This book delves into the intricate challenges faced by Indian youth as they enter the labour market. It explores vital aspects of youth's journey from school to the labour market, offering insights into the current status and strategies for harnessing the demographic dividend, bridging the gap between labour market demand and supply, addressing the issue of skill mismatch, and tackling the challenge of inactive or idle youth in India. The book draws from analysing a diverse range of data sources, including statistics from organizations like the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI)

as well as data from surveys such as Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and Employment-Unemployment Survey (EUS), conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India; and educational surveys such as Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), School Education Quality Index (SEQI) and NSSO's surveys on Household Social Consumption: Education. These data cover a period spanning of over two decades, from 2000 to 2023. The book is a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the complex challenges and opportunities associated with the transition of Indian youth from school to decent employment. This transition is closely linked to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 and 8; and with India being home to the world’s largest youth population, the book showcases aspects of a critical area of focus for organizations and entities working towards these global objectives.