India's hopes hinge on its demographic dividend
Forbes India The country faces many challenges in diverse sectors but reforms in education and skilling its workforce can script a new growth story India’s demographic dividend has already begun and over the next few decades will be powering the rise of its workforce. India’s workforce of 484 million people (in 2011) has the potential to increase to 850 million by 2025. This compares with the peak workforce of 830 million that China is expected to have in 2016. As China loses numbers in its workforce, potentially, 366 million people would have joined the Indian labour pool over a decade and a half. Women have hardly been a part of India’s workforce and therefore, their entry will power the demand for jobs and supply of labour. India needs to create 20-24 million jobs a year, or around 2 million jobs a month—double of what we are accustomed to hearing. India has failed to move people out of agriculture, with half the workforce (240 million people) still stuck in an activity that