Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Slams Modi Government Over 8.7 Crore Jobless Indian Youth

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CONGRESS PRESIDENT Mallikarjun Kharge slams the Modi government and claims that his government has failed to build a working path from education to employment for India’s youth. The claims came on Monday, August 24, 2026, in which Kharge pointed to a recent NITI Aayog report in which it was found that around 8.7 crore young Indians between age 15 and 29 are without education and employment. The claims came on Monday, August 24, 2026, in which Kharge pointed to a recent NITI Aayog report which reported that around 8.7 crore young Indians between age 15 and 29 are without any education or employment training.

Kharge took the matter to the social media platform X, and attacked the Modi Government for disrupting the young Indians’ access to education as well as  their attempt in finding a job. Referring to the government’s own Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report for July 2026, Kharge also stated that the percentage of women unemployment has also increased under the current government. The PLFS report shows unemployment rising from 15.6 % to 19.5 % among women.

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NITI Aayog’s Report Clear All the Doubts

The NITI Aayog released a report named “Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat 2047”. The report uses data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey, which was carried out in 2021, and estimates that nearly 11 percent of all Indians aged 15 to 29 fall into the category of ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET).’

The youth of this country are unable to find a job after completing their education, and remain stuck in this position for long.. The time and money  wasted on formal education has blocked the routes to spend it fairly on skills training. The NITI Aayog reports further state that around 88% of the NEET youth are engaged in unpaid domestic work and caregiving at home, with women making up the largest share in this group. 

The report has dug deeper and discovered that, only 8.25 % of the total graduates end up in jobs that match their specialty or qualifications. The limited exposure, lack of practical learning and training related to the industries that have specific demands are becoming one of the reasons for the graduates to struggle in finding a suitable job. NITI Aayog pointed at the barriers that keep young people out of work, this includes poverty, family pressure, unsafe transportation, no proper guidance and also early marriage. But there’s also a positive report that says more than 7.67 crore individuals are being trained under various skilling programmes since 2014-15.

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Kharge Points at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Joblessness in India

Mallikarjun Kharge directed a set of pointed questions at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revolving around the lack of jobs for India’s graduates. 67 percent of all unemployed Indians are graduates who are between the ages of 20 and 29. The younger graduates from age 15 to 25 are falling in the same pit  with 40 percent of the  unemployment rate. Kharge continues to mention that the students simply go jobless even after finishing their degrees, their families go on to spend their life savings and take education loans.

He adds further by bringing up BJP’S older promise of creating two crore jobs every year, calculating that this should have added up to 24 jobs over the past 12 years. Instead, lakhs of government job openings still remain unfilled, and secure, permanent jobs are now being replaced by short-term contract work. Kharge also brought up the issue of paper leaks in competitive exams, delays in recruitment,  wide gap in skill-formation, and a shortage of quality jobs which has pushed an entire generation’s future at risk.

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