The first meeting of the “Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee,” formed under the Union Budget 2026-27, discussed measures to align India’s education and skilling ecosystem with labour market needs and decided to meet regularly to frame actionable suggestions for boosting employability, entrepreneurship and growth in the service sector, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.Niti panel discusses need to align skilling with job market needsThe meeting, convened by NITI Aayog on May 22 under the chairmanship of its CEO Nidhi Chibber, deliberated on labour force participation, youth employment, skill gaps, workforce preparedness and the transition of labour towards non-farm sectors, according to an official statement by the government think tank.The committee was proposed in the Union Budget 2026-27 to help India achieve a “10% share of the global services market by 2047” by identifying priority areas to optimise growth, jobs and exports while assessing the impact of frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, on employment and skill requirements.The meeting was attended by senior officials from eight central ministries and departments, four state governments and five industry associations along with experts from academia.A presentation by NITI Aayog’s services division highlighted the services sector’s potential in “economic value creation and employment generation.”During the meeting, Chibber underlined the need for “continued efforts towards aligning education, skilling, and employment ecosystems with the evolving requirements of the economy,” noting that India’s demographic dividend offers opportunities to create “productive employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for the youngsters.”The panel also discussed adopting emerging technologies and strengthening industry-relevant skilling pathways. It resolved to develop “future-ready policy responses for bridging the gap between education, employment, and entrepreneurship” through coordinated action among the Centre, states, industry and academia.The committee’s mandate is to bridge education, skilling, jobs and entrepreneurship while helping convert India’s demographic dividend into a “growth dividend,” an official said.