India's Workforce Crisis: 73% Basic Education, Massive Talent Shortage

• India faces a significant 'talent shortage' with 73% of its workforce having only basic education and a 63% talent gap in IT/engineering.
• The 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries (NCS) highlighted the urgent need to bridge skill gaps for 'Viksit Bharat'.
• India's 13.87 years of schooling yield 10.68 GDP per hour, significantly lower than developed nations, despite progress in average schooling years.
• 45.5% of the workforce is in agriculture, requiring a shift to formal sectors through skill training and increased female participation (31%).
• Officials advocate a 'whole of government' and 'whole of workforce' approach to transform India's vast population into an asset.

Why It Matters: India must urgently upskill its workforce and improve education to leverage its demographic dividend.