On paper, they are the backbone of a modern economy: doctors trained in advanced medicine, engineers fluent in cutting-edge design, MBAs versed in global markets. Yet in Madhya Pradesh, thousands of these highly skilled professionals are standing in line for clerical and lower-grade government jobs, trading ambition for stability.
As of June 30, 2025, state employment records list 4,811 MBBS doctors, 86,000 engineers, and 18,800 MBAs among the 2.56 million “aspirants” registered on the Madhya Pradesh employment portal. The government now calls them Aakanshi Yuva — aspirational youth — a term that sidesteps the politically sensitive label of “unemployed.”
Falling Placements, Rising Frustrations
The numbers reveal a deeper crisis. Since 2018, more than 6.2 million people have registered on the portal. But job placements have steadily dropped, from 176,000 in 2018–19 to just 78,800 in 2024–25. Officials acknowledge that many applicants already hold jobs in the private sector but see state service as a safer, better-paying alternative with stronger benefits.
Graduates make up the largest pool at roughly 830,000, followed by 238,000 postgraduates. A near-equal gender split — 1.39 million men and 1.18 million women — speaks to the breadth of the problem. Socially, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) form the largest group of applicants, numbering over one million, reflecting both demographic representation and economic vulnerability.
Why Government Jobs Remain the Gold Standard
Experts point to a structural mismatch: a rapidly expanding education system producing more degree holders than the private sector can absorb, coupled with a cultural preference for the security, pension, and social prestige that government roles provide.
“This is not simply an unemployment crisis,” says one senior economist. “It is a crisis of expectations and trust in the private job market.”
For many of these overqualified applicants, a government job represents not a step down, but the only step forward — a reality that underscores the need for policy interventions that align India’s labor market with the scale and quality of its human capital.
