India’s job creation strategy
Why Job Creation Alone Isn’t Enough
For more than 20 years, the term “demographic dividend” has been used to describe India’s biggest competitive advantage in the global market. It basically means that the country has been in a good spot where about half of its people are under 25 years old and 65% are under 35, causing a “youth bulge.”
People have long talked about how India could use this to its advantage by making sure that its working-age population gets the education, skills, and important jobs they need to make a big difference in India’s economic growth. Many of the world’s biggest economies, like China, Europe, and Japan, have aging and shrinking workforces. This gives India a huge chance to grow. But if the “demographic dividend” isn’t used, it could turn into a “demographic disaster” that causes India to have high unemployment and more social conflict.
Build Skills, but Also Fuel Dreams
There will not be enough jobs in India, no matter how many are made by the central and state governments, PSUs, and the private sector. To reach the goals of Viksit Bharat, there needs to be both mass work and mass entrepreneurship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has talked a lot about this, and the government’s plans are clear from the draft national skill policy 2025 that was just made public.
The Real Picture: India’s Massive Employment Challenge
The draft policy says that 20 million unemployed people, 110 million students, and 220 million people who are “not in employment, education, or training” are either actively looking or about to seek employment. This shows how big a problem our job market really is. Its main goal is to give job-seeking teens and young adults, especially those from poor areas, the skills they need to get jobs. It says, correctly, that India’s demographic change is exciting, but not a given. It needs to be used by putting in place timely policies and strategies that are in line with the needs of the business and the workforce.
Creating a Culture of Risk-Taking and Innovation
There are some important policy proposals for business, but some things need to be made clearer. The study agrees that the conditions for starting a business or working for yourself need to be improved. To get young people to be more willing to take risks, regulations need to be loosened up, and access to cash needs to be made easier.
Entrepreneurship in Schools: Start Early, Think Big
The policy says that early entrepreneurship-related skills training in middle and high schools, as well as awareness campaigns, will help people who want to be entrepreneurs find mentors and tools to help them deal with problems and look for opportunities. It says that owners whose businesses failed will be given help to help them start up businesses that will last. Its goal is to teach people who want to start their own businesses important skills like how to plan a business, handle money, and follow the rules.
The steps that have been suggested are good, but they might not be enough.
From Start-up India to Business for the Whole Country
There should be a National Entrepreneurship Mission to begin with. This would allow local governments, the private sector, schools, non-profits, and the start-up ecosystem to work together to find answers and make policy suggestions. Through nodal entities, this goal needs to be present in every district, especially the aspirational ones.
As an example, the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship and NITI Aayog just signed a strategic partnership to help build thriving business communities. The partnership will begin with pilot projects in Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, and some Uttar Pradesh districts. The partnership wants to give local entrepreneurs more power by bringing together the ecosystem’s different players, such as the government, businesses, educational and banking institutions, and community groups, to create a movement that boosts economic growth and creates jobs.
Access to Finance, Digital Tools, and Mentors Must Be Localized
At the local level, people at the bottom of the pyramid need support systems and ways to get money to start their own businesses. This could mean getting access to schemes like Mudra loans, getting them added to ONDC or other e-commerce marketplaces, or getting them to use UPI or other digital rails.
Any policy about starting a business should focus on young people from the bottom of the scale and other disadvantaged groups. Many people, especially women, people with disabilities, and people from lower-income groups, may be ready to try new things, so they should have a wide range of skills. A micro-entrepreneur shouldn’t be expected to know things like pricing, market behavior, access to cash, accounting, and business management. They should be taught these things. The policy should encourage people in rural areas to start their own businesses by setting up a way to find opportunities, spot talent, and set up localized literacy and knowledge groups. A “remote buddy/mentor system” should also be set up just for businesses in rural areas.
The next wave of entrepreneurs and job creators needs to come from smaller towns, villages, and remote areas. It’s time to change the name from “Start-up India” to “Entrepreneurship for Bharat.” That’s what governments, venture capital funds, and businesses need to pay attention to. The policy needs to spell out how people in rural areas can get access to cash, mentorship, and digital infrastructure, even if they have great ideas but don’t know how to make them work. This will also help keep people from moving to places that are already overcrowded and make local economies stronger.
Society’s way of thought also needs to change. Most parents want their kids to do well on tests so they can get into good schools and get well-paying jobs. We need to make it normal to keep learning new skills and changing careers, and we need strong systems to help adults with their education, job changes, and career reinvention.
From Job Seekers to Job Creators: The Mindset Shift Needed
Enterprise and entrepreneurship are not strange ideas. From the time of the ancient land and sea trade lines to now, when we are a global hub for start-ups and new ideas, we have been doing this for hundreds of years. It’s time for India to make being an entrepreneur a normal part of life. This way, people can start their own businesses in every city, district, and town, creating jobs and wealth.
This editorial is based on the article “Transforming a Nation of Job Seekers,” originally published in The Financial Express on July 26, 2025.