THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 14, 2026
NITI Aayog has laid out a four-pronged strategy to unlock the
growth potential of India’s professional services sector, seeking to sharpen
its regulatory framework, expand high-skilled employment and strengthen the
country’s position in global services markets.
The policy think tank, in a report assessing India’s
regulatory regime for professional services against select foreign
jurisdictions, has called for greater adoption of global best practices,
continuous professional development and a sharper focus on emerging trends to
make the sector more efficient, competitive and future-ready.
The report, titled “India’s Services Sector: Insights on
Regulatory Regime in Professional Services”, was launched on August 10 by NITI
Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri at a meeting of the High-Powered ‘Education
to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee.
NITI Aayog CEO Nidhi Chhibber and Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Secretary Saurabh Garg were also present at
the launch. Senior officials from central and state governments, industry
associations, academia and other stakeholder groups attended the event.
The publication is the third report under NITI Aayog’s
Services Thematic Series and provides a factual assessment of the regulatory
environment governing professional services in India. It draws on stakeholder
consultations, examines sector-specific challenges and outlines possible
measures to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.
Professional services account for nearly one-fourth of
India’s total services exports, underscoring their growing importance in the
country’s external sector. As knowledge-intensive and high-value activities,
these services contribute to downstream services, employment generation and
remittance inflows, while also playing a significant role across the broader
services value chain.
The report emphasises that a deeper understanding of the
regulatory ecosystem is critical to unlocking further growth in professional
services and consolidating India’s position in global markets.
The report proposes a four-pronged strategy aimed at
improving the efficiency and output of India’s professional services sector.
The strategy focuses on harnessing emerging trends to
transform professional services, elevating the role of professional services
within the wider services value chain, adopting global best practices and
promoting continuous professional development.
NITI Aayog said professional services could generate
significant opportunities for high-skilled employment, entrepreneurship and
innovation as India moves towards its demographic peak.
A well-designed regulatory framework, the report noted, can
support the expansion of services exports, facilitate cross-border mobility of
professionals and improve the ease of doing business.
The report is intended to serve as an indicative roadmap for future policy discussions and more detailed examination of the regulatory foundations governing professional services.
NITI Aayog said strengthening the professional services ecosystem would be crucial for building a globally competitive, inclusive and future-ready services sector as India works towards its goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.
