Empowering Amrit Peedhi: India’s Youth Transformation

Over the past decade, India’s youth ecosystem has undergone a structural shift. Comprehensive policy interventions across employment, skill development, entrepreneurship, sports, and healthcare have expanded opportunities for young people nationwide. Supported by robust data, declining unemployment rates alongside surging participation in apprenticeship, startup, and athletic programs demonstrate that Indian youth are moving from being passive beneficiaries to active leaders in the country's growth journey toward Viksit Bharat@2047.

Employment and Skill Development: Building a Future-Ready Workforce

Targeted multi-sectoral investments over the past decade have expanded opportunities for India's youth, driving down the national unemployment rate from 7.71% in 2014 to 4.2% in 2025.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Since 2015, over 1.64 crore youth have received industry-aligned training across four phases in cutting-edge domains such as AI, robotics, drones, electronics, and green energy.

Vocational & Apprenticeship Reach: The Jan Shikshan Sansthan trained over 36.48 lakh individuals by March 2026, while the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) engaged more than 54.41 lakh apprentices.

Institutional Expansion: Between 2014 and 2025, the number of ITIs grew from 9,977 to 14,688, driving enrollment up from 9.5 lakh to 14.7 lakh. National Skill Training Institutes expanded from 25 to 33, while Institutes for Training of Trainers surged from 11 to 120.

Entrepreneurship and Modern Vocational Frameworks

India has solidified its position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, growing from roughly 350 startups before 2014 to over 2.47 lakh by August 2026.

Sports and Fitness: Nurturing World-Class Talent

India’s sports architecture has evolved into a structured pipeline—combining scientific training, infrastructure development, and competitive exposure. A combined outlay of ₹36,441 crore has been allocated for the revised Khelo India scheme and national sports federations for the 2026–27 to 2030–31 period.

Under Khelo India, 349 infrastructure projects worth ₹3,176 crore have been approved, alongside establishing 1,067 centers and 267 academies. Over 63,000 athletes have participated in Khelo India events since 2018.

High-performance athletes receive direct support through the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), supporting 51 Core, 52 Para Core, and 130 Development athletes with monthly stipends of ₹50,000 (Core) and ₹25,000 (Development).

Holistic Health, Mental Well-Being, and De-Addiction

Preventive, physical, and mental health interventions form a core pillar of youth empowerment strategies.

Adolescent Health: Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) grew from 6,619 in 2014–15 to 7,203 in 2021–22, with registrations reaching 97.67 lakh youth in 2024–25 (up to November 2024).

Mental Health Support: Tele-MANAS handled over 43.70 lakh calls through 53 tele-mental health cells, supported by 23 mentoring institutes and 5 regional coordination centers.

Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: Reached over 30.05 crore individuals—including 11.86 crore youth—by August 12, 2026. Over 28.56 lakh activities were conducted in educational institutions, providing treatment and rehabilitation support to 28.29 lakh people.

The Decade of Opportunity

The multi-sectoral investments of the past 12 years have fundamentally shifted the youth paradigm from mere participation to active leadership. Supported by modern infrastructure, digital platforms, and policy frameworks, India’s 'Amrit Peedhi' is fully equipped to drive the vision of a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047.