Livelihood Opportunities: The

Figure 4.16: Youth’s opinion on various marriage practices 73 Figure 4.17: Support for inter-caste and inter-religion marriage greatest among 18-24-year-old youth 73 Figure 4.18: Support for inter-caste and inter-religious marriages by caste group 74 Figure 4.19: With higher educational attainment, the acceptance for inter-cultural marriages increases 75 Figure 4.20: Youth in urban areas displayed a higher support for inter-caste and inter-religion marriages 75 Figure 4.21: Awareness and support towards love-jihad law 76 Figure 4.22: Support for divorce over a troublesome marriage 76 Figure 4.23: The acceptance for divorce over troublesome marriage is higher among educated youth 77 Figure 4.24: Acceptance for divorce over troublesome marriage increases among both men and women with higher educational attainment 77 Figure 4.25: Support for divorce over troublesome marriage was higher among urban youth 78 Figure 4.26: Acceptance for divorce was higher among youth who preferred love marriage or married youth who had a love marriage 78 Figure 5.1: A little over one-third of Indian youth are graduate 83 Figure 5.2: Younger ones are still pursuing their studies, whereas half of the youth aged between 25-29 years have completed their graduation 84 Figure 5.3: More graduates are from Hindu upper castes, whereas only one-fourth of the Hindu Adivasi completed graduation 84 Figure 5.4: The economic status of the Indian youth describes their educational attainment 85 Figure 5.5: Both young men and women have similar levels of educational attainment 85 Figure 5.6: Level of urbanity impact the educational attainment of Indian youth 85 Figure 5.7: Arts and humanities followed by science is the most preferred field of study among Indian youth 86 Figure 5.8: The younger cohort (aged between 15-17 years) preferred science subjects 87 Figure 5.9: Preference for fields of study other than arts and humanities increases in urban localities 87 Figure 5.10: Youth belonging to upper economic classes are more likely to study professional subjects 88 Figure 5.11: Forward Hindu castes and non-Muslim religious minorities were more likely to choose the professional field of study 88 Figure 5.12: Young men chose more professional courses as compared to young women 89 Figure 5.13: Students’ own interest in the subject was the driving factor for preferring their field of study 89 Figure 5.14: Youth across localities chose the field of study due to their own interest 90 Figure 5.15: The interest in the field was an important consideration while choosing the field of study for the youth from well-off families 90 Figure 5.16: The reason for choosing the field varies across various caste-communities 91 Figure 5.17: Current occupational engagement of Indian youth 92 Figure 5.18: More young men are employed than women 92 Figure 5.19: Close to four-fifths of the youngest youth are pursuing their studies 93 Figure 5.20: Youth in cities are more into studies and one-fifth of the rural youth are neither studying nor earning 93 Figure 5.21: More youth from upper castes are pursuing their studies 94 Figure 5.22: Close to half of the youth from the upper economic class are still studying 94 Figure 5.23: Profile of the young employment seekers 95 Figure 5.24: Key sources to get information about job opportunities 95 Figure 5.25: Employment profile of the Indian youth 96 Figure 5.26: Fewer women are visible in various employment sectors 97 Figure 5.27: Jobs in the health sector and teaching is mostly preferred by young women; young men aspire for other kinds of jobs 100 Figure 5.28: The government job is the biggest priority among Indian youth 101 Figure 5.29: Youth living in big cities preferred government jobs the most 101 Figure 5.30: With more education, youth is more aspired to get a government job 102 Figure 5.31: Youth’s preference for online App-based jobs 102 Figure 5.32: Rural youth is more aspired to do online

App-based job 102 Figure 5.33: The App-based job was mainly preferred by the youth having low educational attainment 103 Figure 5.34: Youth’s desire to settle down abroad across various social-economic groups 104 Figure 6.1: Family’s financial security is the biggest concern for the youth 110 Figure 6.2: Degree of anxiety on various issues 110 Figure 6.3: Youngsters in the age group of 25-29 years are the most anxious 110 Figure 6.4: Youth in towns are the most anxious 112 Figure 6.5: Frequent users of social media are the most anxious of their personal looks 113 Figure 6.6: Those who feel that physical appearance is a decisive factor in finding a job worry about how they look 113 Figure 6.7: Graduates far more likely to be anxious regarding jobs 114 Figure 6.8: Youngsters preferring government job and a permanent job, the most anxious about jobs 115 Figure 6.9: Those married outside religion, caste and state, the most anxious about marriage 116 Figure 6.10: Reporting of various emotional stress related behavior amongst youth 116 Figure 6.11: Impact of a smartphone on a young person’s life (%) 120 Figure 6.12: Suicidal tendencies among Indian youth 121 Figure 6.13: Suicidal thoughts greatest amongst youth who feel worthless 121 Figure 6.14: Highly dissatisfied youth have greater suicidal thoughts 122 Figure 7.1: Almost half of the Indian youth identify

