the feeling of being a World Cup winner is yet to sink in. It is our first ad I am sure the future India teams will carry on the winning run,” an excited Richa said.
Such was India’s domination that they lost just one match in the entire u-19 World Cup. After beating South Africa in the opening game by 7 wickets, thanks to an unbeaten 92 off 57 balls by leading run-getter of the tournament Shweta Sehrawat, India pummelled the UAE by 122 runs and then crushed Scotland by 83 runs.

India, who lost just one match – to Australia by 7 wickets – went on to register a comprehensive win over Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to book a semifinal date with New Zealand. The semifinal was almost a cakewalk for the Indian youngsters as they showed the White Ferns the exit door by beating them by 8 wickets.
The final was a completely one-sided affair for Shafali and Co. They registered an easy 7-wicket win over England, after dismissing the English for a paltry 68, to lift the trophy at the Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.

Image credit: IANS
“This World Cup win will encourage and motivate us to win the senior World Cup. Yes, the Under-19 WC is done, it’s now time for the senior World Cup. I am confident, just like Shafali, that Harmanpreet didi will take India to a title win,” Richa further told TimesofIndia.com.
HARMANPREET’S WORDS – ‘GO AND FETCH IT’
Ahead of the World Cup final, Shafali and her team interacted with India’s senior captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Image credit: BCCI Women
“Harmanpreet didi said ‘go and fetch it, girls’. She gave some tips ahead of the final. She is an experienced player and she knows what it means to play a final. I am now focussing on the next assignment – the senior World Cup (Women’s T20 World Cup),” Richa further said.
“We had a plan for the final (vs England). We just wanted to put a lot of pressure on England and restrict them to a low score. Our plan worked well,” Richa further said.

WASHINGTON: Several influential Republican lawmakers have urged secretary of state Antony Blinken to hold China accountable for its egregious human rights abuses, unfair trade practices and aggression towards the US and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, including its unacceptable and provocative behaviour against India and Taiwan.
The lawmakers wrote a letter to Blinken and treasury secretary Janet Yellen, ahead of their upcoming trips to Beijing.
Blinken heads to China on Sunday. Yellen is expected to travel there later in February.
“The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has stepped up its aggression in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” the Republican Senators led by Marco Rubio from Florida wrote in the letter on Wednesday.
They urged them to avoid giving the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a propaganda win and hold the CCP accountable for its egregious human rights abuses, unfair trade practices, leading role in the fentanyl crisis, and aggression towards allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Signatories to the letter in addition to Rubio are Senators Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy, Eric Schmitt, Dan Sullivan, Kevin Cramer, Ted Budd, Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn, Lindsey Graham, Shelley Moore Capito, Pete Ricketts, John Hoeven and Bill Hagerty.
According to the Biden administration’s National Security Strategy, China is “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated in his 20th Party Congress report that the CCP has “shown a fighting spirit and a firm determination to never yield to coercive power.”
“As we have seen recently, General Secretary Xi has engaged in unacceptable and provocative behaviour in the Taiwan Strait and along the Himalayan border with India,” the letter said.
“Beyond the Indo-Pacific, the CCP has…intelligence collection outposts in the United States, Japan, and throughout Europe to suppress dissidents and keep tabs on those who Beijing deems a threat. It is evident that General Secretary Xi is determined to use coercion and aggression against the US and our allies and partners to achieve his geopolitical goals. Deterring the CCP from achieving these goals, therefore, must be our top priority,” the Senators wrote.
India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.
China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.
According to the Senators, the CCP is the worst offender of human rights.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have determined that Beijing’s actions against Uyghurs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) – including its system of mass surveillance and internment, denial of individuals’ rights to peacefully practice their religion, and use of forced labour, sexual violence, forced abortion, and forced sterilisation of women – constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.
Moreover, the CCP continues to deny basic human rights to other groups whom the regime deems a threat, such as Tibetans, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners. The CCP is also responsible for fuelling the fentanyl crisis in the US, a scourge which has, and continues, to kill Americans.
“Finally, the CCP continues the horrible practice of wrongfully detaining US citizens and the family members of US citizens, including David Lin, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, Gulshan Abbas, Ekpar Asat, and Zhou Deyong. You must make clear that the United States will not cooperate with a regime that uses hostages as bargaining chips,” the letter said.
Beijing, they said, also has a long history of unfair trade practices and industrial espionage, which has caused immense harm to American workers and our economy.
“Over the last several decades, China has engaged in a methodical campaign to steal American intellectual property and research, often redirecting the acquired technologies to military ends. It has repeatedly abused its privileges in the world trading system to exploit our nation’s open economy and establish itself a leader in critical industries, including pharmaceuticals, rare-earth minerals, and commodities such as steel,” the Senators wrote.
“We are pleased that the US Trade Representative has continued to impose Section 301 tariffs on certain products made in China in response to its “unreasonable” and “discriminatory” non-market practices, and this tool should continue to be used to counter unfair trade policies of China. Meanwhile, much more needs to be done to rebalance our economic relationship with Beijing,” wrote the Senators.

NEW DELHI: India’s Adani group shares plunged on Thursday after the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate shelved a $2.5 billion share sale amid a turbulent market, bringing its cumulative market capitalisation losses to $100 billion since last week’s short-seller attack.
The withdrawal of Adani Enterprises’ share sale marks a dramatic setback for Adani, the school dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years in line with the stock values of his businesses.

Adani on Wednesday called off the share sale as a stocks rout sparked by US short-seller Hindenburg’s criticisms deepened, despite the offer being fully subscribed on Tuesday. In the fallout of the short-seller’s attack, Adani has also lost his title as Asia’s richest man.
The group’s flagship firm – Adani Enterprises – plunged 10% after opening higher on Thursday. Other group companies – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission – fell 10% each, while Adani Power and Adani Wilmar dropped 5% each.
The stocks tumble and shelving of the share sale mark an embarrassing turn of events for the billionaire who has forged partnerships with foreign players in his global expansion of businesses that stretch from ports to mining to cement.
Adani is now the world’s 16th richest, as per Forbes’ list, down from third rank last week.
India’s central bank has asked local banks for details of their exposure to the Adani group of companies, government and banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. CLSA estimates that Indian banks were exposed to about 40% of the 2 trillion rupees ($24.53 billion) of Adani group’s debt in the fiscal year to March 2022.
Earlier this week, the Adani group said it had the complete support of investors, but investor confidence has tapered in recent days.
Citigroup’s wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of Adani group, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Citi declined to comment.
Hindenburg’s report last week alleged an improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the Adani group. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.
The Adani group has denied the accusations, saying the short-seller’s allegation of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. The group has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures, it added.
As shares plunged after the Hindenburg report, Adani managed to secure the share sale subscriptions on Tuesday even though the stock’s market price was below the issue’s offer price. But on Wednesday, stocks plunged again.
In a late night announcement on Wednesday, Adani said he was withdrawing the share sale as the company’s “stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the company’s board felt that going ahead with the issue will not be morally correct.”