Imagine an India where young innovators from small towns build companies with global clientele, where village girls stand on national and international sports platforms, and where students from tier II and III cities pitch their ideas on platforms that directly connect them with policy makers, industry leaders and investors. This is no longer a distant ambition. It is the living reality of a young nation on the move.
With nearly 65% of its population under the age of 35, India has an unparalleled demographic advantage among major economies. Over the past decade, India has steadily expanded opportunities for youth in the areas of education, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship, sports, health, and civic engagement. This is India’s Amrit Pidhi, the generation that will lead the journey towards fixit Bharat by 2047.
Education was pivotal in this transformation. The National Education Policy 2020 places a strong emphasis on experiential learning, skill integration and interdisciplinary flexibility. Enrollment in higher education has increased by more than 30%, reflecting expanding access and rising ambition. Equally important was the regime’s increasing totalitarianism. Boarding education initiatives, scholarship schemes, and institutional support have continued to reduce financial barriers and expand doors of opportunity. Technology has further democratized access to learning. Digital platforms like SWAYAM, DIKSHA and PM e-VIDYA provide quality educational content to millions of students. This has ensured that geography is no longer a barrier as it once was.
Read also | India’s Youth Nation’s Greatest Power: Union Minister
However, education alone is not enough. The ability to continuously acquire and develop skills has become equally important. Through Skill India Mission, more than six crore youth have been trained in various sectors. With the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the focus has shifted towards industry-aligned and future-ready skills. Jan Shikshan Sansthans have been geared towards local demand-based skills, while apprenticeship-based learning has expanded under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Programme, where the government supports partial payment of salaries. Industrial training institutes are also being modernized to keep pace with emerging technologies and industry needs.
This convergence of education, skills and technology is especially important at a time when new sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and sustainability technology are reshaping the global economy. The challenge for India is to prepare its youth to lead the industries that will define the future.
Indian youth are increasingly becoming opportunity creators rather than just job seekers. Perhaps the most surprising shift in recent years has been the rise of entrepreneurship among Indian youth. From around 350 startups before 2014, India now has over 2.3 lakh recognized startups, making it the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. It also has over 120 unicorns, reflecting the increasing depth and maturity of India’s innovation ecosystem.
Read also | India trusts its youth to lead the country to greater heights: J&K LG
Initiatives like Startup India have helped remove regulatory barriers, simplify compliance, support incubation, and enable faster formalization of new companies. Today’s youth are more prepared to bring ideas to market, build institutions, and solve local problems with scalable solutions.
Access to finance has also been greatly enhanced. Through Mudra Yojana, collateral-free credit was made widely available, enabling first-generation entrepreneurs to take their first step into the business world. Under this scheme, the value of loans is more than Rs 57 crore $Rs 40,000 crore has been sanctioned, to empower micro-entrepreneurs and self-employed youth across the country.
Initiatives such as Stand Up India have further expanded this support, especially to women entrepreneurs and marginalized communities, ensuring that ventures are not restricted by social or economic background.
India’s digital public infrastructure, ranging from Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to Aadhaar-enabled services, has reduced transaction costs, improved market access, and allowed even small businesses to participate in the formal economy. Digital payments, e-governance platforms and technology-based service delivery have helped young people access finance, learning, markets and government services more easily. Combined with country-level incubation networks, innovation centers and start-up policies, this has created an environment where ideas can be tested, scaled and sustained.
As a result, entrepreneurship is increasingly emerging from tier II and III cities, reflecting a deep democratization of opportunities. For Indian youth, entrepreneurship has become not just a means of earning a living, but also a means of creativity, dignity and self-confidence.
Ambitions are equally evident in sports and in the pursuit of physical and mental well-being. Khelo India has strengthened its grassroots sports infrastructure, with over 1,000 Khelo India Centers now operational across the country, supporting thousands of young athletes. These efforts are reflected in India’s improved global sporting performance. Access to mental health support through Tele-MANAS has created an important channel for advice and assistance. Campaigns like Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan have reached millions of youth across districts and educational institutions, promoting awareness about drug abuse. A truly developed India depends on the physical, emotional and social well-being of its young citizens.
Read also | Youth, digital life and the weight of invisible pressure
In his Independence Day speech in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined a vision of bringing one hundred thousand young people from non-political backgrounds into the mainstream of politics. Vixit Bharat Youth Leaders Dialogue has emerged as one of the most distinctive and wide-ranging platforms for youth engagement and engagement in the country.
Meanwhile, MY Bharat has emerged as a powerful movement to inspire the spirit of service and nation building among the youth. Today, it has built a network of over 2.18 crore registered youth volunteers. It reflects a larger shift in which citizenship is understood not only as a set of rights, but also as a responsibility to serve, participate, and build.
The country’s future will not be written by the youth, but by their hands. History provides countries with only a few moments in which demographics, technology, and ambitions converge. India stands at such a moment today; The aspirations of its youth will not merely constitute the vixit of Bharat; They will determine it.
Mansukh Mandaviya is the Union Minister for Youth, Sports, Labor and Employment. The opinions expressed are personal.
