India is held at a pivot crossroads. With almost 65% of its population under the age of 35, the country overflows with potential. This demographic dividend – one of the largest young people in the world – could be a powerful engine for long -term economic growth. But this promise depends on a crucial question: will India rise on occasion or will it waste the opportunity?
Mihir Vora, director of investments at Trust Mutual Fund, expressed concern about whether India is really the best of its demographic advantage.
In a recent article on X (formerly Twitter), Vora wrote: “Hopefully that when we look back after 25 years, we do not regret that India has underused time and talent because of the lack of opportunities and to waste the” demographic dividend ” of which it is blessed in the next 2-3 decades. “
He did not stop there. “GDP growth of 6.5% is not enough to remove us. We have to aim for more than 8 to 10%,” he added.
Vora’s comments came while going up another article which criticized the hierarchy of resources to short -sighted objectives. This position, by Zane Hengsperger, Delta Director of Delta 70 manufacturing, deplored the “bad allocation of time, talent and capital” towards the construction of unicorns solving “lazy problems” such as food delivery.
“I think we are going to look back in 25 years and realize that we have gone badly time, talent and capital on an absurd scale,” wrote Hengsperger. “While since 2000, the production of American steel has dropped by 34% (108 million tonnes to 71 million tonnes), we have lost 5.8 million manufacturing jobs and China now produces 57% of world steel compared to our 4%.”
A demographic dividend occurs when a country sees a higher proportion of people of working age compared to dependents, creating a window of economic potential. But this potential can only result in real gains with the right investments in education, skills and generation of jobs.
Otherwise, the risks are just as important: unemployment, social disorders and a generation of wasted potential.
