Archive · 25 Aug 2026
India’s Graduate Unemployment Surges as Skills Gap Widens
A NITI Aayog report says many Indian graduates cannot find jobs.
It says graduate unemployment is much higher than unemployment among people overall.
Only about one in twelve graduates gets a job related to what they studied.
The report says students often learn theory but do not get enough practical experience.
It also says many courses do not teach the skills employers currently need.
NITI Aayog wants schools to teach communication, digital skills, money management and entrepreneurship earlier.
It also recommends special vocational schools that teach practical trades.
Industry experts agreed that students need more workplace experience and training.
They warned that skills change quickly, so schools and companies would have to keep updating their programmes.
NITI Aayog says 13% of Indian graduates are unemployed, compared with a national rate of 3.2%.
Only 8.25% of graduates work in roles aligned with their qualifications, the report says.
The report links weak employability to limited practical learning, outdated curricula and insufficient industry exposure.
It recommends teaching employability and entrepreneurship skills from Class VI and creating vocational schools from Class IX.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the government, while industry experts supported the recommendations but warned implementation would be difficult.
- Who
- Indian graduates, students and employers are central to the report; NITI Aayog issued it, and Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the government over its findings.
- What
- A NITI Aayog report found high graduate unemployment and a weak connection between degrees and jobs, and proposed earlier, more practical skilling.
- When
- The report was published on August 18; the article does not specify the year.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- The report attributes the problem to limited practical learning, outdated curricula, weak industry alignment and insufficient job-readiness support.
Government Critics
Report and Industry View
Responsibility for graduate unemployment
Government Critics
Mallikarjun Kharge said the Narendra Modi government had damaged young Indians’ path from education to employment and questioned the promise of two crore jobs annually.
Report and Industry View
The NITI Aayog report focuses on education and training weaknesses, including outdated curricula, limited practical learning and poor alignment with workplace needs.
How to improve employability
Government Critics
Kharge argued that a shortage of jobs, vacant government posts and the growth of contractual and part-time work are central problems.
Report and Industry View
The report and industry representatives emphasised earlier skilling, apprenticeships, workplace exposure, digital and artificial intelligence skills, and stronger industry-academia partnerships.
Implementation challenge
Government Critics
The criticism highlights the need for sufficient secure employment rather than relying only on changes to education and training.
Report and Industry View
TeamLease and Adecco representatives supported practical, industry-linked training but warned that rapidly changing skill requirements would require updated equipment, facilities, trained personnel and continuing corporate partnerships.
- Graduate unemployment
- 13% of all graduates and 20.4% of women graduates are unemployed.
- National unemployment
- The overall national unemployment rate is 3.2%.
- Qualification-aligned jobs
- Only 8.25% of graduates are employed in roles aligned with their qualifications.
- Youth outside education, employment or training
- An estimated 8.7 crore people aged 15 to 29 were in this situation in 2021.
- Government job applications
- There were 1.86 crore applications for 55,000 government posts between November 2024 and July 2025.
- Starting salaries
- Generic graduates without skilling earn an average of ₹22,000 monthly, compared with ₹29,000 for those with skilling.
- Recommended school reform
- The report proposes employability and entrepreneurship skills from Class VI and vocational streams from Class IX.