India’s race against time has already begun and it is falling behind. With barely fifteen years left of its demographic dividend, India faces a stark possibility: growing old before it grows rich. Millions remain unemployed, underemployed, or trapped in precarious, low-quality work signaling a crisis that cannot be ignored. India Out of Work is a powerful and urgent examination of why India must rapidly accelerate economic growth and what it will take to become a self-sufficient, prosperous nation before this window closes. Drawing on rigorous research and real-world data, Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati K. Parida unpack the structural challenges holding India back from rural distress and weak job creation to the fragile realities of the ‘new economy’. They argue that India must sustain 9% annual growth and create 350 million non-farm jobs by 2055 to secure its future. This book reveals: • The truth behind India’s “jobless growth” • Why economic expansion has failed to generate enough quality jobs • The widening gap of inequality and stagnant wages • The alarming underrepresentation of women in the workforce • The myth of large-scale poverty reduction With sharp insights and compelling evidence, the authors expose the systemic barriers preventing millions from achieving economic security and upward mobility. Why this book matters now Without urgent and bold reforms, India risks a future defined by deepening inequality, missed opportunities, and unrealized potential. A timely call to action and a clear roadmap for reform, India Out of Work is essential reading for policymakers, economists, business leaders, and anyone invested in India’s future. The question is no longer whether India can grow but whether it can grow fast enough.

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