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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 9:20:26 am

The Warning Beyond NEET

The Jantar Mantar protests exposed the widening gap between education, employment and growth. The month-long protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar may have formally ended, but the political and economic questions it raised will linger. Triggered by the NEET paper leak, the movement became a major expression of youth discontent. What began as a demand for a fair examination system became a broader indictment of an economic model that promises opportunity but increasingly fails to deliver...

The Warning Beyond NEET

The Jantar Mantar protests exposed the widening gap between education, employment and growth. The month-long protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar may have formally ended, but the political and economic questions it raised will linger. Triggered by the NEET paper leak, the movement became a major expression of youth discontent. What began as a demand for a fair examination system became a broader indictment of an economic model that promises opportunity but increasingly fails to deliver employment. The government initially treated the protests as a law-and-order issue. That changed when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of the ruling establishment, publicly criticised police action and expressed solidarity with the students. The subsequent resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, withdrawal of criminal cases and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's endorsement of the integrity and aspirations of India's Gen Z transformed the political narrative. The issue had moved beyond examination reform to whether India's development model is serving its young citizens. The NEET paper leak was merely the spark. The fuel had accumulated through rising educated unemployment, declining confidence in public institutions and growing frustration among millions of young Indians. Education is increasingly seen as an uncertain investment rather than a guaranteed pathway to opportunity. Every examination scandal reinforces the perception that merit alone is insufficient, while recruitment delays deepen the belief that the system is failing those who have done everything expected of them. India has celebrated its demographic dividend for nearly two decades, projecting its young workforce as its greatest competitive advantage. But demographic dividends are never automatic. They generate prosperity only when education is matched by employment, productivity and rising incomes. Otherwise, they become demographic liabilities that breed frustration rather than growth. The evidence suggests India is approaching that inflection point. GDP has expanded impressively over the past two decades, yet employment has failed to keep pace. Employment elasticity has weakened sharply. During the 1980s, every percentage point of GDP growth generated roughly half a percentage point increase in employment. Today the ratio is estimated at about 0.16, among the lowest for major emerging economies. Growth continues; jobs do not. This disconnect reflects India's growth strategy. Public policy has increasingly favoured capital-intensive industries through subsidies, tax incentives and investment support. Such sectors contribute to output and productivity but generate relatively fewer jobs. Agriculture continues to suffer from incomplete reforms and low productivity. Manufacturing has not expanded fast enough to absorb new workers, while artificial intelligence and automation are reducing opportunities in occupations once regarded as gateways to middle-class prosperity. India thus faces a paradox: it is producing more graduates while creating fewer opportunities to absorb them. The comparison with Asia is instructive. Vietnam and Bangladesh have pursued manufacturing-led growth that has generated substantially higher employment relative to economic expansion. Vietnam's employment-to-population ratio is estimated at nearly three-fourths, compared with about one-half in India. Vietnam has also moved into the upper-middle-income category, while India remains a lower-middle-income economy. These comparisons do not diminish India's achievements. They highlight the urgency of correcting structural weaknesses before they become politically destabilising. History demonstrates the risks of prolonged youth unemployment. The Arab Spring showed how educated but unemployed youth can transform political landscapes. More recently, political instability in Bangladesh and Nepal has reflected frustration among younger populations facing shrinking opportunities. India's democratic institutions are stronger, and its circumstances are different. Yet no democracy can indefinitely ignore the aspirations of its largest demographic group. The significance of Jantar Mantar lies here. India's Gen Z is organised, digitally connected and politically conscious. Social media transformed local grievances into a national movement within days, while traditional political parties largely responded after the sentiment had acquired independent momentum. The RSS intervention further complicated the government's challenge. Once protesting students found resonance within the ideological ecosystem closest to the ruling establishment, the issue ceased to be a partisan confrontation. It became an internal warning that India's youth expect credible institutions, transparent examinations and, above all, meaningful employment. The Centre's examination reforms are necessary but insufficient. Restoring the credibility of competitive examinations addresses only one symptom. The larger challenge is to redesign India's growth strategy around employment. Labour-intensive manufacturing, support for small and medium enterprises, investment in skills, higher-education reform and greater attention to employment outcomes must become central to economic planning. The Jantar Mantar agitation should not be remembered simply as the NEET protests. It marked a moment when India's youngest generation questioned the assumptions underlying the country's development model. Governments can manage protests and reform examinations. But unless economic growth translates into broad-based employment, similar movements will return. India's demographic dividend remains its greatest opportunity. It could equally become its greatest challenge. The warning has been delivered. The question is whether policymakers are prepared to listen.

