India may face unrest if youths are jobless: Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said there may be “unrest and frustration” in the country if youth remains unemployed, while stressing on the need to equip them with skills. Mukherjee said with jobs the young workforce can be an asset. Most graduates produced by colleges and universities are “unemployable”, he said.

“India, with the second largest population in the world, will face a major challenge in the coming years. Half of its population will be below 25 years of age,” he said.

“

Our young workforce will be an asset if they have jobs. But, if the country is unable to provide jobs, there will be unrest and frustration,” Mukherjee said while addressing the annual day function of CII Skill Training Centre here.

He said to get jobs, paper qualifications alone will not suffice, skills are essential. “Our universities and colleges produce a large number of graduates every year but most of them are unemployable. Our youth need jobs,” he stressed.