Mohandas Pai Urges “Jobs-First” Strategy for Union Budget

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, prominent business leader and former Infosys board member TV Mohandas Pai has called on the government to adopt a laser-focused approach to employment.

In a recent interaction, Mohandas emphasized that while the Indian economy remains robust with an expected growth rate of 7.5%, the “tragedy of India” is the massive youth bulge requiring immediate, high-quality job creation.

The “Youth Bulge” and Wage Challenges

Mohandas pointed out that India is currently navigating a demographic peak, with roughly 50 crore children born between 1990 and 2010 now entering the workforce.

He estimated that while 1.2 to 1.4 crore people join the EPFO annually, nearly 2.5 crore young people enter the job market each year.

A critical concern raised was the quality of these opportunities. Mohandas noted that approximately 80% of current jobs pay less than ₹20,000 per month.

He urged the government to use the upcoming budget to pivot toward high-paying urban employment to ensure sustainable economic mobility for the youth.

Strategic Employment Zones (SEZs)

To tackle rural unemployment, Mohandas proposed a bold “Special Employment Zone” model. He suggested declaring 350 of India’s poorest districts as SEZs.

Under this plan, the government would provide any employer creating a formal job in these regions a monthly incentive of ₹2,000.

This subsidy would last for 24 months for each qualifying employee.

This subsidy would help companies offset the high costs associated with hiring and training unskilled rural labor.

Mohandas Pai on Infrastructure and Startup Innovation

The veteran executive also recommended a massive ₹50,000 crore annual investment into 5,000 smaller towns to upgrade infrastructure.

He argued that improving the quality of life in Tier 2 and 3 locations would trigger local industrialization.

This would prevent labor oversupply in major metros and effectively raise wages across the country.

Mohandas critiqued the current R&D funding landscape, noting that India’s startup funding reached $160 billion over 11 years.

This figure pales in comparison to the $845 billion invested by China.

He called for liberalizing RBI regulations and injecting ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 crore into venture capital funds to drive innovation in deep tech and AI.

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