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Nation-wide skill survey to be conducted this year

India will conduct a nationwide survey in 2026 to assess adult skill levels. The 3-month survey will map basic, intermediate, and advanced competencies. This initiative aims to address identified skill gaps and low education levels in the workforce. The findings will inform policy as India's working-age population grows. Currently, data on overall skill levels is limited.
New Delhi: India plans a nationwide assessment of adult skill levels in 2026, with the statistics ministry set to conduct a three-month survey to map basic, intermediate and advanced competencies, officials said.
The exercise, undertaken at the request of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, will be based on the Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) framework. Since skill levels are not affected by seasonal factors, the survey will be carried out over a three-month period, rather than a full year, they said.
"It will cover the population above 18 years and assess what is the skill level-basic, intermediate, or advanced," said an official.
The survey is likely to be conducted after the first quarter of 2026.
"The three-month survey gives a fair idea about the situation on ground," said another official.
The recently concluded three-day conference of chief secretaries highlighted skill gaps and low levels of education in the workforce, ET reported earlier. This concern comes as the working age population is expected to hit 68.9% in 2030. Currently, about three-fourths of the employed population possess only basic education and the employability rate among graduates is 54.8%. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has introduced short-duration surveys through CMS to meet immediate policy requirements. It conducted two such surveys on telecom and education in 2025.
At present, there is no dedicated data on overall skill levels. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) captures the share of the population who received vocational or technical training.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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