Lok Sabha Question No. 2355 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: Changing Landscape of Employment
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2355 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF EMPLOYMENT

## 2355.   PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that lakhs of students/graduates from universities/  colleges/  industrial  training institutes are facing challenges not only in accommodating them, but also effectively integrating them into meaningful employment;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to ensure proper placement to such students;
- (c) whether the Government has any proposal for a structural reform for  a  stronger  collaboration  between  industries  and  academic institutes,  if  necessary  by  law  to  ensure  proper  placements  of outgoing students;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government has any proposal to make it mandatory that each higher education institution must ideally have at least one  formal  partnership  with  industry  partners  according  to  their syllabus, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government will ensure that educational institutions accountable  for  placements  and  create  accreditations  system aligned with job  placements and if so,  the details  thereof  and  if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) to (f):  The official data source on Employment and Unemployment is Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18.

As  per  the  data  available  in  latest  Annual  PLFS  Reports,  the estimated  Worker  Population  Ratio  (WPR),  indicating  employment  on usual status for youth of age 15-29 years (including students/ graduates from  universities/  colleges/  industrial  training  institutes)  has  increased from  31.4%  in  2017-18  to  41.7%  in  2023-24.    Further,  the  estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) for youth (15-29 years) decreased from 17.8% in 2017-18 to 10.2% in 2023-24.

Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment,  Government  of  India,  is running  the  National  Career  Service  (NCS)  Portal  which  is  a  one-stop solution  for  providing  career  related  services  including  information  on jobs  from  private  and  government  sectors,  information  on  online  & offline  job  fairs,  job  search  &  matching,  career  counselling,  vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in].

One of the objectives of the NCS scheme is setting up of Model Career  Centres  (MCCs).  The  Ministry  had  approved  407  Model  Career Centres (MCCs) across the country. These centres connect local youth and other job-seekers with job opportunities through the use of technology  as  well  as  career  counselling  and  training.  As  such  these Model  Career  Centres  (MCCs)  act  as  a  hub  for  organising  job  fairs, mobilising the employers, providing career counselling at local level etc. in collaboration with States and other institutions for the jobseekers and employers through outreach activities.

As on 14.07.2025, more than 6.43 crore (which inter-alia include Government,  Private  and  Public  Sector  Undertaking)  vacancies  have been mobilised on NCS Portal.

In  addition,  the  Union  Cabinet  has  approved  Employment  Linked Incentive  (ELI)  Scheme  named  as  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Viksit  Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support employment generation, enhance employability and  social  security  across  all  sectors,  with  special  focus  on  the manufacturing sector.

Under  the  Government  of  India's  Skill  India  Mission  (SIM),  the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) delivers skill, re-skill  and  up-skill  training  through  an  extensive  network  of  skill development centres under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme  (NAPS) and Craftsman Training Scheme  (CTS)  through  Industrial  Training  Institutes  (ITIs),  to  all  the sections  of  the  society  across  the  country.  The  SIM  aims  at  enabling youth of  India  to  get  future  ready  and  equipped  with  industry  relevant skills.

Amongst  the schemes  of Ministry of Skill  Development  and Entrepreneurship  (MSDE),  placements  were  tracked  under  the  ShortTerm  Training  component  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana (PMKVY) in the first three versions (PMKVY1.0, PMKVY 2.0 and PMKVY 3.0) implemented from 2015-16 to 2021-22. During the first three phases of the scheme (i.e. PMKVY 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0), 24.37 lakh candidates were reported  placed.  Under  PMKVY  4.0,  the  focus  is  on  empowering  the trained  candidates  to  choose  their  varied  career  path  and  they  are suitably oriented for the same. Further, various IT tools like Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) also gives this opportunity. As on 30.06.2025, under PMKVY  more  than  1.64  crore  candidates  have  been  trained  and  1.29 crore candidates have got certified across the country.

The  Government  has  brought  in  National  Education  Policy  (NEP) 2020  which  aims  to  integrate  vocational  education  programmes  into mainstream education in all educational institutions in a phased manner. Beginning with vocational exposure  at early ages in middle and secondary school, quality vocational education will be integrated smoothly into higher education.

To  enhance  the  employability  of  students,  most  of  the  higher educational  institutes  are  revamping  their  curricula  in  alignment  with industry requirements. They have also introduced, a range of initiatives to  enhance  students'  preparedness,  foster  industry  collaboration  and boost  placement  success  by  hosting  events  like  academia  /  industry conclaves, business summits and motivational talks by CEOs. They also leverage their extensive alumni network to strengthen connections with world  class  companies.  Internships  are  also  actively  encouraged  to equip students with industry experience and increase opportunities for pre-placement offers.

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