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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.

Why is Modi-Putin Meet Significant?

The two-day SCO meet has been wrapped up. On paper the highlight was the SCO leaders’ meeting. However, the real story is away from the main hall in a room where Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO meeting and it drew all eyeballs to itself. Pictures spoke much more than any diplomatic stereotypical statements. Summits are usually about stiff handshakes and rehearsed photo ops.


However, the Modi-Putin meet looked different. The warmth was palpable. The two leaders not only shook hands, but they hugged and strolled to the venue hand in hand. It was a scene that stole the show, so much so that media reports highlight that it was one of the top searches on Chinese social media. The images went viral on Weibo which is China’s version of Twitter. The Russian Foreign Minister called it the video of the day. Clearly the bromance was on full display.


There were laughs and easy banter between Putin and Modi. There was even a tight huddle with China’s Xi-Jinping. It was a moment that spoke louder than any scripted summit line. The image that truly went viral was the one in which Prime Minister Modi and Putin were seen riding in the same car. They car pooled to their bilateral meeting. This was not planned. Russian media reports say that they had no idea about it. Reports said that Putin even waited for ten minutes just so that PM Modi could join him. The ride was not long. They reached their destination in five to ten minutes. Even after reaching there, the two leaders spent almost 45 minutes chatting in the car. It is not clear what they discussed. Prime Minister Modi said that the conversation was insightful. What’s noteworthy is that this photo-op draws a stark similarity with the kind of photo op Donald Trump had long craved with Putin.


Remember, the Alaska Summit, where Trump made the whole show by getting Putin to ride with him. However, in Tianjin it was Putin who initiated the car pool. It only reaffirmed an old friendship. India and Russia have been sharing this ride for decades; through the cold war, through sanctions and shifting alliances. Today, the bonhomie was on full display. Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode in AurusSenat- which is a high-end Russian made Limousine.


The Russian President regularly uses it on his foreign trips. Throughout the trip, the Indian Prime Minister used China’s Hongqi L5 Limousine. The same model doubles as President Xi Jinping’s official state car and is widely regarded as the pride of Chinese automotive engineering. More than a luxury vehicle, the Hongqi L5 serves as a powerful political and cultural symbol. The bilateral meeting started off on a warm note. President Putin lauded the special relationship between the two countries and PM Modi reiterated it.


Key highlights

1) Growing cooperation between India and Russia

Washington has accused India of funding war by buying Russian oil. Trump has used it as an excuse for slapping 50 % tariffs on India. However, India is not backing down. The meeting proved that Russian oil was central to India’s energy security and it will continue to flow. In fact India and Russia are expanding cooperation.


2) Discussion on Ukraine war

Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. He called for a swift end to the conflict and for a durable peace settlement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the war in Ukraine and prospects for peace. After the call, Zelenskyy posted on social media that India was prepared to deliver “the appropriate signal to Russia and other leaders" during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China.

 

The call came a day before Modi was likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a closely watched trilateral engagement. Experts believe that the three leaders have been deliberating on shared interests in the backdrop of the current situation in which global markets look unsettled due to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

 

At the SCO meet, Putin acknowledged India’s role in pushing for negotiations and this is quite significant because there is a clear disagreement over Ukraine. Even as Modi calls for peace, while Putin wages war, both leaders ensured that this disagreement didn’t derail the broader relations. On the contrary, Russia sees India as a key voice in peace negotiations.

 

3) The annual India Russia Summit

This year it will be the 23rd annual bilateral summit which New Delhi will host. President Putin will travel to India for the summit. PM Modi made sure to underline the importance of the upcoming meeting. He said, “All of India was waiting to welcome Putin.”

 

That’s the next crucial meeting to look forward to- a meeting between PM Modi and President Putin. If Tianjin was about optics, Delhi is set to be about deals -- from energy, defence to trade. The message for the world is quite clear. Despite the war in Ukraine and tariffs from Washington, the India-Russia friendship is on solid ground. 

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