India has the world’s largest young population. In four years from now, i.e. 2020, the average age of India’s population is predicted to be 29 years by the Economic Survey 2015. Although it is a positive sign, if we fail to direct/utilise their energy in the right direction, it can have devastating economic effects.
Today’s youth are more self-sufficient than ever before. They are less influenced by their parents but more by their peer group. They have exhibited signs of casual behaviour with respect to spending. Credit cards have added fuel to the fire. Their reckless behaviour when spending is making them soft targets for many online marketers offering products. So a question arises: are youths financially literate? Individuals with high financial literacy are expected to be prudent in their financial decision-making (Remund, 2010).
This triggers the need for policy makers to place strong impetus on financial education for the economic wellbeing of individuals and hence of the country as a whole. If interventions are not made to rectify the behaviour of youths in financial decision-making, it may lead to serious economic repercussions. Policymakers, while designing the plan for financial education, should keep in mind that financial education too decays with time like other education (Daniel et al., 2014).
The plan for educating with respect to financial acumen should be in a phased manner aligned with the life cycle of an individual. This will assist them in putting the learning into practise in real time, thereby enrooting the learning.
By Hitendra Lachhwani
Assistant Professor of Finance,
SKIPS – pgdm college in ahmedabad
