Budget pivots from job counts to job conditions, puts skilling at centre of growth plan

NEW DELHI: The Union Budget signals a shift in India’s employment strategy — away from headline job creation numbers and towards building the conditions for sustainable work, with skilling, services and sector-led ecosystems emerging as the core pillars.Instead of announcing how many jobs will be created, the government has focused on aligning education, skills and industry demand. A key structural move is the creation of a high-powered Education–Employment–Enterprise Standing Committee that will map skill gaps, identify high-employment service sub-sectors and assess the impact of artificial intelligence on future jobs — a recognition that degrees alone are no longer translating into...