India is graduating over 1.5 million engineers every year — more than nearly any other country. But despite this vast technical talent, the nation still faces a major gap: turning engineers into innovators. There are concerns about low employability, outdated curricula, and a mismatch between what the industry demands and what colleges teach.
Only about 42‑46% of engineering graduates are considered job‑ready in emerging sectors like AI, robotics, or clean technologies. Many students feel unprepared when they enter the workforce. At the same time, the rapid pace of technological change has made traditional technical skills insufficient. To keep up, a large majority of engineering students are now trying to upskill.
India’s higher education system is under pressure to modernize. Improvements suggested include stronger collaboration between academia and industry, updating course content, promoting interdisciplinary learning, and encouraging more research and development. If such reforms are implemented, the country could leverage its engineering output to become a global leader in innovation, not just engineering numbers.
