NITI Aayog Reveals Eighty-Seven Million Young Indians Are Neither Studying Nor Working or Receiving Any Skill Training

A report by the government think-tank NITI Aayog has revealed a concerning reality about the country's workforce, highlighting that approximately 87 million young Indians aged 15 to 29 are currently classified as NEET, which stands for Not in Education, Employment, or Training. This striking number represents nearly a quarter of India's total youth population, meaning millions of young individuals in their prime productive years remain disconnected from colleges, vocational institutions, and the formal job market.
A deeper analysis of the numbers points to a massive gender imbalance within this group. A overwhelming majority of the youth sitting outside education and employment are young women who are primarily engaged in unpaid household responsibilities and caregiving, often due to societal expectations, marriage at a young age, or a lack of safe, flexible employment opportunities in their localities. At the same time, millions of young men face structural challenges such as a persistent mismatch between traditional academic degrees and modern industry requirements, along with a shortage of formal entry-level jobs in semi-urban and rural areas.
The findings raise serious questions about India's ability to fully utilize its demographic dividend, as the country currently holds the largest young population in the world. Economists and policy experts warn that having such a large pool of idle youth poses long-term risks to economic growth, family incomes, and social stability. To address this crisis, NITI Aayog has emphasized the urgent need to expand affordable vocational training, scale up on-the-job apprenticeships, encourage higher female workforce participation, and reform educational curricula so that young graduates enter the market with practical, employable skills.