‘unemployment’ as the biggest problem 128 Figure 7.2: Two-thirds rate the employment opportunities in their states as ‘bad’ 129 Figure 7.3: Young men more likely to rate the employment opportunities in their state as ‘bad’ compared to young women 130 Figure 7.4: Better educated are more likely to rate employment opportunities in their states as ‘good’ 130 Figure 7.5: Poor more likely to rate employment opportunities in their states as ‘bad’ 130 Figure 7.6: Half of the youth in Karnataka and nearly one-thirds in Kerala and Gujarat rate employment opportunities in their own states as ‘good’ 131

Figure 7.7: Northern and Eastern states, and Hindi speaking states far more likely to rate the employment opportunities in their states as ‘bad’ 132

Figure 7.8: Nearly half of the youth feel the employment opportunities in their respective state have decreased during last 2-3 years Figure 7.9: Middle class more likely to feel the employment opportunities in their respective state have decreased during last 2-3 years Figure 7.10: Young men more likely to rate the employment opportunities in their state as ‘bad’ compared to young women Figure 7.11: Delhi and Maharashtra are most sought-after states for employment opportunities 132

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Figure 7.12: Only one-third think the employment opportunities will improve in the country in next 5 years 134 Figure 7.13: Youngsters in villages seem to be more hopeless about the employment opportunities in the country five years from now 134 Figure 7.14: Graduates appear more hopeful of employment opportunities to be improving in next 5 years 135 Figure 7.15: About one-third are fully confident that their current jobs would secure their future 135 Figure 7.16: Youngsters from rich households far more likely to find their jobs securing their future 136 Figure 7.17: Graduates far more likely to find their jobs securing their future 136 Figure 7.18: One-third of Muslim youth do not find their jobs securing their future 137 Figure 7.19: Youth in villages slightly more likely to find their jobs short of what they desire for their future 137 Figure 7.20: Young professionals and those in government jobs more likely believe their current jobs would give them the kind of life they want to live in the future 138 Figure 7.21: The majority believes it to be the government’s responsibility to create jobs 138 Figure 7.22: Over half of the wealthiest think the youth, instead of government, should create new opportunities; women more likely to see this as the government’s responsibility 139 Figure 7.23: Only one-fifth have heard the slogan ‘I will be a job creator, not a job seeker’ 139 Figure 7.24: Youth with higher media exposure more likely to have heard the slogan ‘I will be a job creator, not a job seeker’ 140 Figure 7.25: Only one-fifth of youngsters have heard about the government’s programmes helping people to start up their business or work 140

Figure 7.26: Youngsters from villages slightly more aware about the government’s programmes helping people to start up their business or work Figure 7.27: Youngsters from wealthier background more aware about the government programmes supporting business or work 141

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Figure 7.28: Awareness about support programmes improves with education 141

Figure 7.29: Awareness about support programme increases with an increase in media exposure 142

Figure 7.30: Thirteen percent of the Indian youth claim to have enrolled in a skill development scheme 142

Figure 7.31: Unavailability of jobs identified as the biggest hurdle by youth 143

Figure 7.32: Degree or education plays the most important role in getting jobs, especially for the more advantaged groups 145

Figure 7.33: Work experience seem to have a huge impact while finding a job for graduates, wealthiest and the youngsters living in cities 145

Figure 7.34: Advantaged groups far more likely to see the way of communication impacting their chance of getting jobs 146

Figure 7.35: Ability to converse in English seem to have a huge role in getting a job for graduates and for the youngsters living in cities 147

Figure 7.36: Better educated, and those living in cities more likely to see connection/network being useful in getting jobs 147

Figure 7.37: Young men and women think similarly on the potential impact of gender on the chances of getting a job 148 Figure 7.38: Adivasis, graduates and urban youth more likely to emphasize the role of physical appearance for getting a job opportunity 149 Figure 7.39: Upper caste Hindus, graduates and the youngsters living in villages more likely to disapprove caste having any role in getting a job in India 150 Figure 7.40: Muslims least likely to discard the notion that religion impacts one’s chances of getting a job in India 150