Abstract The National Youth Policy was formulated in the year 1988; in 2003 and subsequently in 2014. The changes in the socio-economic and other conditions in the country call for a reformulation recurrently so that the contemporary situation is taken stock of and absorbed into the policy for the youth well-being. India is the world’s highest youth densely populated country. The Census 2011 mentions youth population in the age group of 15-24 amounting to 231 million and the decadal growth is +22.1 % while the sex ratio is 908 (882) in 2011. It is an urgent call to all stakeholders interested in youth development to take a serious look into the policies, programmes and schemes crafted for the youth along with the pros and cons of the implementation and review them in accordance with the rising needs and demands of the youth population in the country. In it their participation, cooperation, contribution and inclusion should be the main approach. This paper shall primarily have a relook into the policies of 2003 and 2014 and present an analysis of them for better understanding of the same. Keywords: Youth, National Policy, 2003, 2014, Critical exploration, Analysis A Critical Exploration of National Youth Policy of India – 2003 and 2014 A. Shahin Sultana* * Associate Professor & Head, Department of Social Work, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India. E-mail: dr.shahinsultana@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Youth is considered to be a very important segment of the society. They are constantly changing and evolving considerably over a period of time.Youth are currently the most inluential factor when it comes to social change and it shall continue to be the same, hence their energies have to be tapped and directed constantly towards a positive force for both their own and the national development. The UNFPA Executive Director considers youth as “young people who are the innovators, creators, builders and leaders of the future”. He believes, only if the youth have “skills, health, decision-making and real choices in life” will their future be transformed (Rukmini, 2014). India’s youth matter, politically and economically. India Indian Journal of Sustainable Development Volume 1 Issue 2 July 2015 is one of the youngest nations in the world, which has a population of 65 per cent under the age of 35 years (Nayyar, 2011). It is pathetic to see in some cases where the children at times are just dragged or pulled into the adult age due to their family conditions. More over the process of industrialization has also seen a lot of deviant behavior problems emerging during this phase as a result of changing scenario at various levels which is having a harsh effect on the youth all over the globe. The need for systematic research on different aspects and problems concerning youth is clearly indicated (Atal, 1989). He adds that there is so much to talk about youth but when it comes to research on the same there is very little done in this area. Simhadri (1989) mentions the demands of industrialization is such that it looks into whether individuals have the technical knowledge, task expertise and know-how. How despite its presence in the education system the urban youth manage to get jobs on comparison with the rural youth is another question? It is also been noticed that skills shortage is primarily the leading reason for having dificulties in having an entry into the irst level vacancies which is a clear indication that the educational system has to be more job oriented and not just theoretical in nature. PTI (2014) mentions that the developing countries with large youth populations could see their economies soar provided they invest heavily in young people’s education and health and protect their rights. This is why it is equally important for the respective Governments to come up with a clear cut policy clearly realizing the situation and also identifying what needs to be done and prioritize its plans accordingly. The National Youth Policy 2003 and 2014 was no doubt a step in this move to review the situation,