25% youths in 250 districts not in education or jobs: Survey | India News - The Times of India

- A new district-level PLFS 2025 report finds that in about 250 districts, over 25% of youths aged 15-29 are NEET (not in employment, education, or training), with the issue most acute in northern states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal. The survey also notes significant NEET variation across districts, with several districts recording rates below 10% and Odisha’s Nabarangpur at 4.1%, while many NEETs include women burdened by unpaid domestic duties and care work.

25% youths in 250 districts not in education or jobs: Survey | India News - The Times of India # 25% youths in 250 districts not in education or jobs: Survey Shiva Rajora / TNN / Sep 19, 2026, 05:01 IST The situation is of particular concern in northernIndia (Representative image) NEW DELHI: In nearly 250 districts, more than 25% youth (15-29 age group) are neither engaged in any productive work, nor are they pursuing education or any sort of training for work, highlighting a gap in human capital utilisation. The situation is of particular concern in northern India, especially in states such as Bihar, UP, Haryana, Punjab and West Bengal, where nearly two-thirds of districts have around a quarter of the young population categorised as NEET (not in employment, education or training), showed the first-ever district-level periodic labour force survey (PLFS) for 2025, released by statistics ministry Friday. In Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Telangana in nearly half the districts, 25% young population is categorised as NEET (not in employment, education or training). A recent Niti Aayog report pegged the number of NEET youth in the country at nearly nine crore, with govt clarifying that these people cannot be crudely termed as unemployed. In around 25 districts, NEET is below 10%, including Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon and Uttar Baster Kanker in Chhattisgarh; Chamba in Himachal Pradesh; Ernakulam in Kerala; and Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. Nabarangpur in Odisha had the lowest NEET rate of 4.1%. The ministry's report covered around 600 districts in major states and UTs. In some ca…

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