An exam leak in India exposed a Gen Z jobs crisis that goes much deeper
While the leak of key exam papers was the trigger for the recent student protest in India, rising unemployment is the real fuel angering Gen Z in the country.
India's youth unemployment crisis has become a major vulnerability for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, revealing the disconnect between the nation's economic aspirations and the experiences of millions of young graduates. This frustration came to a head when a leaked paper prompted a retest of India's highly competitive medical entrance exam, NEET, leading to nationwide student protests organized by the social media-driven youth movement, Cockroach Janta Party.
Economists argue that these demonstrations signify a deeper issue: a generation facing significant challenges in securing stable, well-paying jobs despite years of education. The protests in Delhi on July 20, where police used tear gas to disperse students, resonated with 27-year-old Mumbai professional Abheet Mohanty. He admitted he protested not just over the leaked exam paper, but due to the broader implications it represented.
Mohanty, who failed to pass NEET in 2018, joined the protests in July 2023. Reflecting on his own struggles, he lamented the difficulty of finding a job and his parents' insistence that he retake NEET, given his modest salary of 20,000 rupees ($208) in Mumbai. This scenario is common among Indian graduates, with graduate unemployment among 15-to-25-year-olds nearing 40%, according to the State of Working India 2026 report. In 2023, graduates accounted for two-thirds of the country's unemployed.
The desperation is evident in the surge of applicants for NEET, which rose by 50% to over 2.2 million between 2019 and 2026, according to the National Testing Agency. This competition extends beyond medicine to government jobs, the JEE for IITs, CUET for undergraduate admissions, and UPSC civil services exams.
In Bengaluru, graphic designer Aditi Garg echoes this sentiment. Despite her lack of success in entering IIT, Garg finds the job market too saturated and pay too low. She joined protests in Bengaluru, echoing the sentiment of many young Indians. Neelanjan Sircar, an expert in social sciences at Ahmedabad University, noted that the allure of medicine and government jobs is understandable, given the high unemployment rates among graduates.
However, even with extensive education, the prospects for finding employment remain uncertain. Dimpy Gola, a 17-year-old NEET test taker, plans to take a gap year after failing twice, fearing uncertain prospects even with advanced degrees. This sentiment reflects the broader discontent among India's Gen Z population, pushing the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign in response to the protests.
Experts suggest that the government's failure to create sufficient secure, well-paying jobs is a significant vulnerability for the Modi administration.
Written by urgent.news from CNBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
