‘Debt trapped youth, declining birth rates’: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu says high real estate costs are killing our future
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has sparked a debate after warning that soaring living costs—especially housing, education and healthcare—pose a direct threat to a nation’s demographic future.
In a post on X, Vembu argued that expensive real estate and essential services trap young people in lifelong debt, discouraging them from starting families. “Any society that traps its young people in debt… is a society that is destroying its own demographic future,” he wrote, calling the trend a structural crisis rather than an individual problem.
His comments come amid growing concerns about falling fertility rates globally, including in several Indian metros where younger populations increasingly delay marriage and parenthood due to financial pressures.
Vembu’s post has since gained traction online, with many users agreeing that the economic burdens placed on young adults are becoming unsustainable.
A user wrote: “So true. American millennials were destroyed by this! (There are other factors too!)”
“Absolutely. This makes complete sense. When the cost of education, housing and healthcare keeps rising, young people are pushed into survival mode instead of family building. If a society truly wants a strong future, it must make life affordable for the next generation. Lower the cost of living, and you naturally empower more people to become parents,” another user said.
A third user weighed in: “What if the problem is NOT just cost, but opportunity? Maybe the focus should be on creating an economy where young people can earn so much that these costs feel manageable. Empower ambition, not just affordability.”
“Add expensive marriage to the list Sridhar. I’ve seen young couple borrowing recklessly for a lavish wedding to keep up their social status among peers,” a fourth user said.
Yet another user wrote: “This is why most metros are concentrated centre for white collar jobs and most real estate jobs are owned by politicians (sic).”
