NITI Aayog has convened the first meeting of the newly formed High-Powered “Education to Employment and Enterprise” Standing Committee aimed at strengthening India’s workforce readiness and boosting the country’s global services sector ambitions.
The committee, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, is tasked with helping India achieve a 10 per cent share in the global services market by 2047 by aligning education, skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystems with emerging economic opportunities.
The meeting, held on May 22 under the chairpersonship of NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chibber, brought together senior officials from key ministries, state governments, industry bodies, and academia. Among those present were Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Debashree Mukherjee and Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog Debjani Ghosh.
The committee includes representatives from ministries such as Labour and Employment, Commerce, Electronics and IT, Higher Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, School Education, and Statistics and Programme Implementation. State governments including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh are also part of the panel, alongside industry associations such as NASSCOM, FICCI, CII, and FISME.
During the meeting, Dr. Sonia Pant, Programme Director of the Services Division at NITI Aayog, presented the economic and employment potential of India’s services sector. Discussions focused on labour force participation, youth employment, skill alignment, workforce preparedness, and the transition towards non-farm employment opportunities.
The committee also examined the growing impact of frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence on jobs and skill requirements. Participants stressed the importance of industry-relevant skilling pathways and future-ready policy frameworks to bridge the gap between education and employment.
Chibber highlighted that India’s demographic dividend presents a major opportunity to accelerate economic growth by creating productive jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people.
The panel noted that the services sector remains a key driver of India’s economic resilience, export competitiveness, and integration into global value chains. It also underlined the sector’s importance in achieving the vision of a developed India under the “Viksit Bharat” roadmap.
The committee will meet regularly to develop actionable recommendations focused on employability, entrepreneurship, skilling reforms, and long-term growth in the services sector, with an emphasis on coordinated efforts between the Centre, states, industry, and academia.
