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India’s life sciences sector is on an upward trajectory. Yet, companies face recruiting challenges in on-boarding job-ready talent, leading to increased recruitment costs, prolonged onboarding timelines, and reduced productivity, according to Dr. Purav Gandhi, CEO and founder, Healthark Insights.
Annually, scores of fresh graduates in pharmacy, chemistry, and allied disciplines struggle to secure employment, due to lack of practical and industry-relevant skills. As technology continues to advance, so does the education and skill development of the workforce. There is an imminent need to close key gaps and prepare the workforce for advanced research and technology, he added.
At the same time, life sciences skilling is undergoing a quiet evolution. Skilling programmes are increasingly incorporating specialized programmes. There is also growing emphasis on building soft skills and project management capabilities because these skills are becoming critical in the modern biotech and pharmaceutical landscape, he noted.
Despite this evolution, there are many ground-level challenges like lack of hands-on experience, affordability concerns, narrow recruitment focus and insufficient industry-academia collaboration.
Students report limited exposure to industry-grade equipment, real-world lab work, and practical training. With most post graduate MSc and M Pharm programmes charging under Rs. 1,00,000 annually, supplementary skilling programmes often appear financially burdensome unless subsidized. Companies often hire from a handful of top institutions, excluding a large segment of qualified but underexposed students. There's a lack of strong collaboration between educational institutions and industries, leading to a disconnect between training and actual industry needs.
To directly address these challenges, the Government of Telangana along with C4IR Telangana launched Life Sciences Skilling Programme with the goal of cultivating a highly skilled and competent talent pool to advance healthcare and life science industries, he noted.
This is in the wake of India being committed to becoming the ‘skill capital’ of the world and there are State driven efforts to support this. The Telangana Life Sciences Skilling Programme was developed with input from four leading companies such as Syngene, Aragen, Aurigene and Sai Life Sciences. The programme is tailored for today’s pharma and healthcare needs, he said.
A standout feature is cost reduction, through the Telangana Life Sciences Foundation (TLSF), 75–80% of course fees are covered, bringing the student share down to just Rs. 5,000—removing financial barriers for low-income learners. The curriculum strikes a balance between theory and practice: 50% online classes and 50% lab-based sessions, including site visits and equipment training. It also incorporates soft skills training, preparing students for real-world roles.
In the pilot cohort 140 students were shortlisted, 108 completed final assessments. 105 placement offers were made. At least 78 students secured paid internships at top pharma companies. There were 83% women, 70% from low-income families, and many were first-generation graduates.
Gandhi noted that buoyed by the pilot’s success, the Telangana government along with C4IR Telangana is now looking to scale up the training to 1,000 students and plan to expand eligibility and expand it to other specialized programmes. We see this initiative to be a blueprint for state-driven transformation in India’s skilling ecosystem as this is positioned to be inclusive, industry-aligned, and built for scale.
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