Close to 20% of India's population remains deprived of formal education even now even as the literacy rose to 80.9% in 2025, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, released by the National Sample Survey Office last year.
For a land which estimates its total population to be over 1.4 billion at present, 20% is a huge proportion of people, making education a privilege inaccessible to many even now. However, something more baffling was pointed out by Zerodha's educational channel, 'markets by Zerodha', in a thread of post on X.
The post provides insights into how there is an imbalance between educated part of the population getting employment, and the illiterate bulk of population having jobs.
"In India, the unemployment rate for illiterates is 3%. For graduates aged 15 to 24, it's 40%," Zerodha pointed out.
The Nithin Kamath owned stockbroker further explained how this disparity has to do with Indian economy's inability to absorb highly educated people.
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"The more educated you are in this country, the more likely you are to be jobless. Not because education is worthless, but because it creates aspirations the economy struggles to absorb," the post highlighted.
An illiterate worker will accept whatever survival work is available, whereas on the other hand, a graduate is more likely to hold out for something better, "And that something better, for millions, may never arrive," the post outlines.
What is more concerning is that the ratio of working-age people to dependents in a country, which boasts of the largest youth population on the planet, is expected to peak by 2030 and then begin a permanent decline, as per Zerodha's calculations.
Factors such as large cohorts of graduates settling for informal, temporary, or gig-based work after being unsuccessful at finding permanent and secure jobs, the economy not finding space former farmers into non-farming roles, and stagnant female labour force participation (35%), are pressure points for the current job market, Zerodha's post underscored.
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