India seeks to harness its demographic dividend and respond to evolving labour market needs by a well-integrated and forward-looking skilling system, as per the Economic Survey 2025-2026 tabled in the Parliament today by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

Expanding access to skills and improving their quality requires a well-integrated skilling ecosystem. Skills policy sits at the crossroads of education, labour markets, and industry, making close coordination and collaboration essential among a broad range of stakeholders, including multiple institutions, ministries, government at various levels, students, educators, workers, employers, trade unions, and other relevant actors. The PLFS 2023-24 findings show that the share of individuals (in the 15–59 age group) having acquired some form of vocational or technical training has increased from 8.1 per cent in 2017-18 to 34.7 per cent in 2023-24,reflects the positive impact of skilling initiatives in India.

Future-skills courses

NSQF-compliant training has been expanded by developing 169 trades, which include 31 future-skills courses in areas such as AI, internet of things (IoT), renewable energy and 3D printing, delivered through the nationwide network of ITIs and National Skill Training Institutes.

Strengthening skilling ecosystem by ITIs

Reforms are strengthening the skilling ecosystem at the ITI level, focused on improving training quality, industry relevance, and institutional capacity. The National Scheme for Upgradation of ITIs proposes to upgrade 1,000 government ITIs, including 200 hub ITIs and 800 spoke ITIs, through smart classrooms, modern labs, digital content, and industry-aligned long- and short-term courses.

Connecting Skilling to Industry

Industry involvement in curricula, training, apprenticeships, and assessments aims to make skilling more market-responsive. Embedding industry participation across institutions, standards, and programme oversight can enhance the relevance and credibility of training. In recognition of this, under PMKVY 4.0, training is imparted in NSQF-aligned job roles developed by industry-led Sector Skill Councils (SSC), and several courses are delivered directly within industrial premises with trainers sourced from the employer ecosystem.130 Furthermore, regular Rozgar Melas and National Apprenticeship Melas enhance the interface between employers and job seekers.

Connecting Employers to Job Seekers

As per the survey, regular Rozgar Melas and National Apprenticeship Melas enhance the interface between employers and job seekers. Under PMKVY 4.0, the sectoral focus on digital technologies, green energy, healthcare, advanced agriculture, financial services, and e-commerce reflects a calibrated effort to steer skilling investments toward India’s long-term growth drivers and emerging opportunities in the global economy.

The integration of SIDH, NCS and eShram portal has created a robust digital infrastructure that can be leveraged for real-time monitoring and assessment, linking training records with employment outcomes, employer demand, and individual skilling trajectories.

India’s Apprenticeship Framework

The apprenticeship ecosystem also has undergone a policy and structural transformation. The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and NATS have been expanded to cover a wider range of sectors and enterprises. Over 43.47 lakh apprentices have been engaged under PM-NAPS across 36 states/UTs, with participation from more than 51,000 establishments, and female participation reaching 20 per cent.The NATS programme also recorded 5.23 lakh apprentice engagement in FY25, demonstrating the expanding scale and institutional maturity of India’s apprenticeship framework.

Way Forward

As India moves ahead in its growth journey, advancing institutional convergence and fostering a whole-of-government approach would enable the skilling and employment initiatives to operate in a coherent manner. This could set the stage for a sharper emphasis on industry-driven skilling, which remains central to building job-ready talent and strengthening skill-industry linkages.

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DT/DAM