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In India, young voters cry out for more jobs after a decade under Modi’s BJP

  • Narendra Modi’s government has launched initiatives to speed up development, but many areas continue to lag behind – with employment scarce
  • A lack of high-income jobs fuels weak consumer spending, causing a vicious cycle that could derail India’s ambition of higher manufacturing output

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A shopkeeper makes sweets in Kairana, Uttar Pradesh state. Voters are questioning if higher economic growth achieved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is translating into better livelihoods for young people. Photo: AFP
Uttar Pradesh resident Nikhil Yadav, 25, is unimpressed with the talk from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about it ushering in speedy economic growth because it has not brought him and his college mates the one thing they desire most – jobs.
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“Only two out of around 150 have found employment. One has been recruited as an Agniveer, which means he will be out of a job after four years,” Yadav said, referring to a new government programme aimed at promoting nationalism and skill development through military service.

As voting began on Tuesday in the third stage of India’s seven-phase national election, one burning question among voters is whether the higher economic growth achieved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is translating into better livelihoods for young people.
Nearly half of India’s population is under the age of 25, a huge labour pool that should be giving the fastest growing major economy in the world a competitive advantage – especially compared to rapidly Western countries and Asian competitors like China and Japan.
Indian voters queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Indian voters queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

But through a series of interviews with residents of Uttar Pradesh – the state that accounts for the most seats in parliament’s lower house – This Week in Asia discovered many expressing concern about a lack of job opportunities and rising prices.

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While the BJP government has pursued a number of initiatives to speed up development – including building of expressways, launching high-speed railways and introducing fiscal incentives for manufacturing – industries in many outlying areas continue to lag behind, despite the buzz about India coming for China’s manufacturing crown.
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