Dr Bushan Kumar
bushankumar@ip.du.ac.in
Today, India is on the edge of history. In just a few years, we are set to become the world’s third-largest economy, behind only the United States and China. Our GDP has already crossed 4.1 trillion dollars in 2025, and according to IMF estimates, we are on track to reach 5 trillion dollars by 2027. This makes India not just the fastest-growing major economy but also a nation that has the potential to redefine the global economic order. In 2024 alone, India recorded over 139 lakh crore rupees worth of UPI transactions, and today we are home to more than 1,20,000 start-ups and over 110 unicorns, making us the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem. Our global image is stronger than ever before, and the dreams of becoming a developed nation by 2047 no longer look impossible. But this progress will only continue if the youth of today, especially Gen Z, make the right choices for the nation. If the energy of the youth is diverted into chaos, politically motivated agendas, or blind emotional movements, then all the gains we are making as a country will slip away, and our economy will pay the price for mistakes made in the present.
The young generation must understand that there are always two paths. One is the path of growth, unity, innovation, and constructive action. The other is the path of anger, division, and short-term political slogans. In countries like Bangladesh and Nepal, we saw how politically motivated movements captured the minds of the youth. At first, they looked like movements for justice or democracy, but soon they were hijacked by groups who only wanted power. What followed was economic slowdown, falling investor confidence, job losses, and a broken future for every youth who had marched on the streets. In Nepal, political instability kept FDI inflows under $1 billion annually, while in Bangladesh, massive protests that even led to a change in government slowed growth from 7.9% in 2018 to a projected 5.4% for FY 2025-26 (IMF). Leaders gained power, but ordinary young people lost opportunities. India is a vast and diverse nation with major global responsibilities. Losing trust in institutions and relying on short-term political slogans would have serious consequences.
Our strength rests on the neutrality of institutions like the judiciary, the election system, the armed forces, and the Constitution. Governments change, but institutions remain. If young people start believing every court verdict is political, every government action is biased, and street protests are the only real power, we weaken the very system that protects us. Foreign investors also look at these institutions. They invest in India because they trust the independence of courts, the working of democracy, and stable laws. If that trust breaks, investments will leave. No global company wants to put money in a country where courts are ignored, laws keep changing, and policies bend under street pressure. This is not just theory-between 2014 and 2020, India improved from 142nd to 63rd in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings due to reforms and stronger institutions. Without such trust, foreign direct investment-$71 billion in FY 2023-24-would not have come.
Gen Z must realize that India’s economic future depends directly on social stability. Already, India is adding over a million youth to the labour force every month (CMIE, 2024).To provide jobs to the millions entering the workforce every month, India needs steady growth above 7% annually. That growth must come from foreign investment, entrepreneurship, innovation, and global partnerships. If protests and political slogans dominate the streets, investors will pull back. The rupee will weaken, inflation will rise, industries will slow, and unemployment will grow. We saw this in 2012-13, when policy paralysis and political unrest pushed growth down to 5.46% and sharply weakened the rupee (World Bank data).
Gen Z’s role is not only to dream but also to protect the systems that make those dreams possible-courts, election bodies, and the rule of law. Criticism is natural in democracy, but constant mistrust weakens institutions. When all verdicts are seen as biased and all policies as conspiracies, India’s image as a stable economy fades. Without stability, there is no growth; without growth, there is no future.
The coming decades will test whether Gen Z chooses growth or chaos. If we remain united, if we trust our institutions, if we focus our energy on science, technology, education, and entrepreneurship, then India will rise as a global economic superpower. We will not only be the third-largest economy, but we will also be a respected and stable power that gives leadership to the world. But if we allow politically motivated forces to divide us, if we spend our energy attacking our own judiciary, if we weaken our own democratic systems, then our future will not be of strength but of regret.
The decision lies with the youth. Governments will change, leaders will come and go, but the responsibility of choosing wisely lies with Gen Z. The future of India is in their hands, and the choice is clear. Either we protect our institutions and secure our economic rise, or we lose ourselves in the noise of political games and pay the price with jobs, growth, and peace. History will remember which path we chose.
(The author is an Assistant Professor, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi.)
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