Gen Z

Gen Z missing career opportunities due to fear of being judged: Report

Fear of being judged holds back the majority of Gen Z professionals from connecting or networking with people who could help them in their careers, a report said on Wednesday. India's Gen Z professionals have grown up constantly connected online, but 83 per cent hesitate to interact or network with the people who could help them in their careers, according to a report by LinkedIn. Fear of being judged (44 per cent), concerns about bothering others (39 per cent), and worries about sounding inauthentic (37 per cent) are preventing Gen Z from seeking valuable advice, making connections, and accessing new opportunities, added the report. The LinkedIn report is based on a survey conducted by Censuswide among 18,050 respondents who work full time and part time (18-80 years) between July 20 and August 11, 2026, in countries, including India, the UK, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, UAE and KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The report revealed that ev

82% of India's Gen Z use AI tools weekly to learn new skills: Emeritus

Emeritus report finds 60 per cent of Gen Z respondents feel burned out by upskilling pressure, while interest in traditional study-abroad pathways is declining

74% Gen Z Indians prefer work-life balance over leadership titles: Report

Seventy-four per cent of Gen Z Indians prioritise work-life balance over formal leadership titles, while at least 65 per cent believe a successful career does not require becoming an executive leader, according to a new report. The report, titled "India's Gen Z Outlook 2026: Recalculating Education, Ambition, and Success; The No Cap Generation", has been published by global education company Emeritus. It is based on a survey of 1,010 respondents aged 15-28 across three life stages -- pre-college, transitioning and early career -- in major Indian metros. The report examines how young Indians are reassessing traditional pathways in higher education, skills and careers amid visa uncertainty, rising overseas costs and the rise of AI. "A generation that has watched layoffs unfold in real time on their feeds, and seen visa uncertainty reshape plans has drawn a rational conclusion -- the traditional career ladder is not a safe structure to climb. Seventy-four per cent prioritise work-life

EC renews outreach plans for Gen Alpha, Gen Z ahead of 2029 polls

The Election Commission (EC) has initiated renewed efforts to reach out to Gen Alpha and Z ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha polls to make them aware voters who are well-acquainted with the electoral process and can lead future campaigns to educate people. As part of its revamped campaign, the poll authority will target schoolchildren from classes 9 to 12, colleges and universities across the 4,123 assembly constituencies of India. According to EC officials, there are a total of 14.78 crore people in the 18-26 age group, including 7.98 crore males, 6.79 crore females and 9,000 third gender. The poll authority plans to set up 50,000 Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) with 10 such bodies per assembly constituency, the officials said. For this, it will contact students of classes 9 to 12 in 15 lakh schools. Besides, it will reach out to 70,000 colleges and 1,400 universities. ELCs were set up in 2018 as part of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme to

Derivatives market gets Gen Z twist, but losses cast a long shadow: Sebi

The country's equity derivatives market has taken on a notably younger profile, with traders under 30 making up 43 per cent of individual participants in FY26, a sharp rise from 31 per cent four years earlier, according to a study. However, the younger cohort also recorded a higher incidence of losses, the study by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) revealed. Around 89 per cent of traders below 30 were loss-makers in FY26 compared to 81 per cent of participants above 60. The changing age profile is part of a wider transformation in the retail derivatives market, which has increasingly drawn investors outside India's largest cities and from relatively lower-income groups. About three-fourths of individual derivatives traders belonged to the annual income category of below Rs 5 lakh. This group accounted for 43 per cent of turnover, but 53 per cent of aggregate losses, the regulator said. Around 88 per cent of traders in this income category incurred losses, compared

Datanomics: Gen Z embraces credit, struggles to keep pace with repayment

Gen Z's access to credit is rising rapidly, but the group also records the highest delinquency rate, raising concerns over repayment capacity.

