1.Harnessing the Demographic Dividend: The Skill and Job Imperative
- GS Paper I: Indian Society (Population and associated issues); GS Paper III: Indian Economy (Employment, Growth, Skill Development).
- Context: Analyzing the risk of India’s demographic dividend turning into a demographic disaster due to systemic failures in education, skill development, and employment generation.
Key Point-Wise Analysis:
- The Opportunity: India has the world’s largest young population, with a median age of ∼28 and a working-age population expected to grow until 2055. This offers a unique window to fuel high growth and counter the ageing populations of developed nations.
- The Core Failure: The Employability Crisis:
- A massive mismatch exists between academic training and industry demand. Estimates suggest that 40%−50% of engineering graduates may remain unemployed or underemployed.
- The education system is slow to integrate new skills, like AI, Robotics, and Green Technology, vital for future jobs, leaving a vast number of youth with obsolete degrees.
- Skill Gaps: Only a small percentage of India’s workforce has formal vocational training, compared to much higher percentages in developed economies.
- The Job Creation Challenge (Manufacturing vs. Services):
- The IT and Services sector, while a high-value employer, cannot absorb the large number of low- and semi-skilled entrants from rural areas.
- India missed the key Industrialization wave (unlike China), leading to ‘premature deindustrialisation’. Job creation is concentrated in the informal, low-productivity sector.
- Solution (The Manufacturing Bridge): Must accelerate the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to incentivise labour-intensive sectors (textiles, electronics assembly) that can absorb millions moving out of agriculture, transitioning them into the formal economy.
- Way Forward (The 4 ‘E’s):
- Education Reform: Accelerated implementation of NEP 2020 with greater focus on vocational training and career awareness from the school level.
- Employability: Creating a National Framework to align curricula instantly with industry needs (e.g., sector skill councils).
- Employment: Policy push for manufacturing and infrastructure to create high-volume jobs.
- Empowerment: Increasing female workforce participation by addressing safety and infrastructure barriers.
2. India’s Evolving Role in the West Asian Conflict: The ‘De-hyphenation’ Policy
- GS Paper II: International Relations (India’s foreign policy, effect of policies of countries on India’s interests).
- Context: Analysis of India’s complex diplomatic tightrope walk in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, balancing historical solidarity with new strategic and economic imperatives.
Key Point-Wise Analysis:
- Historical Continuity (Support for Palestine):
- India’s policy has been rooted in its anti-colonial legacy and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) principles. India was the first non-Arab nation to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1974.
- India consistently supports the ‘Two-State Solution,’ advocating for a sovereign, independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. India’s consistent voting record at the UN (against Israeli settlements) confirms this political continuity.
- India remains a significant contributor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people through the UNRWA.
- Strategic Change (Ties with Israel):
- The adoption of the ‘De-hyphenation Policy’ post-1992 (full diplomatic relations) allows India to treat its relationships with Israel and Palestine as separate, strategic engagements.
- Strategic Pivot: The relationship with Israel is now a pillar of India’s foreign policy, primarily driven by Defence & Security Cooperation (Israel is a major supplier of arms, surveillance, and counter-terrorism technology) and cooperation in high-end Agriculture, Water Management, and Technology.
- Foreign Policy Challenge (The Balancing Act):
- The conflict creates a diplomatic dilemma for India, forcing it to manage contradictory loyalties. Its balanced position is designed to protect its broader interests in the region.
- Energy Security: The Middle East is vital for India’s energy imports and the safety of the 8.5 million-strong Indian diaspora (remittances). India must maintain strong ties with Arab nations (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran) and its strategic partner, Israel.
- Economic Corridors: Escalation threatens major economic initiatives like the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to diversify trade routes away from sea lanes.
- The Way Forward: India’s role must be that of a responsible Global South leader—using its influence to push for de-escalation, sustained humanitarian aid, and a renewed focus on a comprehensive peace process that leads to the Two-State Solution, thus ensuring regional stability vital for its own economic and security interests.
