UPSC Mains 2026 GS1 Q20: model answer

India's under-35s grew up after 1991, in an open economy with satellite TV, the internet and smartphones. Globalisation has shaped their choices more than any earlier generation's.

Economic

• Gains: jobs in IT, BPO, GCCs and gig platforms; start-ups and unicorns run by young founders.
• Losses: informal and insecure work; high graduate unemployment (PLFS data); automation risks.

Social

• Gains: greater mobility, later marriage, more women in higher education, questioning of caste and gender norms.
• Losses: nuclear families, loneliness and mental health stress; consumerism and debt.

Political

• Gains: global ideas of rights; youth-led campaigns (Nirbhaya protests 2012, climate strikes); digital activism.
• Losses: polarisation and misinformation in echo chambers.

Cultural

• Gains: exposure to world culture; Indian culture also goes global through yoga, Bollywood and Indian food.
• Losses: decline of some local languages and crafts; Western beauty and lifestyle ideals.
• Glocalisation: young Indians mix the global and the local: regional rap, indie music, fusion fashion.

Evaluation: the net effect is positive in opportunity and freedom, but uneven. Urban, English-speaking youth gained most; rural youth face aspiration without jobs. Skilling, mental-health support and digital literacy can make globalisation work for all young Indians.