The youth are likely to turn India fortune

When we talk about the growing Indian middle class and the next generation of young India the common notion every one has would be of 'urban India' but that's not the only case. A classic article on Rediff.com throwing focus on 'rural India' and on remarkable initiatives by Civil society institutions to tap the volatile resource pool.

" Seva Mandir is one of the oldest organisations in the country, working in the field of rural development and empowerment of the tribal community; it has been operating in Rajasthan for the last 38 years. Its work is spread over 626 villages and 70,000 households with various interventions -- the latest being a decision to run Youth Resource Centres.


There are 315 million young people aged between 10-24 years in India today, representing 30 percent of the country's population. They are healthier, more urbanised, and better educated than earlier generations, with nearly 70 pecent of them being literate today -- and a large chunk of them are from rural areas. The number of rural literate youth is growing at the rate of 2.11 percent. Here is a transitional generation that is fast growing out of the traditional rural set-up.


India is sitting on a perceived gold mine of young people, considered an enviable asset by the fast-ageing population of the West. "Their hopes and aspirations are likely to turn around the fortunes of India. However, if they are not adequately groomed to take the responsibility that rests on their fragile shoulders, the country will have a different story to tell in a couple of decades," warns Siladitya Ray, behavioural therapist and consultant psychiatrist.

What becomes increasingly clear is that India's growth trajectory may be directly linked to this large pool of young people, who can turn around existing pockets of poverty into prosperity. On the flip side, the vibrancy of the youth as an asset will take no time to turn into a liability, if their unharnessed energy is not monitored and carefully channelised. "Their cumulative unproductive behaviour can become a juggernaut of immense destruction, pulverising all developmental effort and consequently affecting economic growth," reminds Ray.

An immense opportunity does not come without its challenges. This moment is to be used wisely and efficiently, a fact understood by researchers, academicians and civil society institutions that are proactively planning and trying to create a broad framework, which will enable adolescents to become responsible future citizens."
 Jayalakshmi Sengupta, Trans World Features