80% Indian engineers unfit for any job: Study
New Delhi: It's been nearly a decade since career assessment and research solutions firm Aspiring Minds first published its annual employability report in 2010.
According to one of its early reports published in 2011, 82 per cent Indian engineers were unemployable.
In 2012, the report further noted that 50 per cent Indian engineers lacked basic English skills.
The latest Annual Employability Survey 2019 (external link) report released by Aspiring Minds reveals that "80 per cent Indian engineers are not fit for any job in the knowledge economy."
According to the same report, only 2.5 per cent of them possess industry relevant tech skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The findings are based on data collected from 1,70,000 students from across 750 plus colleges in India.
For the first time, the employability report includes comparitive data with inputs from engineers in the US and China.
The 2019 survey states that only a handful of Indian engineers possess coding expertise.
"Good coding skills are possessed by 4.6 per cent of Indian job applicants."
It says that Indian engineers (4.6 per cent) can code correctly compared to their Chinese counterparts (2.1 per cent) but lag behind American peers (18.8 per cent) who can write codes correctly.
The annual report also identifies some of the reasons why there is a skill gap.
"Engineering is an applied discipline. Engineers learn primarily by doing, not only by reading and listening."
"Only 40 percent of engineering students in India perform internships and only 36 per cent undertake projects outside their assigned coursework."
It stresses on the lack of industry relevant curriculum and exposure.
"Students are trapped in a college bubble," it points.
"Sixty percent of faculty do not discuss how engineering concepts apply to industry. Only 47 per cent of students report the opportunity to attend a talk by industry personnel during their college career. Most talks that students attend are intra-departmental, rather than seminars, workshops, conferences or webinars that typically feature outside experts and scholars who present complementary or alternative perspectives."
Engineering students in India further struggle during their placements.
Approximately 40 per cent of students reported that their primary challenge is finding the right company or the most suitable job profile to apply.
Their second challenge was to secure and pass an interview.
"Our students need counseling to understand the kinds of jobs that are available; how to determine which job profiles match their interests and skills; the skill gaps that may disqualify them; and how to address those skill gaps," the report suggests.
courtesy: rediff.com
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RBI does not target any band for rupee, allows it to find its own level: Guv Malhotra
Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
The governor's statement came at a time when the rupee breached the 90-mark against the US dollar, and is hovering near that level.
"We don't target any price levels or any bands. We allow the markets to determine the prices. We believe that markets, especially in the long run, are very efficient. It's a very deep market," he said while replying to a question on rupee depreciation at a post-monetary policy press meet.
Malhotra said fluctuations in the market keep taking place, and the effort of the RBI is always to reduce any abnormal or excessive volatility.
"And that is what we will continue to endeavour," he added.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI announced three-year USD/INR Buy Sell swaps of USD 5 billion this month.
When asked if the USD-INR swap is aimed at checking rupee depreciation, Malhotra said, "It is a liquidity measure. It is not to support the rupee".
Stressing that RBI does not target any level of rupee against the US dollar, he said the central bank allows "the rupee find its correct position, correct level".
The governor further said the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and the current account is manageable, and given the strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should witness good capital flows going forward.
Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) to India recorded a net outflow of USD 0.7 billion in 2025-26, so far (April-December 03), due to unabated withdrawal from the equity segment.
Flows under external commercial borrowings and non-resident deposit accounts moderated compared to the last year.
As of November 28, 2025, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 686.2 billion, providing a robust import cover of more than 11 months.
The governor further said that, having reduced the policy rate (repo) by 25 basis points, the focus will now be on transmission of the rate cut to the real economy.
According to the RBI's November bulletin, the depreciation of the rupee in October was due to a stronger dollar, following the US Fed's policy announcement to lower the Federal funds rate.
Nevertheless, strong fundamentals, such as stable inflation, a resilient growth outlook for the Indian economy, a narrower current account deficit, steady services exports, robust private remittances, and robust foreign exchange reserves, have contributed to the rupee being the least volatile among emerging market and developing economies.
The rupee has performed better than the Euro, and its depreciation has been in line with that of other currencies, such as the Japanese Yen and the Korean Won (for April to November 2025-26).
The central bank has announced various measures over the last 3 years to diversify and expand the sources of foreign exchange funding, aiming to mitigate exchange rate volatility and dampen global spillovers.
The RBI bi-monthly policy in October had announced some measures to enhance the use of the rupee in international trade.
