Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the youth of the country to contribute selflessly and constructively in politics. Addressing the valedictory function of the second National Youth Parliament Festival on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said that politics is a big medium to bring about meaningful change, and like every other field, the presence of youth is critical in politics as well. He assured the youth that today, honest people are getting the opportunity to serve, changing the old notion of politics as a site of unscrupulous activities. In this context, he dwelled at length on the politics of dynasty, and called upon the youth to root out dynastic system. Invoking the teachings of Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, Prime Minister Modi said the youth of the country has to come forward and take responsibility for the development of the nation.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MjQ5MzUx/National-Youth-Parliament-Festival-2021-Miscellaneous-GK-IAS

Status of Youth in India

• Definition: The 2014 National Youth Policy (NYP) defined youth as persons between 15 and 29 years. 
• Major Proportion in Total Population: This segment of the society accounted for 27.5% of the population as per NYP, 2014.
• Government Expenditure on Youth: According to the NYP report, the Central government spends about Rs 2,710 per youth on education, skill development, employment, healthcare and food subsidies.
• Investment as percentage of GDP: The total amount of Union government expenditure is pegged at more than Rs 90,000 crore. Assuming that States spend an equal amount, the total investment in our youth would be under 1% of the GDP.
• Opportunity Cost of investing in Youth: A World Bank report pegged the projected cost (read: loss) of not investing in children and youth at 4% of the GDP every year. Of this, the costs of unemployment account for 0.6%
• Labour Force Contribution: As of 2017-18, youth participation in India’s labour force was 38.3%. 
• High Unemployment: Drawing from the 2018 State of Working India Report, the youth unemployment rate is pegged to be at least 18.3% (3.47 crore youths). 
• Unutilized Potential: About 30% of youth fall under the ‘neither in employment nor in education’ category and 33% of India’s skilled youth are unemployed
• Needs Policy Attention in coming years: Around 50 lakh youth are expected to be entering the workforce annually.
• Less Time to prevent Demographic Disaster: India has just a decade’s time to seize the opportunity and realise this youth demographic dividend, else it will turn into demographic disaster with high unemployment rate & underutilized potential

Government should launch Indian Youth Guarantee (IYG) programme at the earliest

• It is similar to the European Union Youth Guarantee (EU-YG) but tuned to India’s context.
• EU-YG emerged in 2010 at a time when youth unemployment rates were soaring above 20%.

EU-Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all its Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years, within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education, receive a good quality offer of

• employment
• continued education
• apprenticeship
• traineeship

An IYG initiative, with statutory backing, can function as a facilitatory framework for ensuring gainful and productive engagement of youth. 
Youth Component Plan

• Such a plan earmarks a specific percentage of funds under a separate head on the lines of the Special Component Plan for the Scheduled Castes and the Tribal Sub-Plan

Objective of Youth Component Plan is to channelise flow of outlays and benefits proportional to the percentage of youth population based on sub-regional requirements.

• Existing youth schemes and skilling infrastructure need to be dovetailed and streamlined while leveraging industry to enable an in situ empowerment of youth.
• Rural youth employment can be instituted alongside MGNREGA as only about 4% of youth in the labour force have been impacted by MGNREGA

Introduction

• Youth is the most important and dynamic segment of the population in any country. It is believed that developing countries with large youth population could see tremendous growth, provided they invest in young people’s education, health and protect and guarantee their rights. We can undoubtedly say that today’s young are tomorrow’s innovators, creators, builders and leaders.
• But they need the required support in terms of good health and opportunities skills to transform the future. The economic trigger happens when a county’s more hands to work available than more mouths to feed. To put it succinctly, the working-age population has to be larger than the dependent population.

India’s Development is in the Hands of the Young People

• Almost 34 per cent of the Indian population consists of youth. They have the power to change the nation. The young mind will be more fresh and innovative which helps in the progress of the country. But adequate opportunities should be given to the youth to represent their ideas and policies for the upliftment of the nation. The only way to express the ideas and to implement their policies in politics. Young people should be motivated to take part in politics and to occupy the high positions such as Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Minister.
• Knowledge and unity speak a lot rather than experience. For instance, a mass protest by the youth in the Marina beach for Jallikattu is a prominent example of the strength of youth. If the ruling power is given in the hands of the youth, then denitely India will become a developed nation in 2020.

Youth can be an Antidote to Bad Governance and Corruption

• They have the power to change. Education programs should aim to teach and young minds right from the school level the importance of choosing the right people who would take charge of governance. Conventionally, youth have been asked to keep away from politics. 
• Youth should be motivated to consider politics as a means to serve the nation. They should be oriented on anticorruption drives with a focus on prevention, education, and strategies for ghting corruption. Good governance is realistic with youth empowerment.
• The pivotal role of a youth who are afresh with ideas and not ideals will help in this movement towards a transparent civil society structure which can inuence the political administration for the benet of the society. For Eg: Youth Arts and Sports Club once a prominent site in Kerala’s villages had a dual role to encourage youths participation in social and political activities through awareness and also empowering the people for rights and assisting them at various levels.
• Over the years, this has decreased owing to the relative unimportance and support given by the political and state machinery in promoting such youth initiatives, in spite of the fact that they were effective systems to encourage youth towards politics and disseminate information at the grassroots level. It is only through a strong system of representation that democracy work and it is only through a strong youth representation that the dynamism and vigour of a country be maintained.
• It is therefore important to acknowledge the role of civil societies in empowering youth towards strengthening of the democratic system of the country. The solution lies to eectively utilize modern tools in disseminating the belief among youth on their participation and representation in democracy through civil society initiatives.

Youths are Problem Solvers

• Our nations need them to resolve most of our problems. The nation is facing a lot of problems, and I believe that youths are capable of solving them. They just need to be given a chance to prove themselves. Youths have the power to unite individuals in the six ethnic groups. Racism is an ongoing issue around the world. Individuals are ghting against each other because of the complexion of their skin and the texture of their hair
• Religion is another issue, the youths can convince their fellow man to live in peace and love. All of us are one and we should not allow these little dierences to push us away from each other.
• Their also a lot of crime taking place. Women are being killed by their abusive husbands. Person’s homes, businesses, are being broken into. All of this crime and violence needs to stop. The youth once more has the ability to bring about a change in their country.
• Youths seem to have the ability to face any challenges and problems. They have a positive inuence on their fellow young people. They are able to teach them the positive things in life.
• The ones who are destroying their future, they tend to listen to their fellow youths. They will make them understand the importance of a good education.
• The wise youths that we have out there should be taken into consideration. Some of them, though educated are unemployed. They should be given an opportunity to expose their intelligence to the world and make themselves into someone. Some organisations and other rms should assist the youths; so they can make our land a great and educated one. They will make a huge dierence in society and the entire world. The youths are our life and nation. They will make our country proud. The country will be recognized. The youths just need support from their fellow citizens and they will perform their duties.

Road Ahead

• In conclusion, the role of the youth in the nation-building is crucial. They are problem solvers, have a positive inuence on other young people and the nation, and are extremely ambitious. They have the ability to create an identity for themselves and move the nation forward. However, they will not be able to do this without the support of their Government and fellow youths. So the youths can make their beautiful land ourish and shine in success.