India’s young demographic is one of the unique demographic advantages that sets it apart from other countries. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Technical Group on Population Projections Report 2020, Indian youth in the age group of 15 to 29 years presently comprise 27.2% of the current population. This makes the Indian youth an important stakeholder in not only achieving the sustainable development goals but it also makes them India’s growth and development drivers and change-makers of tomorrow.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the founding head of USSR had once famously quoted “Give me just one generation of youth, and I’ll transform the whole world.” Even revolutionary leaders like Mahatma Gandhi acknowledged youth’s active participation in nation’s development in his book Constructive Program and viewed youth as a catalyst of social change and as individuals who are capable of establishing a society based on principles of non-violence and truth.
In 2018, the Asian Development Bank and Plan International, UK conducted research titled ‘What’s the evidence? Youth Engagement and Sustainable Development Goals’ that revealed that young people are already working towards achieving sustainable development goals. The report said that designing programs with young leadership had a huge positive impact on the project outcomes and its beneficiaries. It also stated keeping such a large world youth population out of development isn’t a sensible idea and instead ways to seize the opportunity of making young people and their group work towards achieving sustainable development goals by 2030 should be thought of. Global organizations like the United Nations believe that youth are the driving force for social progress and have the ability to progress the sustainable development goals towards a sustainable future for everyone on the planet. The UN has actively advocated to incorporate methods and approaches that are welcoming of young people’s diversity in all forms.
Today’s youth are more aware about happenings around the globe due to the exposure they get through various media. They are capable of identifying their own challenges by analysing their situation. They are curious about things and possess the strength to question existing power structures that fail to fulfil their responsibilities and to overcome barriers that pose a hindrance to their development.
It isn’t possible for the government authorities to reach each and every one at the ground level due to the huge population and the constraint regarding funds and resources. Here, the authorities can harness the youth’s increased awareness and curiosity to educate people at community or local level regarding sustainable development goals, its importance and how to achieve them. A lot of young people and youth led organizations are already doing a tremendous job by advocating for issues of national importance at the ground level. They are also making better use of existing technology and leveraging their social media networks to stimulate change for betterment of the world.
India being one of the most ethnically diverse and religious nations has its own set of challenges which becomes difficult for the authorities to deal with on a central level. In such a case, the youth especially the ones belonging to the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups who are affected by discrimination, poverty, unemployment etc. can be made an integral part of the redressal mechanism to tackle issues of grave importance. It is much simpler to involve youth belonging to these communities as they are young, developing and more open to new ideas which can make them a strategic partner in the process. They will be better able to communicate things to their community members in a language that they understand as well as the community will be more willing to listen to one of their own. Young people have better knowledge regarding mobilizing people and resources to call upon action to bring real transformation.
They have been taking active part in ensuring the effective implementation of various government schemes like MGNREGA, PMGSY, APY etc. to ensure government’s accountability to its people. There has also been an increase in the number of youth lead organizations and campaigns in India. They should be provided with the adequate skills and resources to become equipped to be a real change agent.
Youth gain a better grasp on challenges they face than anyone else. They are capable of developing insights regarding these challenges by bringing in their fresh stance and addressing them by coming up with innovative solutions. There is a sudden surge in the number of young entrepreneurs who are not only creating businesses but are also providing livelihood to others while making a solid contribution to the economy. They are coming up with sustainable and lasting solutions that will have a far greater impact in the future. Even development agencies and governments are recognizing this change and are therefore coming up with fellowships, grants and incubation support to further nurture this growing talent. For example, NITI Aayog came up with the Atal Incubation Mission (AIM) in 2016 to encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
There are many young Indian minds who are working towards achieving sustainable development goals. Some of them are –
Udit Singhal, a 20-year-old is the founder of Glass2Sand a zero-waste ecosystem that combats Delhi’s growing glass waste problem.
Amita, a social entrepreneur, established reCharkha EcoSocial, a social enterprise that promotes the idea that sustainable development can only begin at the local level and involve an empathetic understanding of other biotic and abiotic groups.
Dexterity Global is an Indian social enterprise founded by Sharad Vivek Sagar. The initiative works to create sustainable job opportunities for the underprivileged Indian youth. He is among the few Indians to feature on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.