Lok Sabha Question No. 2722 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: Employability of Professional Graduates
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Deepender Singh Hooda

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2722

ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026

## Employability of Professional Graduates

2722. Shri Deepender Singh Hooda:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government  maintains  data on the number  of  students completing professional courses from all public and private universities across the country during the last ten years including the current year, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the Government has any corresponding data on the number of such students who secured employment during the same period, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has carried out any assessment of the reasons for a large number of professional graduates remaining unemployed, if so, the details of such findings and if not, the reasons therefor; and

(d) whether the Government has prepared any time-bound roadmap to improve employability of professional graduates, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ( DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR )

(a)  to  (d):  As  per  the  All  India  Survey  on  Higher  Education  (AISHE),  the  number  of students completing major professional undergraduate courses (B.Tech, MBBS etc.) in both public and private universities has shown a significant increase over the years. In the survey year 2022-23  (Provisional), a total of 13,72,209 students completed  such  courses, comprising 8,09,253 male students and 5,62,956 female students. In comparison, during the survey year 2014-15, the total number of students completing these courses was 8,92,159, including 5,12,461 male students and 3,79,698 female students.

The official data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force  Survey  (PLFS),  which  is  conducted  by  the  Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18.

As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR), on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6% in 2017-18 to 3.2%  in  2023-24.  The  details  are  available  in  the  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS) reports, which may be seen at:

https://www.mospi.gov.in/download-reports?main\_cat=ODU5&cat=All&sub\_category=All

Government  of  India  launched  National  Education  Policy  (NEP),  2020  with  an  aim  for holistic  development  of  students.  NEP  aims  to  transform  and  enhance  the  quality  of education  across  the  country  with  an  objective  to  establish  an  education  system  that  is inclusive, equitable, and of high quality, empowering learners to meet future challenges and contribute to national development.

NEP  lays  emphasis  on  integrating  skill  development  with  mainstream  education  by embedding  vocational  and  practical  skills  across  school  and  higher  education,  removing hard separations between vocational and academic streams.

To  enhance  employability  of  the  students  and  achieve  the  objectives  of  NEP  2020, University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued the National Credit Framework (NCrF), enabling integration of Skill Education into academia. It also enables credit accumulation through diversified domains such as Skill Enhancement Courses, Value Addition Courses, Ability  Enhancement  Courses  alongwith  Internships  and  Projects.  The  NCrF  also  has  a provision for the accumulation of a maximum of 50% of the total credit required through skill-based  courses.  These  provisions  have  enabled  Higher  Educational  Institutions  to provide relevant knowledge to the students, making them industry ready.

Further, UGC has formulated guidelines for the introduction of Apprenticeship Embedded Degree  Programmes  to  be  offered  by  Higher  Education  Institutions  to  provide  practical exposure during the course of study expected with the aim to enhanced competencies of the graduates and the employment thereof.

UGC also  introduced  'Guidelines  for  Internship/Research  Internship  for  Under  Graduate Students' in February 2024, with an aim to improve employability and develop interest for research.

To  achieve  the  objectives  of  NEP  2020  and  ensure  availability  of  industry  relevant knowledge to students of technical students, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has taken several steps including:

-  Model Curriculum in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Space Technology, Electronic Engineering (VLSI Design and Technology), Robotics and Artificial Intelligence etc. Due representation of Industry stakeholders is ensured in the curriculum revision committees.
-  Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with leading industries and organisations have been signed to facilitate internship, skilling and upskilling of students and faculty members.
-  Issued model internship guidelines for technical courses. Internship is mandatory  component  of  Model  Curriculum  issued  by  AICTE  for  different courses. These guidelines provide internship in full-time or part-time.
-  Industry  Academia  Mobility  framework  launched  by  AICTE  to  facilitate connect between theoretical knowledge and practical application, facilitating collaboration between academia and industry.
-  In  order to  promote innovation and entrepreneurship, over 16,000 Institution Innovation Councils (IICs) have been established across the country, engaging more  than 1  lakh  faculty  members and 1.5  lakh  students in  innovation  and entrepreneurial activities.

The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with IIT Madras and eminent Industry Partners, have  launched  the  SWAYAM  Plus  platform  on  27th  February  2024.  The  platform  offers high-quality  learning  and  certification  programs  in  partnership  with  leading  industry  and academic experts to students/learners, helping them reskill, upskill, and become employmentready.  These  courses  also  include  domains  such  as  media,  communication,  and  soft  skills, aimed at enhancing non-technical competencies to improve employability. The Ministry of Education  and  IIT  Madras  have  signed  more  than  85  MoUs  with  the  leading  industry partners. As of 3rd March 2026, more than 500 courses in 17 different sectors are available on the platform, and more than 5 lakh learners have enrolled for their skill augmentation.

The  Ministry  of  Education  also  implements  the  National  Apprenticeship  Training  Scheme (NATS) to impart on-the-job training and enhance the employability of youth. In the last 5 financial  years  (FY  2020-21  to  2024-25),  the  NATS  scheme  has  engaged  12.94  lakh apprentices. For FY 2025-26, over 4.88 lakh apprentices have been engaged.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, operates the National Career Service  (NCS)  Portal  which  is  a  one-stop  solution  for  providing  career  related  services including  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]

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