Hyderabad, June 01, 2025: At a time when India is poised to become a $5 trillion economy, a silent crisis threatens its progress — graduate unemployment. Addressing this challenge head-on is Kali Prasad Gadiraju, Chairman of eThames Business School, Hyderabad, and a stalwart of India’s consulting world with over 40 years of global experience, including 35 years in leadership roles at EY.

“The era of degree-based hiring is over. Skill-based hiring is the new norm,” declares Kali Prasad Gadiraju

One crore graduates are graduating every year, yet we face a hiring crisis. Of the one crore graduates India produces annually:

* 15 lakhs are from engineering and medical streams.

* 85 lakh hold general degrees.

* Only 15 lakhs pursue higher education.

* Around 10 lakhs find employment in MNCs or large corporations.

* The remaining 60 lakh are either underemployed or earn as little as ₹15,000/month.

“That is the real challenge,” says Mr. Gadiraju. India's biggest crisis is not unemployment- it's unemployability, he adds.  We are producing degrees, not job-ready professionals,” asserts Mr. Gadiraju, who has consulted over 700 companies and mentored thousands of students from premier institutions like IITs, IIMs, ISB, and Ivy League universities. His current mission is to bridge the widening gap between academic education and industry readiness—a gap that leaves nearly 60 lakh graduates every year underemployed or earning below ₹15,000 a month.

Mr. Gadiraju believes that India’s demographic dividend could easily become a demographic disaster if its youth are not equipped with relevant, real-world skills. “Employability is the new literacy,” he declares, underscoring the urgency to shift from degree-based hiring to skill-based hiring.

Under his visionary leadership, eThames Business School is reimagining business education through a hands-on, industry-integrated model. From the first year itself, students are exposed to mandatory internships, weekly CEO masterclasses, and AI-readiness programs designed with corporate leaders. The focus is clear: prepare students for the careers of tomorrow, not just exams.

One of his most impactful initiatives is the BPL Meritorious Training Model, which identifies high-potential, low-income B. Com (English medium) graduates and provides them with free, employer-funded training in high-demand sectors. These include hospitality operations, information technology, and the rapidly growing domain of anti-financial crime (AML & KYC) within the BFSI sector. The short-term (1.5–2 months) programs have already transformed the career paths of hundreds of underemployed youths, equipping them with practical skills and higher incomes.

“Every student has the potential of an Elon Musk or Dhirubhai Ambani. It’s the job of the education system to nurture that,” says Mr. Gadiraju, who has also held leadership positions in bodies like FICCI, CII, TiE, ISACA, and ACFE.

He is also advocating for policy reforms, including a national employability audit, outcome-based education models, mandatory credit-linked internships, and tax incentives for companies investing in student upskilling.

eThames’ approach is already delivering results, with over 85% placement success, even among average academic performers. The model is rapidly gaining recognition as a blueprint for future-ready education.

In a candid interaction at the eThames campus in Panjagutta, Mr. Gadiraju asked, “AI is replacing jobs. But are our graduates even ready for the jobs that exist?” His call for urgent action resonates with a growing number of educators and employers alike.

For Mr. Gadiraju, the message is loud and clear — India’s rise depends not on how many graduates, but on how many are truly employable. Through eThames, he is setting a benchmark for others to follow.