An RTI response revealed a stark truth: nearly 38% of students across 23 IIT campuses remained unplaced in 2024–25. Amid this, the oft-repeated refrain — “one-third of Silicon Valley tech workers are Indian” — keeps getting trotted out as proof of our greatness. But that narrative overlooks a deeper crisis.

A 2024 report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley shows that 23% of foreign-born tech professionals in the region hold Indian nationality, and Indian origin workers make up about one third of the total tech workforce. Yet, these individuals represent a narrow slice: top scorers, those with access to elite education, or those who migrated for better opportunities. Their success is despite — rather than because of — India’s faltering systems.

Back home, university curricula remain stuck in the past, with weak industry alignment and a lack of exposure to modern technologies like AI, cloud, ethics, and product design. Faculty shortages, obsolete teaching methods, and dwindling placement rates even within IITs are signals that our higher education machinery is grinding.