Explained: Young India’s aspirations, worries

What is the news?

Lokniti-CSDS has released a survey titled ‘Indian Youth: Aspirations and Vision for the Future’.

About the Survey

The survey interviewed youth aged 15-34 across 18 states in July-August 2021 to get an insight on their career aspirations, job preferences and expectations, their opinions on institutions of kinship and their mental health.

What are the key findings of the survey?

Occupational Status: a) Two fifths (39%) of the youth identify themselves as students, b) More young men (39%) compared to young women (11%) were working, c) Higher proportion of young women (42%) were studying than young men (36%) and d) Close to half of the youth in the 18-24 group were studying and only one in five were earning.

Employment: More than half (55%) said they would prefer a government job. A quarter (24%) said they would prefer to start their own business. When compared to the last survey, the preference for Government jobs (65%) has reduced and preference to start their own business has increased.

Moreover, the responses also showed a rise from 3% to 17% among those wanting to join the health sector. A possible reason for this could be the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marriage: 1) Many youths are now marrying at a later age than before, 2) There is a greater acceptance for the idea of inter-caste marriage with 61% supporting it, 3) The support for inter-faith marriage is still not widely accepted with only 45% of the youth favouring it.

Mental Health: Family’s financial security worries youth the most, followed by their own health.

About six in ten (56%) youth worried about their jobs and more than half (54%) about their physical appearance.

The majority of the youth said that they have never experienced suicidal thoughts, but close to two in ten (21%) did have such thoughts.

On a hypothetical question on whom they would approach if struggling with depression, 65% said a family member. This highlights the importance of family in Indian context. Only 3% said they would approach a mental health professional. The reason for this could possibly be social stigma. Around 9% said they would not approach anyone.

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Explained: Young India’s aspirations, worries’ published in Indian Express on 24^th Dec 2021.