Article posted: 11/4/2012 8:31 AM

Population bulge tests India’s growth aspirations

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Unemployed educated Indian women stand in queues to register themselves at the Employment Exchange Office in Allahabad, India. India, with the world's largest chunk of illiterates at over 250 million, has to invest heavily in education and skills training, said Ashish Bose, a leading demographer. While millions of jobseekers have impressive sounding diplomas, many don't have the skills promised by those certificates from colleges and technical institutes with poor standards.

Associated Press

An Indian man Vijay Kumar looks at his certificates outside an employment exchange office in New Delhi, India. Thousands of unemployed like Kumar flock to 900 state-run job centers across the country, where they hope to get what many in this country believe is the ticket to a better life, a government job. While millions of jobseekers have impressive sounding diplomas, many don't have the skills promised by those certificates from colleges and technical institutes with poor standards.

Associated Press

Unemployed educated Indian women wait to register themselves at the Employment Exchange Office in Allahabad, India. India, with the world's largest chunk of illiterates at over 250 million, has to invest heavily in education and skills training, said Ashish Bose, a leading demographer. While millions of jobseekers have impressive sounding diplomas, many don't have the skills promised by those certificates from colleges and technical institutes with poor standards.

Associated Press

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Millions of young Indians make up a population bulge that experts say will see India hit 1.6 billion people in less than 20 years, overtaking China as the world's most populated country. Over the next three to four decades India will become remarkably young, with more than half its population under 25.