Indian Youth In the Post-Pandemic World: Issues of Education, Employment and Mental Health

Lokniti in collaboration with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (India) conducted a study highlighting the Indian youth aged 15 to 34, who account for more than one-third of the population and are a valuable national asset; and their ability to actively affect socioeconomic and political ideas; in reality, they are the "India of the future." This report thoroughly investigates the repercussions of the pandemic on the employment and mental well-being of the youth in India. The report is based on a sample survey of 9316 respondents (with an extra sample of 500 interviews conducted in Delhi) aged 15 to 34 years old from 18 major Indian states.

The states chosen for the study were the most populous states in India according to the 2011 Census. The study's target sample size was 8900 people. The sample was separated into four regions (large cities, minor cities, towns, and villages). The probability proportional to size (PPS) Sampling approach was used to choose locales, which raises the likelihood of selection with their real proportion in the population. The study's sample includes interviews from both urban and rural areas. Each site was to conduct 25 interviews, for a total of 100 interviews from each city, for a total of 6847 interviews from urban regions. India is regarded as the 'land of villages' because villages house two-thirds of the Indian people. The list of communities was rather large, with varying populations. However, we purposefully excluded villages with populations of 20,000 or more.

The report was unveiled on July 26, 2023, at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Professor Suhas Palshikar, featuring panelists Nayanika Das, currently serving as Programme Coordinator for Partnerships at Pravah, and Rajesh Nandan Singh Meher, who is actively involved in building and nurturing youth-focused collectives and coalitions in India, advocating for youth-centric development practices in the sector.

A total of 3715 communities were mentioned, and 80 were chosen from that list. The findings of this report were published by multiple news outlets, such as Dainik Bhaskar, NDTV, Indian Express, and many more.