Work Without Future
Joblessness and Underemployment
Young people are told to study, compete, upskill and stay positive, while stable work becomes scarce and unstable work becomes normal.
“They say unemployment is falling. We say the group chat has three engineers, two tutors, one delivery rider and seven government exam veterans.”
13.6%
Urban youth unemployment
App Is Boss
Gig Work and Algorithmic Bosses
The platform calls the worker a partner, but the app decides price, route, rating, penalty, visibility and punishment.
“Congratulations, you are your own boss. Your boss is an app you cannot argue with.”
2.35 crore
Projected gig workforce
Merit Buffering
Exam Leaks and Managed Merit
Students are told merit is sacred, but leaks, coaching inequality, form fees, delays and litigation keep turning futures into lotteries.
“We prepared for the exam. The exam prepared for the market.”
Certificate Factory
Education Market and Certificate Hunger
Families pay for school, tuition, college, coaching, mock tests, certification, upskilling and resume polish, then youth are blamed for not being employable enough.
“First they sold us education. Then they sold us employability. Then they sold us confidence.”
Fear Factory
Student Distress and the Fear Assembly Line
Student distress is treated as weakness, while the social machine produces debt, isolation, rank anxiety, family pressure and future panic.
“It is not pressure. It is an industrial process with motivational posters.”
13,000+
Student suicides annually
Salary Evaporation
Rent, Food and Delayed Adulthood
Young workers are shown CTC dreams while real life deducts rent, commute, food, data, medicine, exam fees and family support.
“Salary credited. Rent deducted. Food deducted. Transport deducted. Hope pending.”
Unequal Starting Lines
Caste, Class and Access
Some youth inherit English, land, contacts, safety and confidence. Others inherit debt, silence, humiliation and the burden of proving they deserve to stand in the same room.
“Some people network. Some people first need permission to exist without explanation.”
Unpaid Economy
Gendered Work and Invisible Labour
Women are called unemployed while domestic work, care work, safety planning and social control consume their time and choices.
“She is unemployed, they said. Then she cooked, cleaned, cared, studied, travelled unsafe roads and applied for jobs.”
Switch Off Future
Internet Shutdowns and Digital Discipline
Education, payments, applications, emergency contact, work and speech depend on internet access, yet connectivity can be shut down in the name of order.
“Online class? Shut down. Job form? Shut down. Payment? Shut down. Protest? Obviously shut down.”
65
Internet shutdowns in 2025