Modi govt's Gen Z outreach: One minister to visit one university every day

In a major outreach to Gen Z, the Modi government is planning to send one Union minister to one university every day to engage with the youth, discuss their concerns and better understand their perspectives on issues facing the country. The initiative comes in the backdrop of student protests on the NEET paper leak issue at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and in other parts of the country. Under the 'One Day, One University' programme, a Union Minister will visit an assigned university to interact with students, listen to their views on different subjects, and inform them about various government welfare schemes, particularly those for youth and students, sources aware of the initiative told PTI. It is learnt that Education Minister Pralhad Joshi and Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya have been given the responsibility to coordinate with the universities and the ministers for the visits. The planned initiative also figured at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime

Gen AI is rewriting how the world buys, spends as technology shapes choices

As the first cohort surrounded by AI and media from birth, Gen Alpha's tech fluency is intuitive and its consumption behaviour is different

India's Gen Z turns to crypto as gateway to investing, WazirX data shows

India's Gen Z is entering financial markets earlier and increasingly using cryptocurrency as a gateway to investing, while showing a preference for diversified portfolios and a willingness to stay invested through market volatility, data from crypto exchange WazirX showed. Nearly 44.4 per cent of Gen Z investors on the platform began their investment journey through crypto, suggesting that a large share of young investors are entering financial markets through digital assets rather than adding crypto to established portfolios. The median age of Gen Z investors on WazirX is 25, while the generation accounted for 72 per cent of all new investors on the platform in the first half of 2026. Gen Z also made up 32.1 per cent of active traders, the company said. The trend is spreading beyond India's largest cities. Nearly 80 per cent of WazirX's Gen Z users come from outside the country's top 10 cities, highlighting the growing participation of investors from Tier-2 and Tier-3 centres. Mumb

Pradhan says he quit after attempts made to 'mislead' Gen Z during protests

Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said attempts were made to "mislead" Gen Z during the protests over the NEET paper leak issue, prompting him to quit as Union Education Minister. Pradhan broke his silence on his resignation while addressing students and teachers at GM University here, exactly two weeks after he stepped down amid massive protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the issue. "Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then. At least two crore children are born in India every year. During the last 10 years, 20 crore children were born. They have aspirations, and they will make India the 'Vishwa Guru'. The post was not important to me," Pradhan said. He said he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers. Pradhan resigned from the ministry on July 25. At another meeting in Rairakhol, Pradhan hit out at former Odisha chief minister and BJD

Bhagwat's Gen Z outreach signals a pragmatic reset for the RSS leadership

It's evident Mr Bhagwat was watching from a distance and was worried about the anger towards the Modi government. He demolished criticism of the GenZ protesters as anti-national

Best of BS Opinion: India must hold the line on climate action

Today's opinions examine India's climate diplomacy lessons, vaccine resistance amid medical advances, AI's real-world limitations, RSS outreach to Gen Z and the growing threat of cognitive warfare

Gen Z grievances genuine, protesters not anti-national: Mohan Bhagwat

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat backed Gen Z's grievances, saying young protesters are not anti-national, and called for dialogue to address concerns and build consensus

Best of BS Opinion: Inflation projections demand monetary tightening

Today's opinions examine the RBI's inflation dilemma, rising life insurance surrenders, India's employment crisis, possible UPI charges and the shift from food to nutrition security

India must fix its jobless growth model to harness the Gen Z opportunity

Its jobless growth model needs serious course correction

Statsguru: Gen Z's rage fuelled by joblessness, paper leaks and corruption

The anti-paper leak law highlights deeper challenges as India misses education spending targets, youth unemployment remains high, and Gen Z protests gain momentum

The Gen Z protests have opened the door, just a crack, for the Opposition

Competitive politics up to 2029 now will be about filling the breach the GenZ has caused, or widening it

Best of BS Opinion: What the Gen Z protests tell us beyond the headlines

Today's Best of BS Opinion examines Gen Z protests, elite alienation, Krishna Byre Gowda's governance record in Karnataka, and the risks of performative brand activism

Why brands should serve causes, not market themselves at protests

Indian consumers, especially those under 35, are not naive. They know what it feels like when something you care about loses

Beyond Gen Z: Why pro-Modi elites are growing increasingly restless

Throughout history, revolutions have mostly been led not by those who actually suffer, but by those who are merely seeking a rearrangement of power within the ruling elites