NITI Aayog released its third report under the Services Thematic Series titled "India's Services Sector: Insights on Regulatory Regime in Professional Services" on August 10, 2026. The report was launched by Shri Ashok Kumar Lahiri, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, in the presence of Smt. Nidhi Chhibber, CEO of NITI Aayog, and Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary of MOSPI, during a meeting of the High-Powered 'Education to Employment and Enterprise' Standing Committee. The launch event was attended by senior officers from various Ministries/Departments, State Governments, Industry Associations, and Experts/Academia who are members of the Committee.
The report presents a unique factual assessment of India's regulatory framework in professional services and benchmarks it against select foreign jurisdictions. It draws on extensive stakeholder consultations to identify key challenges and outlines a strategic way forward to strengthen the sector. Professional services represent a critical sub-sector within India's services economy, accounting for nearly a quarter (25%) of India's total services exports. These high-value, knowledge-intensive activities enable efficient delivery of downstream services, support job creation and remittance inflows, and form the backbone of the services value chain.
The report adopts a balanced approach providing sector-specific insights alongside a four-pronged strategy to enhance the efficiency and output of professional services: harnessing emerging trends to transform professional services; elevating professional services within the services value chain; adoption of best practices in professional services; and continuous professional development for professionals. As India approaches its demographic peak, the report emphasizes that professional services offer significant opportunities for high-skilled employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The study concludes that a well-designed regulatory ecosystem can further strengthen service exports, cross-border mobility of professionals, and the ease of doing business, providing an indicative pathway for future policy dialogue and deeper examination of regulatory foundations as India advances towards Viksit Bharat @2047.