Student protests have ebbed now that India’s education minister has been replaced, an expert panel headed by a key architect of Aadhaar has been set up to leak-proof exams, and a bill has been put forth to fast-track the prosecution of those guilty of leaks and deter such episodes with steep penalties.
Student protests have ebbed now that India’s education minister has been replaced, an expert panel headed by a key architect of Aadhaar has been set up to leak-proof exams, and a bill has been put forth to fast-track the prosecution of those guilty of leaks and deter such episodes with steep penalties.
The use of advanced digital technology can now be expected to help secure the government-run system of examination.
The use of advanced digital technology can now be expected to help secure the government-run system of examination.
Yet, not only does the country’s education sector need broader reforms, as Mint pointed out in Our View on Tuesday, India must also address a significant feeder of youth frustration: job scarcity.
Consider what sparked the unrest witnessed in recent weeks: the central testing agency’s leaked National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical schools in India.
Only about 6% of students who take this exam are estimated to make the cut every year. Even on a fair-and-square basis, most aspirants to careers as doctors must look for other options. The IIT entrance exam is the other big lure, but it does not offer better odds of cracking it.
Yet, for millions looking for a ticket to a better life by virtue of studying hard, other pathways might seem out of reach.
This is the nub of the discontent aired. What is abundantly clear is that faster economic growth alone will not translate to greater job creation. Over the past two decades, more and more Indian youth have gained formal qualifications in pursuit of job security that can assure them middle-class standards of living.
Sadly, gainful employment remains hard to come by. According to International Labour Organization data for 2025, only 26% of those between the ages of 15 and 24 were employed, as against 53% of the country’s overall population.
India’s urgent need to tackle ‘jobless growth,’ a term coined in the 1990s by economist Nick Perna for a scenario of GDP expansion without commensurate job creation or with increasing joblessness, is a lesson that must not get lost in the country’s high-profile focus on exam redressal.
However, job-supply inadequacies will not be easy to address in a scenario where technological change (especially AI), geo-economic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the global transition to clean energy may soon render many of today’s jobs redundant, as noted by the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025.
An emphasis on vocational skills must accompany renewed efforts to give Indian gig workers social security and incentivize formal job generation. A 2025 National Skill Gap Study suggests that a 12-percentage-point increase in India’s skilled workforce through investment in formal skilling could lead to more than a 13% increase in employment across labour-intensive sectors by 2030.
It may help to revitalize the government’s apprenticeship and internship schemes. But state-led efforts do not always work out as hoped, as seen in the dismal uptake so far of the Centre’s latest subsidy for interns at private businesses.
Perhaps India could take a leaf out of China’s book to emulate the Chinese State Council’s ‘employment first’ strategy, which proposes wide intervention to create jobs and help workers adapt to the impact of AI.
Ultimately, though, market demand for new hires must rise to satisfy a wide range of ambitions—for which capital and labour must not fall any further out of sync. Today’s policymakers face a particularly tough test.