India’s national progress critically depends on empowering its substantial youth population, particularly young women, by guaranteeing them choice, control, and access to capital. 

Background

• As the global population surpasses eight billion, a focused approach on vulnerable groups and individuals at society’s margins is imperative. 
• The core objective is to uphold the principles of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which asserted every person’s right to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. 
• The theme for this year’s World Population Day, “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” directly underscores this mission, positioning youth at the centre of future development and ensuring their freedom of choice and opportunities.

India’s Youth Demographic and Economic Power

• India is home to the world’s largest youth population, comprising 371 million individuals aged 15 to 29 years. 
• This demographic presents an immense opportunity for national progress, contingent on strategic investments in education, skill development, and access to essential health, nutrition, and family planning services. 
• Unleashing this youth potential could elevate India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by up to $1 trillion by 2030, unlocking a demographic dividend as projected by the World Bank and NITI Aayog. 
• This shift promises to significantly reduce unemployment and enhance social outcomes nationwide. 
• India’s ultimate success rests on its ability to truly understand and fulfil the aspirations of its youth.

Challenges Impeding Youth Empowerment

• Despite considerable progress through initiatives like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao‘ and the National Adolescent Health Programme, which have successfully reduced child marriage and adolescent fertility rates, significant challenges persist. 
• These include deeply ingrained socio-cultural barriers, persistent gender inequality, and crucially, limited reproductive autonomy for many young people, particularly young women. 
• Specific challenges manifest as:
  • Prevalence of Child Marriage: While the rate of child marriages has halved since 2006, it still affects 23.3% of marriages.
  • Teenage Childbearing: The national average for teenage childbearing among women aged 15 to 19 years is 7%. 
    • However, this figure more than doubles in certain states, highlighting stark regional disparities (National Family Health Survey-5).
  • Lack of Reproductive Autonomy: The State of World Population Report 2025 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) underlines a critical deficit in reproductive autonomy and a crisis in fertility aspirations, especially among women.
    • 36% of Indian adults experience unintended pregnancies.
    • 30% report unmet reproductive goals, signifying an inability to exercise choice over the number of children they have
    • Almost 23% of Indian adults face both unintended pregnancies and unmet reproductive goals.
• External Pressure on Decision-Making: Decisions concerning childbearing are frequently made under external pressure rather than by the individual woman.
  • The UNFPA report also indicates that women often lack autonomy in deciding the timing of childbirth, the age, and considering their economic situation.

Initiatives for Comprehensive Empowerment

• Addressing these fundamental issues demands a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy that targets root causes, not merely symptoms. 
• This strategy encompasses enhancing education, ensuring access to contraception, providing adequate nutrition and mental health support, and fostering robust community empowerment.

Impactful programmes exemplifying this comprehensive approach

• Education as a Transformative Tool: Each additional year of secondary education can reduce the likelihood of child marriage by up to 6%.
• Project Udaan (Rajasthan, 2017-2022): Implemented by IPE Global, this initiative successfully addressed early marriages and teenage pregnancies by keeping girls in secondary school through strategic government scholarship schemes.
  • It elevated their awareness of sexual and reproductive health and improved access to modern contraceptives, thereby strengthening girls’ and women’s reproductive agency. 
  • Project Udaan notably prevented nearly 30,000 child marriages and averted almost 15,000 teenage pregnancies.
• Advika Programme (Odisha, 2019-2020): Launched by the Government of Odisha in partnership with UNICEF-UNFPA, Advika focuses on preventing child marriage by fortifying state systems, raising awareness about child protection issues, and empowering adolescents through education, skill development, and leadership training. 
  • This youth-centric approach has resulted in approximately 11,000 villages being declared child marriage-free. 
  • In 2022 alone, nearly 950 child marriages were immediately stopped.
• Project Manzil (Rajasthan, 2019-2025): Implemented by IPE Global in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan across six selected districts, this programme directly tackles women’s economic empowerment and low female labour force participation. 
  • Utilising a human-centred design, it aligns skill training with young women’s aspirations, facilitating their access to dignified employment opportunities in gender-friendly workplaces. 
  • Project Manzil has supported 28,000 young women (aged 18-21) in completing skill training at government centres, with 16,000 securing employment, many becoming the first women from their communities to enter skilled professions. 

Towards True Empowerment and National Advancement

• Beyond Initial Interventions: Tackling child marriage and early pregnancy is a start, but true empowerment demands broader support for adolescent girls to lead independent lives.
• Investing in Skills and Education: Providing girls with skills, education, and opportunities equips them to make informed life and career choices.
• Enabling Supportive Environments: Empowering environments are essential to amplify girls’ voices and support their decisions on marriage, reproduction, and work.
• Role of Economic Independence: Financial stability gives women confidence, autonomy, and the power to shape their own futures.
• Impact on National Development: When women are empowered and families plan effectively, communities prosper and national progress accelerates.

Conclusion

India’s development hinges on understanding youth aspirations, especially those of young women, and ensuring rights-based, multi-sector investments in health and empowerment.

• Dismantling barriers like poor education, housing, and workplace inflexibility is key.
• Initiatives like Udaan, Advika, and Manzil show how empowering youth can drive national prosperity.

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