Career counselling in Delhi · NCT of Delhi
Know Delhi's numbers before you choose your child's destination
The National Capital Territory is 1.68 crore people, 97.5% urban, with the second-highest per-capita income of any Indian state. This page puts Delhi's official education, economy and employment data in one place.
Delhi had 1.68 crore residents in Census 2011, 97.5% urban, with an 86.2% literacy rate and a sex ratio of 868.[dtab]
Delhi's economy is projected at ₹13,27,055 crore in 2025-26 with per-capita income of ₹5,31,610 — about 2.5 times the national level.[bs26]
Services make up 85.4% of Delhi's economy; yet nationally only 5% of youth hold formal vocational training.[des24][plfs25]
01 · City snapshot
Delhi in eight numbers
- Population
- 1.68 crorestate167.88 lakh · Census 2011 [dtab]
- Urban share
- 97.5%stateCensus 2011 [dtab]
- Literacy rate
- 86.2%stateCensus 2011 [dtab]
- Sex ratio
- 868stateup from 821 in 2001 · Census 2011 [dtab]
- Density
- 11,320 / sq kmstateCensus 2011 [dtab]
- Decadal growth 2001–11
- 21.2%stateLowest since 1951 · Census 2011 [des24]
- Per-capita income
- ₹5,31,610state2025-26 advance estimate · Economic Survey of Delhi [bs26]
- National per-capita income
- ₹2,19,575national2025-26 · Economic Survey of Delhi tables [dtab]
02 · Education landscape
Where Delhi's students learn
- Colleges registered nationally
- 48,246nationalAISHE 2023-24 [aishe]
- Colleges in Delhi
- Data being compiledAISHE state table under verification
- Schools (govt / private)
- Data being compiledUDISE+ 2023-24 under verification
- Secondary dropout rate
- Data being compiledUDISE+ 2023-24 under verification
| Institution | Type | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|
| University of Delhi | Central university | Largest affiliating university in the capital |
| IIT Delhi | Institute of national importance | Engineering and science |
| AIIMS New Delhi | Institute of national importance | Medicine |
| Jawaharlal Nehru University | Central university | Social sciences and languages |
| Jamia Millia Islamia | Central university | Multidisciplinary |
| National Law University Delhi | State university | Law |
| Delhi Technological University | State university | Engineering |
| Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology | State university | IT and computing |
Delhi hosts India's densest cluster of central universities and institutes of national importance.
03 · How Delhi families invest in education
What parents here already spend — and what it buys
- Household education spend (share of urban consumption, NCT of Delhi)
- Data being compiledMoSPI HCES 2023-24 state table under verification
- Typical private school fee band
- Data being compiledRequires fee-regulation committee data; not published as a district figure
- Formal vocational training, ages 15–29
- 5.0%nationalPLFS 2025 [plfs25]
- Education share of Delhi budget schemes
- 23.83%stateBudget 2020-21, largest sector · Economic Survey [es2021]
Delhi families compete for seats at DU, IIT Delhi and AIIMS in a city where per-capita income is 2.5 times the national level. Spending is not the constraint. Cut-offs are — and a cut-off is a poor proxy for who a child is.
04 · Economy & industry
What Delhi makes and where the money is
- GSDP (current prices)
- ₹13,27,055 crstate2025-26 advance estimate [bs26]
- GSDP growth (real)
- 8.53%state2025-26 [dtab]
- Services share of GSVA
- 85.4%state2023-24 [des24]
- Delhi's share of national GDP
- 3.89%state2023-24, at 1.55% of population [des24]
Sectors that define the city
| Cluster / project | Location | Why it matters for careers |
|---|---|---|
| Central government and regulators | New Delhi | Policy, public administration, consulting |
| Delhi NCR gig economy | Region | 26% of India's urban gig workforce, highest in the country [tgn] |
| Delhi NCR GCCs | Region | ~270 centres, 15–18% of India's GCC ecosystem [flex] |
| Working factories | Delhi | 9,121 units employing 4,19,578 people, 2019-20 [dt19] |
| Employer | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Central government ministries and PSUs | New Delhi | Public administration |
| Delhi Metro Rail Corporation | Delhi | Transport |
| AIIMS / Safdarjung / Delhi hospitals | Delhi | Healthcare |
| Consulting and law firms | Delhi | Professional services |
| Media houses | Delhi | Journalism and broadcast |
Employer categories from Economic Survey of Delhi sector data; individual headcounts are not published at city level.
05 · Employment & jobs
Who is hiring, for what, and at what pay
- Urban labour-force participation, 15+
- 52.0%nationalnational urban · PLFS 2023-24 [plfs2324]
- Urban unemployment, 15+
- 5.1%nationalnational urban · PLFS 2023-24 [plfs2324]
- Urban youth unemployment, 15–29
- 13.6%nationalnational urban · PLFS 2025 [plfs25]
- Urban female labour-force participation
- 25.2%nationalApr–Jun 2024 · PLFS [plfs2324]
- Delhi NCR share of India's urban gig workforce
- 26%regionHighest in India · Taggd 2026 [tgn]
- GCCs in Delhi NCR
- ~270regionFlexiple 2026 [flex]
- Factory employment
- 4,19,578state2019-20 · Economic Survey of Delhi [dt19]
- Delhi unemployment
- Data being compiledPLFS state table under verification
Skills employers here are short of
Entry-level and early-career pay bands for Delhi are being compiled from NCS and published placement data and will render here once a verified source is attached.
