Context

• As the global population surpasses the eight-billion-mark, attention inevitably turns to large-scale demographic trends and macroeconomic impacts.
• However, amidst the scale and statistics, the individual stories, particularly those of marginalised and vulnerable populations, must not be overshadowed.
• The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) made a vital promise: that every person should have the right to make informed choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health, free from coercion, discrimination, and violence.
• Today, as the world confronts contemporary challenges, especially those impacting the world's largest youth population in India, fulfilling that promise has become more urgent than ever.

UN’s Theme for World Population Day: A Youth-Centric Theme for a Complex Reality

• This year’s United Nations theme for World Population Day, ‘Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,’ reflects the centrality of youth in envisioning a sustainable future.
• The theme underscores the importance of accurate information, accessible education, and inclusive health services in enabling young people to make informed decisions about their reproductive lives.
• More than just policy rhetoric, it is a call to action to place young people at the heart of development efforts and decision-making processes.

Assessment of India’s Youth Demographic: A Double-Edged Sword

• Opportunities
  • India, home to 371 million youth aged 15 to 29, possesses the largest youth population in the world.
  • With the right investments in education, healthcare, and skill development, it offers a unique chance to unlock unprecedented economic growth.
  • The World Bank and NITI Aayog project that India could boost its GDP by up to $1 trillion by 2030 if this demographic dividend is properly harnessed.
  • Programmes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and the National Adolescent Health Programme have made commendable progress in reducing adolescent fertility and child marriage rates.
• Challenges
  • Significant hurdles remain, including gender inequality, socio-cultural barriers, and limited reproductive autonomy for many young women.
  • The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) highlights the persistent nature of these issues: despite reductions, child marriage still affects 23.3% of girls, while teenage pregnancies remain at 7% nationally, with certain states reporting much higher rates.
  • Meanwhile, the UNFPA's State of World Population Report 2025 notes that 36% of Indian adults experience unintended pregnancies, and 30% face unmet reproductive goals.
  • These statistics signal a crisis in reproductive autonomy, particularly for women, and a failure to deliver on the core ICPD promise.

Initiatives to Address These Challenges

• Udaan Project in Rajasthan
  • Projects like Udaan, implemented in Rajasthan, illustrate the power of integrated, youth-focused programmes.
  • Between 2017 and 2022, Udaan prevented 30,000 child marriages and 15,000 teenage pregnancies.
  • By leveraging scholarship schemes, enhancing reproductive health awareness, and ensuring contraceptive access, the initiative empowered young girls to remain in school and plan their futures more independently.
• Odisha Government’s Advika Project
  • Similarly, Advika, a collaborative effort between the Odisha government and UNICEF-UNFPA, has adopted a multi-faceted approach, strengthening state mechanisms, raising awareness, and building adolescent leadership.
  • Its success is evident in the 11,000 villages declared child marriage-free and the prevention of nearly 950 child marriages in 2022 alone.
  • These initiatives reinforce the idea that when young people, especially girls, are educated and empowered, their communities thrive.
• Project Manzil: Economic Empowerment
  • Operating in six districts of Rajasthan, the initiative employs a human-centred design to align skill training with the aspirations of young women.
  • It addresses social norms through behaviour change communication, while ensuring dignified, gender-inclusive employment opportunities.
  • The results speak volumes: 28,000 women completed skill training, and 16,000 secured employments, many of them entering skilled professions for the first time in their communities.
  • These women, empowered by financial stability, are better positioned to delay marriage, negotiate their futures, and break cycles of poverty and dependence.

The Road Ahead: Rights-Based, Multi-Sectoral Investment

• The State of World Population 2025 report emphasises the importance of universal access to contraception, safe abortion, maternal health services, and infertility care.
• However, it also acknowledges that systemic change requires removing barriers in education, housing, childcare, and employment.
• The report advocates for strategic investments in girls’ education, life skills development, and community mobilisation, all of which have shown measurable impact in initiatives like Udaan, Advika, and Manzil.

Conclusion

• The sheer scale of India’s youth population can either drive the country forward or become a source of strain, depending on how effectively their needs and aspirations are met.
• Fulfilment of the ICPD promise requires more than policy declarations; it demands deep, sustained investment in education, healthcare, skill development, and the dismantling of social and economic barriers.
• Empowering the youth, particularly young women, is not just a moral imperative, it is a strategic necessity for national progress.