The cheer around India’s demographic dividend has grown even louder, but the ground reality tells a more sobering tale. Entry-level job cuts at IT majors, tepid campus placements even at top institutions, and a growing reliance on higher studies as a delaying tactic—these are not isolated developments. They reflect a systemic issue: the Indian economy is failing to absorb its youth meaningfully.Agriculture continues to absorb more than half the workforce while contributing a fifth of the GDP. Globally, the picture is equally grim. Microsoft’s mass layoffs and the rise of artificial intelligence further erode the security of conventional white-collar jobs. Immigration, once a fallback, is increasingly stymied by rising nationalism worldwide. From my vantage point as a business school faculty member, I sense growing unease. Students are not just uncertain, they are fearful.
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