Amid the rush for government jobs and concerns over paper leaks, labour-intensive services such as education and healthcare could become key sources of employment in an increasingly automated economy.
Over the past month, large-scale protests have taken place across the country, with demonstrators demanding greater fairness and transparency in examination systems for admission to major academic programmes and recruitment to government jobs. The immediate trigger was the alleged leak of the NEET-UG question paper, but protesters also highlighted irregularities associated with several other examinations.
In response, the government introduced a new Bill in Parliament. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes stricter punishment for those found responsible for examination paper leaks.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts important examinations such as NEET and the Common University Entrance Test, is also being restructured, while 47 officials have reportedly been suspended. At the heart of the controversy is the issue of fairness. The possibility of examination papers being sold in exchange for money undermines confidence in the entire system. Therefore, restructuring is necessary not only for the NTA but also for agencies responsible for conducting examinations for higher education programmes and public-sector employment.
But this raises a more fundamental question: Why does a market for leaked examination papers emerge and continue to survive? Perhaps the answer lies in the structure of India’s labour market.
India’s employment structure
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) provides some striking insights into the country’s employment structure.
In 2025, regular wage and salaried workers accounted for 23.6 per cent of the total workforce, with more than half employed by the government or public-sector enterprises. Self-employed workers accounted for around 56 per cent, while the remainder were casual labourers.
The average monthly earnings of regular workers were estimated at around Rs 22,699, higher than the average monthly income of approximately Rs 14,861 for self-employed workers and around Rs 10,000 for casual labourers, assuming they worked an average of 22 days a month.
Even among regular workers, there are significant disparities. More than half do not have written employment contracts or access to social security benefits.
The wage gap across occupations is also substantial. Among regular workers, the ratio between the highest- and lowest-paid categories is around 4:1. When the highest-paid regular workers are compared with casual workers, the gap widens further. Public-sector employment, particularly at lower levels, also tends to offer relatively attractive wages. Meanwhile, the self-employed category includes a significant number of unpaid family workers.
Why government jobs remain so attractive
The shortage of well-paying jobs in India, combined with relatively higher wages in the public sector, has created intense demand for government employment. Candidates are therefore willing to make extraordinary efforts to secure these positions.
This is where the incentive for examination paper leaks emerges.
While the proposed legislation and restructuring of examination agencies may provide short-term solutions, policymakers also need to address the underlying issue: How many quality jobs is the economy actually creating?
India’s economy is becoming increasingly capital-intensive
The employment-generation structure of the Indian economy has changed significantly over the years.
Data from the KLEMS database indicates that the ratio of labour to capital has steadily declined across major sectors. In other words, economic activity is becoming increasingly capital-intensive.
Agriculture and allied activities continue to have a relatively higher labour requirement compared with other parts of the economy. However, manufacturing and services are increasingly converging in terms of their capital intensity.
Technological progress is likely to accelerate this trend. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) could trigger another wave of automation, affecting both routine physical and cognitive tasks.
This creates a difficult policy challenge. India needs to remain at the forefront of technological development to compete globally. From this perspective, policies should encourage both the development and adoption of new technologies. This is essential if India is to increase its share of global intellectual property and create new sources of income.
Could services become the next major source of jobs?
The cost of creating additional employment in manufacturing and services is broadly comparable. In the emerging era of automation, it may therefore be time to consider the service sector as a primary source of employment.
According to KLEMS data, labour-intensive service activities include construction, trade, hotels and restaurants, education and healthcare.
The first three sectors may generate employment largely for relatively less-skilled workers, while education and healthcare require a more skilled workforce.
This raises an important question: Is it time to rethink the role of education and healthcare in India’s employment strategy?
Improving the quality of services in these two sectors could potentially help India develop into a global hub for education and healthcare, while simultaneously creating large employment opportunities for the country’s young population.
Ageing population could create new opportunities
India, like many other countries, will also face growing demand associated with an ageing population. Globally as well as domestically, demographic changes are likely to create new opportunities in healthcare, elderly care, education and related services.
These sectors could provide, at least over the medium term, employment opportunities that are relatively less vulnerable to AI-driven automation.
The immediate priority, therefore, should be to develop better regulation, training systems and quality standards to support high-quality education and healthcare services.
India’s employment challenge cannot be solved only by creating more government jobs or tightening examination rules. A sustainable solution will require the economy to generate a much larger number of productive, well-paying and future-ready jobs—and labour-intensive services such as education and healthcare could play a central role in that transition.
