India exam leak sparks protests over jobs crisis and pressures Modi

India’s youth unemployment crisis has become one of the biggest vulnerabilities for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, exposing the gap between the country’s economic ambitions and the reality facing millions of young graduates.

The frustration erupted into the open this month after a leaked paper forced a retest of India’s ultra-competitive medical entrance exam, prompting nationwide student protests led by a viral, social media-focused youth movement called the Cockroach Janta Party.

While the exam scandal was the immediate trigger, economists say the demonstrations reflected something much deeper: a generation struggling to find secure, well-paying jobs despite spending years competing for an education.

Seeing footage of police fire tear gas at student protesters in Delhi on July 20 struck a nerve with 27-year-old Mumbai professional Abheet Mohanty (whose name has been changed due to the sensitive nature of the topic). He said he wasn’t protesting because of one leaked exam paper, but because of what it represented.

The Gen Z students in the crowd were calling for accountability from the government after exam papers were leaked in May for a crucial medical entrance exam test, also known as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). While a retest took place in June, more than 20 students died by suicide in the aftermath of the leak.

“I felt for the students because I was a NEET student back in 2018,” Mohanty told CNBC, recalling the immense pressure he felt as his parents pushed him to take the test, which would help him land a secure job with good pay.

Mohanty didn’t pass the test and instead pursued a degree in communications. “It was very difficult to get a job,” he said. After waiting a year, he landed a job in Mumbai, but his parents insisted that he take the NEET again instead.

They said his monthly salary of 20,000 rupees ($208) was “unsustainable” in Mumbai. Mohanty joined the Gen Z protests in the city on July 23.

His experience is increasingly common. India has the world’s largest Gen Z population, but also faces one of its toughest employment challenges.

Graduate unemployment among 15-to 25-year-olds is close to 40%, according to the State of Working India 2026 report, while graduates accounted for two-thirds of the country’s unemployed in 2023.

As good jobs become harder to find, millions of young Indians are pinning their hopes on a handful of ultra-competitive entrance exams for medicine, engineering and government jobs that offer one of the few reliable paths to secure, well-paid jobs.

Unsurprisingly, the number of students applying for the NEET exam rose 50% to over 2.2 million between 2019 and 2026, according to data from the National Testing Agency.

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