It has been 68 years since India gained independence. We have grown from a British colony to an influential global power. In celebration of Independence Day, we at NewsMobile, conducted an online survey to understand the sentiments of people about India’s present and future.
Employment Opportunities
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Despite this, only 40% of the individuals surveyed think that India offers better economic opportunities than the West. When we analyze this by age, a trend emerges that the older generation believe in India’s economic opportunities. 30% of respondents below the age of 20 believe India offers better economic opportunities in contrast to 54% of respondents over the age of 40 who also believe so.
Age differences also lead to differences in viewpoints on India’s future. According to the survey, a larger part of the younger generations believe that IT is India’s future. In contrast, the older generations are more likely to believe that fundamental areas like Education and Healthcare are the future as seen below.
The older generations are at a stage where healthcare and education for them and their children is important, a possible explanation for the findings.
Education
On the topic of education, the survey makes it clear that a large percent of the population is unhappy with the educational standards of India. Only 22% of respondents said they were happy with the educational institutions in India. However, 19% of respondents below the age of 20 were happy in contrast to 29% of those aged 40 or above. The reason for this could be the increasing competition at the undergraduate level in India. When cutoffs for colleges reach 97% at premier institutes like St Stephens, it’s no wonder that the youth are dissatisfied with educational opportunities in the country.
Government
However, one surprise is that in contrast to what mainstream media depicts, not everyone feels negative about working for the government. 46% of the surveyed said working for the government is a favorable career option. Out of these people, 41% thought public-sector employment and 35% thought being a bureaucrat is a good job if one worked for the government. It seems that people believe that PSU’s (Public Sector Units) are going to do well in the near future.
Since it is Independence Day, we asked citizens if they identified themselves with India.
While a third of the surveyed do identify with India, an astounding 61% identify with the global community. A minority of 5% with regional loyalties shows that the boundaries of caste and religion are dissolving in favor of the identity of being an Indian. 61% identify with the global community, a trend that shows globalization has had opened our minds about the world.
(The author is a NewsMobile Mobile Journalist)