1)Original meaning: Bulging of working age segments of popn pyramid. The larger number of employed also add greatly to consumption and market size and econ activities....Also low dependency ratio(ratio of retirees+under-aged to employed).
2)hindu apologetics:They're embarrassed by image of poor and over-populated hindustan and the contrary of china's tuff popn policy. So they claim they've 'demografic dividends'---basically a mental opioid.
From Swamy the econ prof:"...Thus, India — by unintended consequences of a relatively unfettered population growth — is now gifted with a young population.."---https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-new-economic-agenda/article5944375.ece
China, with a huge popn and also common sense, has housing and infra building industry of mind-boggling scale to employ people, provide affordable housing..public facilities...thus create jobs and econ opportunities. China produces >1/2 of global steel&cement.
Hindu politicians on the other hand found it easier to get votes with beef ban, muslim bashing, caste politics.... Upper caste hindus want to work in air-cond'ed office, why bother with creating hand-on dirty jobs for the lo castes?
However, to hindu credits, such 'demografic dividends' are not entirely BS, eg, it's cheap for upper caste hindus to hire lo caste domestic servants becos of hi unemployment there
3)Nu hindu narrative: All are not lost if
a)The hindu govt ban most of foreign imports, ie competition..
b)Ban silicon based robots and to ultilize the lo-caste hindus as carbon-based robots with wage similar to maintainence cost of silicon based robots, except in the cases mechanical precision of the latters are required.
b)Cut oil imports and promote 'green' means of transportation: Harness all the stray bovines to pull carts--Holy Cow Demografic Dividends