Generation after Generation Faces India’s Persistent Employment Drought as Children of 1990s Graduates Enter a Bleak Labour Market

In the early years following the 1991 economic liberalisation, a cohort of Indian university graduates entered a labour market characterised by nascent private‑sector expansion, yet still constrained by public‑sector inertia and limited professional opportunities.

These individuals, now approaching middle age, have recently observed with sober reflection that the offspring of their generation confront a job market that, despite superficial digital transformation, remains plagued by chronic underemployment, skill mismatches, and an alarming prevalence of insecure contractual arrangements.

Official statistics released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the fiscal year 2025‑26 indicate that the unemployment rate for Indians aged fifteen to twenty‑four hovered near fourteen percent, while the share of graduates engaged in full‑time permanent positions fell to an unsettling thirty‑seven percent, a figure well below the targets set by the National Skill Development Corporation.

Economists at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, caution that the persisting gap between the number of diplomas awarded annually—exceeding twenty‑five million—and the relatively modest creation of quality jobs within the formal sector underscores a structural deficiency that cannot be remedied merely by increasing enrolment in higher education institutions.

Policy analysts further observe that the regulatory edifice governing temporary and gig‑based employment, though ostensibly modernised through the Code on Social Security 2023, continues to permit large aggregators to evade contributions to provident funds and employee state insurance, thereby depriving a burgeoning segment of the workforce of basic social safeguards.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India, in its latest monetary policy statement, warned that persistent wage stagnation amidst rising inflation could erode household consumption, a prospect that, if realised, would further diminish the limited demand for newly created jobs and exacerbate the cyclical nature of the current labour malaise.

Given that the Code on Social Security 2023 ostensibly expands coverage yet retains loopholes permitting platform‑based employers to classify workers as independent contractors, does the present legislative architecture adequately safeguard the rights of precarious workers, or does it merely perpetuate a veneer of protection while enabling systematic evasion of contributory obligations?

Furthermore, considering the Ministry of Labour’s repeated assurances that a comprehensive digital registry of contractual employment will be operational by the close of fiscal year 2026‑27, can the existing inter‑agency coordination mechanisms realistically deliver such a system without compromising data accuracy and privacy, thereby ensuring that policymakers are equipped with reliable evidence to intervene?

In addition, with the National Skill Development Corporation reporting that over two million trainees annually remain unplaced despite certification, does the current funding formula for skill‑training initiatives inadvertently incentivise quantity over quality, thereby inflating credential inflation while leaving the labour market deficient in truly employable competencies?

If corporations that receive substantial subsidies under the Production‑Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme are allowed to report inflated employment figures without independent verification, does this not undermine the very premise of public‑funded stimulus, inviting a potential misallocation of resources that could be more judiciously directed towards sectors demonstrably generating stable, well‑paid jobs?

Moreover, when consumer complaints lodged with the Department of Consumer Affairs regarding misleading salary‑related advertisements continue to be dismissed on procedural technicalities, does this not reflect a systemic failure to enforce truthfulness in corporate communications, thereby eroding public trust in both market actors and regulatory guardianship?

Finally, considering that the national fiscal deficit has widened to 7.2 percent of GDP partly due to increased unemployment benefits and underutilised wage subsidies, should Parliament not rigorously scrutinise the accountability mechanisms embedded within existing economic relief legislations, lest the ordinary citizen be compelled to shoulder the hidden costs of policy ineffectiveness through higher taxation or reduced public services?

Published: May 20, 2026

Published: May 20, 2026