Prof. K S Chandrasekar
Like the Western countries, India too had set of people belonging to different generations. However, India was under the British rule and the old generation which is now almost extinct had given their blood for the independence from the British. From the shackles of the British regime, India has gone forward with periods of uncertainty and later on bringing parity with the world countries. The so called Baby boomers who were born between 1946 to 1964 have seen the difficulties India faced and are told about the British rule by their parents. This generation had seen the rule where importance was given to public sectors and government. They also were willing to wait for benefits and had the patience to accept what was available. This in turn was passed on the Generation X who were born between 1965 and 1980. This generation X were very obedient, loyal and committed to the jobs they were given. Generation X is the bridge between traditional and modern eras, they have embraced technological advancements while maintaining a strong sense of practicality and individualism. Gen X’s unique traits make them a well balanced leaders, out of the box thinking, and as they were loyal, their superiors were in a position to support them, playing a critical role in shaping workplaces, families, and communities. They have seen the change and uncertainty and are in the realm of enduring influence on society. In fact, the learning’s from the Gen X’s in terms of how to value profession, close knit family ties, concern for the children etc., have actually shaped the present day India.
The Millennial’s who were born between 1981 to 1996 were the ones who started understanding the relevance of liberalization, privatization and globalization. They were the ones who came out of conventional programmes and made their presence through the advancements in technology. In fact the 2K computer issues were very ably addressed by this generation along with the support of Gen X’s. This generation witnesses the Maruti being brought into the Car market and then the rise of various international brands. With the advent of LPG in 1991, this generation was also witness to the Air Taxis which went to become full fledged Airlines. Consumption now and pay later was brought during this generation. In the case of mobiles, this generation had primarily the feature phones initially and then moved to smart phones. Gen-X’s have driven many changes like moving from conventional joint families to nuclear families, women taking to careers, balancing the tightrope walk between family traditions with personal aspirations, joint decision-making in the household and many other such changes. They negotiated these changes by gently questioning the status quo rather than pulling away the rug from underneath the traditional way of doing things.
Gen Z who were born after that between 1997 to 2012 are the ones who have started reaping the benefits of privatization and liberalization. The global brands, malls, multiplexes have come during their period along with the push for infrastructure development in the country. This generation started using the full features of the smart phones with telecommunication literally replacing the land phones. The benefits of manufacturing and services were fully realized by this generation. Deloitte recently conducted a survey on the workplace experiences have evolved for the generation and the work-life balance flexibility was found to be critical, having a sense of purpose at work is central to overall job satisfaction and well-being. The report further adds to how Gen Zs and millennial’s continue to make lifestyle and career decisions based on their values. It may be noted that while the World gets older, India is getting younger, also reflected in the tech industry with Gen Z and Millennial’s accounting for majority of the workforce. The growth in service sector with focus on Information technology is purely with the Gen Z and millennial. The Gen Z values authenticity and integrity in brands, placing importance on transparency and ethical standards. Alongside their desire for premium experiences, they also prioritize getting value for their money. While the Gen X were not much interested in brands, the millennial’s, Gen Z have shown interests towards brands. This has actually enabled the economy to grow with the presence of manufacturing facilities and services growth. This branding aspect has come into existence since Gen Z and is continuing with Gen Alpha and will be with Gen Beta. In-fact nation building will happen through proper tax mechanisms and the Gen Z onwards are very much focused on the same. This generation will be in a position to look for the career which they choose as against the conventional choices. The issue of India not winning medals at the Olympics and other events will be solved by this group since there is no pressure on them on the career to choose. More of them including the parents will be willing to take risks and that was evident when Gukesh won the World Chess championship at the very young age.
Gen Alpha were born between 2013 to 2024. The demographic dividend is reaped by this generation to the hilt. These kids are the children of Millennial’s and early Gen Z and they are the first generation to be fully raised in the 21st century. Gen Alpha grow up in a completely digital world, surrounded by mobiles and laptops. Their full source of information is Google and that’s the reason Google has started education for them. Unlike the Gen X’s and Millennial’s, they travel using airlines at the early ages as their parents are now mostly travelling using airline modes. This has made the road, rail and airport infrastructure to be increased. They are more mature in their age group and prefer more of visual content and hence the education is moving more towards visual mode than normal class room teaching. NEP2020 has come at the right time to enable these generations to grow and exhibit appropriate skill sets. They had to go through the Covid-19 pandemic including Gen Z, Millennial’s or Gen X. The impact had left many economically crippled and resulted in mental health issues also. Work from Home as a new concept had come through and Learn from Home for this generation resulted more in losing the importance of studies. This has created a generation which is socially isolated. It will take some time before full socialization takes effect.
Now we have entered the generation who are born between 2025 and 2039. They are the ones who will get the dividend toiled by the old generations and will constitute a 16% of the total population by 2035. They will be able to survive and be able to see the 22nd century. They are living in an era where Alexa will call the shots. While automation,Artificial Intelligence and Robotics might make life easier for Gen Beta, the very important skills like creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence will require more thrust and focus which in-turn need to be part of the curriculum for them at the school days itself. The usual decision making process by their earlier generation will wane and they will be more dependent on AI to take decisions. What is important is how they will be groomed for challenging career ahead. The optimum use of mobile phones, social media need to be clearly provided. There needs to be AI free times to be identified by families. Human centric activities need to be fostered along with open space activities. As this generation will have all knowledge through machine learning or artificial sources, it is imperative that education needs to step up. NCERT and others have to take into cognizance of such developments and come out with appropriate syllabus to be considered for this generation. This generation also will be heavily brand oriented and the embracing of such brands will bring down the prices of the brands and make it more affordable. They will be more focused on using app based purchases which will create question marks on the traditional kirana stores. These kirana stores need to adopt to tech driven retailing.
Gen Beta are here to stay and are the future of our world. They will mark a great change in the life styles, societal norms, consumption patterns and more research will be undertaken on the same including the impact of full AI. They may be the generation who will create contact with outside the World generations. Hence it is important to nurture them and give them confidence in any activity they are destined to undertake including uncertainties and risks.
“You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will.” quotes the great Upanishads. Let us ensure the good deeds make Gen Beta pure.
(The author is Vice Chancellor, Cluster University of Jammu)
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