Dr. Vinita Aggarwal

Dr. Vinita Aggarwal, a former Indian Economic Service (IES) officer of the 1985 Batch, is a distinguished public policy expert with over three decades of experience in social sector across skill development, education, labour and gender. She has served in several key policy-making and advisory positions within the Government of India, and is widely recognized for her policy leadership, institution-building capabilities and contribution to social sector reforms.

She has worked extensively on labour law reforms, international labour standards; the strengthening of legislations, policies and schemes for the empowerment of women, and led the Gender Budgeting agenda. Dr. Aggarwal has played a pivotal role in shaping India’s skill development ecosystem. As Senior Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and as Director General of the National Skill Development Agency, she contributed significantly to the development of policy, quality assurance mechanisms and regulatory frameworks for skill development and vocational training in the country.

Dr Aggarwal is particularly recognised for spearheading the conceptualization and establishment of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) as India’s unified national skills regulator; and bringing out the first set of standards for entities operating in the skill ecosystem.

Following her superannuation in October 2020, she was appointed as Executive Member of the NCVET in April 2021. In this role, she has driven reforms aimed at strengthening the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), promoting industry-aligned qualifications and enhancing the quality, credibility and employability of vocational education and training in India