Young Lawmakers

Why in News?

The youth representation in the Indian Parliament was critically low from 1951–52 to 2024 according to data from the Association for Democratic Reforms.

• Young Lawmakers – It refers to the representation of young adults in the age group of 25-40 years in legislatures.
• Trends in Lok Sabha – Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) are typically middle aged and form a majority in most political parties.

• Young MPs – Most political parties’ MPs are aged 46 to 65.
• Congress has largest share of young MPs.

The Lok Sabha elected in 1998 was the youngest where the average age of its MPs was 46.4 years.

• Young MLAs – The young are underrepresented in state assemblies as well.
• After elections in 8 states in 2024, the share of MLAs aged 40 or younger is 10% or less.
  • Arunachal Pradesh – No MLA aged 40 or younger.
  • Jharkhand – 16% of its MLAs are under the age of 40.

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Jharkhand is the youngest state assembly among the newly elected governments in 2024.

Reference

Business Standard| Young Lawmakers in India