Changing Social Face of Punjab

July 13, 2026

Regarding Punjab’s changing economic situation, it is said that Punjab has made significant progress recently. Punjab is known as the state of youth. It is believed that its people are healthy and its farmers and workers have immense capacity for work. But looking at Punjab today, these same young people now appear to be idle. Despite the Punjab government’s best efforts, some shortcomings still baffle the public consciousness of Punjab. The government has provided affordable medical care to the people, but what is the reason for the increasing mortality rate in Punjab? This could be due to environmental pollution or global warming. Punjab’s mortality rate is 15.2 percent, the highest in the country. This means that Punjab, a state of strong youth, will become a state of middle-aged and elderly people. Why has this discrepancy arisen? It is because the birth rate in Punjab is continuously falling. Currently, Punjab’s birth rate, or fertility rate, is 1.4 percent, while the ideal fertility rate should be 2.1 percent. We are taking these figures from the United Nations Population Fund. The data shows that a new trend has emerged in Punjab: the tendency to stay married, to delay or not have children at all. Many couples are unwilling to raise children. This means that the number of young people in the state will not increase, and the remaining population will be old and middle-aged. Furthermore, Punjab’s youth are migrating abroad. On the other hand, for a long time, fewer children have been born in Punjab. If a large number of young people migrate abroad, it will inevitably impact the population. There will be fewer young people and more elderly people. Thus, the entire structure appears to be changing. The state’s administration and its health services will now change their approach. Care for the elderly and the low availability of a working population are two factors that will change the face of Punjab’s society. Currently, a survey has shown that two-thirds of Punjab’s families have only one child. 72 percent of young people are refraining from having children due to economic uncertainty, job instability, and expensive housing. Economic security, employment, and emotional preparedness are essential to maintain fertility rates. All these factors have an impact of over 80 percent. Furthermore, in a poor country like ours, there are no ready-made frameworks for the young generation to dream of. Instead, young people see only the fragmentation of dreams. The degrees they receive in the education system are not suitable for jobs in the changing digital world, so even if they want to work, they cannot find work. Previously, young people would migrate to dollardenominated or ruble-denominated countries, but now even going there is becoming difficult. Tell me, on what basis can the youth of this country envision a bright future for themselves? In this complex environment, the only solution we see is to rapidly transform the education system, revise the curriculum, and make education employmentoriented. Employment-oriented, digital, means that the country now needs software engineers, not engineers. Until this complete transformation is seen, a big question mark will remain before the youth as to where they will find a place for their working abilities as they prefer to live with dignity rather than pity.