Young India!

As India celebrates her important day, I was mulling one important aspect of India that can easily stand out from other countries. This was the fundamental aspect that really stood out when we moved back 8 years ago…what was it? read on to find out more…

Youth:

The world all around me was/is very young (initially, I thought it was because I had returned from the US after 14 years  – that I had aged and the next generation had emerged! :))  But while that may have been one reason, India itself had gotten the title of being the “youngest country in the world”. According to Wikipedia, “50% of India is below the age of 25 and 65% of India is below the age of 35”!! Additionally, according to another report from ‘The Guardian’, India has 600 million people who are under the age of 25!! Cool, statistic don’t you think?! 🙂  It is hard to believe this statistic unless you live in a country with such a young population.

Every side and every corner you turn, you will only bump into teenagers, singles and young couples! 🙂 There hardly seem to be many with 2 kids tagging along like us! (ok, a bit of an exaggeration there – but you get the point,right – India is very “youthy”?! :))

How does it affect you?

It definitely rubs you the right way. You feel young and energized and can totally appreciate all the new and latest brain storms. In all my remote work experiences, I have always worked with people younger than me!  While I thought it was initially a one time thing or an occasional happening…it happens all the time – (while, what they think of me is for another blog post :)) –   and I am sure that is true for most of us from my generation…

Startups:

India and particularly Bangalore or Bengaluru is home to a number of ‘startups’. Makemytrip, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola cabs, Zomato, redBus and many more organizations are all shining examples of Indian startups. According to this report from Bangalore Mirror, the average age of startup founders is under 36! (Superb, don’t you think?) 

There are still a huge number of startups that are mushrooming at a rapid pace with extremely bright ideas. Now, how long these organizations will last and whether all of them do well in the long run, is anybody’s guess – but the feeling of entrepreneurship and moving from the tag of “employee” to “employer” is strong in India! So much so, that many start their own companies after a few years of corporate experience!

Here is to a young India making a positive difference to life in the world…