AAIB probe points to low visibility as a cause

Preliminary probe report says the visibility at Baramati airport was only 2000 meter against the minimum requirement of 5000 meter

Mumbai: Pointing to a stunning violation of norms, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said that visibility at Baramati airport was only 2000 meter when the ill-fated Learjet 45XR plane carrying Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar crashed on January 28. The stipulated visibility rules are minimum 5000 meter for visual landings that must be strictly adhered to.


In its 22-page preliminary report into the air-disaster just minutes prior to landing of the non-scheduled flight carrying VIP, the AAIB said on that day, one of the two temporary Air Control Towers at Baramati – usually manned by ground instructors or students – was being handled by a ground instructor from a nearby flying academy.


When the ill-fated aircraft approached, the pilots asked about visibility they were informed around 3000 meter based on ground markers with calm winds and cleared the flight for landing.


However, the AAIB found that the Meteorological Aerodrome Report (METAR) of Pune that morning showed lowest visibility of 2000 meter from 8.10 am to 8.30 am with clear skies, while satellite images indicated a shallow, patchy fog around Baramati at that time. AAIB also said that all aspects of the plane crash will be investigated to bring out facts, root causes and contributory factors.


Accordingly, the aircraft attempted to land first but did a go-around and then the crew reported sighting Runway 11 and started the second landing approach after clearance.


But, barely seconds later, something went seriously wrong and as corroborated by CCTV footage from a nearby village, the aircraft banked sharply to the right, instead of touching down on the runway, it crashed around 50 meter to the left of Runway 11, at 8.46 am.


The falling aircraft struck several trees before impacting the ground that was lower than the runway surface, it caught a major fire engulfing the cockpit and the cabin where the passengers were and the plane was completely destroyed.


Moments prior to the ground-hit, the radio recordings captured a rattling reaction from the cockpit: “Oh S..t, Oh S...t”, as it plunged to tragedy.


Negative Test

The preflight breathalyser tests for both the Pilot in Command Sumit Kapur and First Officer were negative, as per the records provided by the VSRVPL teams.


The AAIB reiterated that both the onboard recorders – the Digital Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder – were retrieved from the usual position in the tail section of the aircraft.


Both the DFDR and CV suffered intense heat damage but the raw data from the DFDR has been retrieved in New Delhi. The CVR, built by Honeywell needs specialised recovery due to the thermal damage and assistance has been sought from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in line with global aviation norms.


Attempting to cobble up the fast-paced developments – poor visibility, the missed approach, a repeat landing attempt and the fatal crash - the AAIB has not apportioned any blame nor indicated what exactly went wrong in those final few seconds over the fog-it Baramati runway.


The probe was conducted by a three-member AAIB team led by its Director General, later a 3-member team from DGCA also joined the probe, ordered under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025.


AAIB probe progress and safety counsel

The AAIB has recorded statements of the VSRVPL personnel and other key persons which are being verified against physical and technical evidence.


Crucial documents pertaining to the Learjet 45XR’s airworthiness, operations and flight safety have been seized for scrutiny, the wreckage shifted to a secure location for further investigations after on-site findings were documented.


The NTSB, US, has appointed an accredited representative along with technical advisers to join the probe, and records gathered from multiple stakeholders are under review. The AAIB stated that every aspect of the accident will be examined to establish the facts, identify the root cause and determine contributing factors.


The AAIB has also issued safety recommendations to the DGCA, urging strict enforcement of standard procedures for visual flights operating to uncontrolled airfields.


It has asked aerodrome operators to ensure flights - including private, charter and VIP operations - are permitted only when weather conditions meet prescribed safety norms.


With growing charters, private or VIP flights to such airfields, the AAIB has sought stronger oversight to ensure safety standards are maintained and regularly audited, improving landing aids and basic weather data facilities, plus examining whether such aerodromes should be formally licensed for regulated operations.


What the AAIB said?

“In view of the interim findings brought out so far, it is considered necessary to issue following interim safety recommendations so that necessary preventive actions can be taken promptly to enhance aviation safety. It is recommended that DGCA may issue necessary directions to all operators operating VFR flights to uncontrolled airfields to strictly adhere to the laid down standard operating procedures.”

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