Why are so many young Indians jobless?
From What in the World by BBC World Service
April 14, 2026 · 11 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the high unemployment rates among young graduates in India and the challenges they face in the job market.
India has the biggest youth population in the world and more and more people are graduating from colleges and universities. 5 million people are coming out of education each year, but nearly 40% of graduates aged between 15-25 can’t get a job. In fact, the unemployment rates are way higher for graduates than for people who are less educated. White-collar job creation - graduate office jobs - has fallen from 11% growth before 2020 to just 1% today, according to Naukri Jobspeak Index. Big employers like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro are all cutting jobs or freezing recruitment. And AI is also playing a role here. The Indian government estimates that by 2031, AI could eliminate close to three million IT and customer service jobs. So what’s it like to be an unemployed graduate in India right now? How do you get through the daily grind of job applications and interviews? How do you deal with pressure from your family to find a job? We chat to Karmanya Batra, Anjali Mekala and Bhadra Ashok Kumar. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Ash Mohamed and Julia Ross-Roy Video producer…
People in this episode
Host: Iqra Farooq
Guests: Karmanya Batra, Anjali Mekala, Bhadra Ashok Kumar
Topics covered
- youth unemployment
- job market
- education
- AI impact
- graduate challenges
- Indian economy
Keywords
- youth unemployment
- India
- graduates
- job applications
- AI
- job market
- education
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Naukri Jobspeak Index
Places: India
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