Reimagine university model, focus on employability: Sanyal

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Prime Minister's economic advisory council member Sanjeev Sanyal has said India's bigger challenge is employability, not a shortage of jobs. In an interview with Mint, he argued there is no evidence the unemployment rate is rising and rejected the concept of 'jobless growth'. He said AI is making the traditional university lecture model obsolete and suggested young people should start work at 18 while studying part-time. He cited industries that struggle to find qualified workers as proof of the employability gap.

India's unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above was 5.6% in June 2025, down from the Covid-19 spike, according to official data. Sanyal said the higher joblessness seen among educated youth in their early twenties is often because many spend years preparing for government exams like the UPSC. He added that AI will both eliminate some jobs and create new categories, making continuous retraining essential.