India, Aug. 4 -- Even though millions of commerce graduates pass each year, their employability has kept lagging a bit. A Mercer-Mettl study that runs across more than one million students spread over 2,700 campuses found overall graduate employability at 42.6% in 2024.

And the more hopeful India Skills Report 2026, compiled jointly by ETS, CII, AICTE and AIU, puts the number at 56.35%. So, effectively, nearly half of India's graduating talent still does not meet the hiring bar. This mismatch is because the commerce students cram accounting standards, but they may never have actually built a working Excel model, and some degree-holders pass the syllabus checkpoints without the hands-on, tool-driven capabilities which recruiters often see...