Does anybody have experience of working as a YP in the Ministries/Government agencies or as a contractual employee in these? What has it been like?

Contacts and nepo kids only. But prospects are good. Helps with foreign scholarships and sometimes law firms.

Complete sham! I had applied a while ago for a Young Professional program, the interview (online) was timed for 5 minutes. Their selection was based on that and a 250 word statement on why you want to work there.

They ultimately hired someone from Modern School, Barakhamba. Everyone knows who studies at that school (for the uninitiated - children of politicians and bureaucrats).

The same scam has been running at Invest India - their entire staff is children of bureaucrats and politicians.