The missing link in Viksit Bharat 2047: Youth mental wellbeing

Brigadier Neeraj Soni (Retd)

India’s demographic dividend—reflected in nearly 65% of its population being under 35 years—is widely celebrated as a major structural advantage for the country in the 21st century. In policy discourse, this youthful profile is seen as a foundation for achieving Viksit Bharat 2047. However, this optimism risks overlooking a critical constraint: the declining mental wellbeing of India’s youth. If unaddressed, this challenge may impede the conversion of demographic advantage into productive human capital for sustained national development.

Recent empirical evidence underscores the gravity of the concern. Sapien Labs’ The Global Mind Health Report (2025) ranks Indian young adults (18–34) 60th globally in mental wellbeing. This aligns with the National Mental Health Survey, which estimates that 7–10% of adolescents suffer from diagnosable mental disorders, while the treatment gap exceeds 70%. Together, these figures point to a structural weakening of the cognitive and emotional foundations of India’s youth.

Drawing on responses from nearly 2.5 million participants across 85 countries, the Sapien Labs study attributes declining mental wellbeing to four factors: weakening family bonds, declining engagement with spirituality, early exposure to digital devices, and increased consumption of ultra-processed food. These reflect broader shifts in lifestyle, technology use, and social relationships. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as a state of wellbeing in which individuals realise their abilities, cope with normal stresses, work productively, and contribute to their communities. 

An important insight from global studies is the distinction between happiness and mental wellbeing. Countries that rank high on the World Happiness Index, such as Finland, do not necessarily perform equally well in mental wellbeing across age groups. This divergence suggests that life satisfaction does not automatically translate into the capacity to cope with complexity, uncertainty, and stress. The distinction is of particular significance.

India’s progress towards Viksit Bharat will depend fundamentally on the productivity, creativity, and resilience of its young workforce, which is expected to underpin economic growth until around 2055–2056. This strategic advantage hinges on healthy and happy youth workers, supported by a comprehensive policy framework. One possible approach is the BEST framework, comprising four interrelated dimensions: Bharatiya lifestyle, epistemic capital enhancement, socio-institutional support systems, and transformative technologies.

The first dimension highlights the relevance of Bharatiya lifestyle traditions, many of which historically functioned as mechanisms for maintaining psychological equilibrium. Practices such as Ayurvedic dinacharya regulated daily routines, emphasising disciplined patterns of sleep, diet, and physical activity. Traditions such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness contributed to overall balance. Equally significant were social institutions such as joint families and neighbourhood communities, which served as informal support systems. Their gradual erosion has weakened these social buffers. Revitalising such practices through value-based education, campus wellbeing programmes, and community engagement may help restore psychological balance.

The second dimension focuses on building epistemic capital through psychological attributes such as hope, optimism, resilience, and self-efficacy. These enable individuals to navigate uncertainty and sustain motivation. In knowledge-driven economies, these attributes function as productive assets influencing innovation and adaptability. Educational institutions and workplaces need to incorporate resilience training, emotional intelligence development, and wellbeing-oriented pedagogies.

The third dimension involves strengthening mental health infrastructure and socio-institutional support systems. India faces a significant shortage of trained mental healthcare professionals. Expanding community mental health centres, school counselling programmes, and workplace wellbeing initiatives is essential. Policy responses must also address structural stressors affecting young people – academic pressure, employment uncertainty, urban stress, and social isolation – by locating mental wellbeing within broader developmental planning rather than confining it to the healthcare sector.

The fourth dimension concerns the strategic deployment of transformative technologies. Digital platforms such as Tele-MANAS offer significant potential to expand access to mental health services. Artificial intelligence can act as a multiplier in this effort. However, technological solutions must operate within robust regulatory frameworks that ensure ethical use, privacy protection, and professional accountability.

Although global health discourse formally incorporated mental wellbeing into the definition of health in 1948, Indian intellectual traditions had long recognised the integrated nature of human wellbeing. The Panchakosha framework articulated in the Upanishadic tradition conceptualises human existence through five interconnected layers—annamaya (physical), pranamaya (vital), manomaya (emotional), vijnanamaya (cognitive), and anandamaya (blissful consciousness). This perspective resonates strongly with contemporary interdisciplinary approaches to wellbeing science.

Safeguarding India’s demographic dividend requires more than economic planning. It demands sustained attention to the mental resilience, cognitive vitality, and social wellbeing of the nation’s youth. If the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 is to be actualised in substantive terms, protecting the psychological wellbeing of India’s young citizens must be recognised as a strategic national priority. The future trajectory of India’s development will ultimately depend not only on the size of its population but also on the strength, stability, and creative capacities of the minds that constitute it.

(The writer is a professor at IIM Jammu)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.