06 · Careers relevant to Delhi
Occupations this city can hold
Hiring now
Policy analyst
Proximity to central government and regulators
Chartered accountant
Finance and real estate services
Lawyer
Supreme Court, High Court, NLU Delhi
Doctor
AIIMS and hospital density
Data analyst
~270 GCCs across NCR
Hospitality manager
Capital-city hospitality
Journalist
National media headquarters
Logistics coordinator
Trade and transport hub
Growing in the next decade
Fintech product manager
BFSI and fintech growth in NCR
EV engineer
EV and auto roles across NCR
Biotech research associate
NCR biotech cluster
Gig-platform operations manager
26% of India's urban gig workforce
Job-creator openings
Compliance and policy advisory
Regulator proximity
Gig-worker services
Largest gig workforce in India
EdTech for competitive exams
Highest seat competition in the country
07 · The gap
Why Delhi, of all cities, needs mentoring
Delhi produces ₹13.3 lakh crore a year with a per-capita income 2.5 times the national level — yet urban youth unemployment nationally is 13.6% and only 5% of youth hold formal vocational training. Delhi's scarcity is not money. It is direction.
- Delhi NCR holds 26% of India's urban gig workforce — the highest — a labour market that rewards a demonstrable skill over a credential. [tgn]
- Only 5.0% of 15–29-year-olds hold formal vocational training; among those who do, 83.3% of men and 51.4% of women are in the workforce. [plfs25]
- Urban youth unemployment (13.6%) is 2.7× the all-adult urban rate (5.1%). [plfs2324][plfs25]
| Coaching class | School counsellor | Dheya mentoring | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | An exam | A stream form | A behavioural assessment of the child |
| Question answered | How to score more | Which subjects to take | What work belongs to this person |
| Duration | 1–2 years | One or two meetings | 2 weeks to 7 years, by package |
| Uses local job data | No | Rarely | Yes — this page is part of the plan |
| Outcome measured | Marks | Not measured | Self-awareness and decision-readiness, before and after |
How Dheya helps in Delhi
स्वभाव · Svabhāva — a person's intrinsic nature — comes first. Every Dheya engagement begins with a behavioural assessment, then maps the person to the occupations above through a written development plan.
Ages 13–15 · Discover Path
From ₹6,999. Assessment, clarity, two mentor sessions.
Ages 15–18 · Define Destiny
From ₹9,999. Stream and subject choice with evidence.
Ages 18–22 · Drive Career
From ₹11,999. First-job clarity mapped to Delhi's employers.
Professionals 22–45
From ₹13,999. Career diagnosis, pivot and transition planning.
Delivered online and in person by certified mentors. Mentors serving Delhi: count to be pulled from the mentor directory at publish time.
Start with a free 20-minute consultation
For families in Delhi and nearby.
Where we are
Serving Delhi from our Pune office
Dheya Career Mentors (India) Pvt. Ltd. runs one verified office. Mentoring for Delhi families is delivered online and in person by certified mentors, coordinated from this address.
Registered office
504 Spectrum Business Spaces, off Fergusson College Road, Near Modern College, Pune, Maharashtra 411005, India
Talk to us
+91 99234 00555
care@dheya.com
Mon – Sat, 9:00am – 8:00pm IST
On Google
Rated 4.7 out of 5 from 449 reviews on our verified Google Business Profile.
08 · Questions Delhi families ask
Frequently asked questions
Is career counselling available in Delhi?
Yes. Dheya Career Mentors offers online and in-person mentoring to families across Delhi and the NCR. Sessions are delivered by certified mentors using a behavioural assessment and a written development plan.
What does career counselling cost in Delhi?
Dheya's entry-level Guidance packages range from ₹6,999 (ages 13–15) to ₹16,999 (ages 30–45), each including a behavioural assessment and two mentor sessions. Longer Planning and Mentorship packages run from 3 months to several years.
Which careers are growing in Delhi?
Knowledge services — policy, finance, law, healthcare, analytics — plus fintech, EV and biotech across the NCR. Services are 85.4% of Delhi's economy (2023-24), and Delhi NCR hosts about 270 global capability centres.
When should a student in Delhi start career planning?
Class 8 to 9, before stream choice in Class 10. Only 5% of Indians aged 15–29 hold formal vocational training (PLFS 2025), so an early, evidence-based look at a child's natural strengths matters more than a late scramble for seats.
How large is Delhi's economy?
Delhi's GSDP is projected at ₹13,27,055 crore for 2025-26, growing 9.42% at current prices, with per-capita income of ₹5,31,610 — about 2.5 times the national level (Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26).
What is the literacy rate in Delhi?
86.2% in Census 2011, up from 81.67% in 2001, with 97.5% of the population urban.
What is the unemployment rate for young people?
Nationally, urban youth (15–29) unemployment was 13.6% in 2025 against 5.1% for all urban adults in 2023-24 (PLFS). The gap is the transition from education to first job — the stage where mentoring has the greatest effect.
Which employers hire the most in Delhi?
Central government, PSUs, hospitals, courts and law firms, consulting, media and about 270 GCCs across Delhi NCR; Delhi's 9,121 working factories employed 4,19,578 people in 2019-20.
Is Delhi a good city to study in?
Delhi hosts the University of Delhi, IIT Delhi, AIIMS, JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia, NLU Delhi, DTU and IIIT-Delhi.
How is Dheya different from a coaching class?
Coaching trains a student to do one thing better. Mentoring helps a student become more of who they already are. Dheya starts with a behavioural assessment, not a rank list, and measures change in self-awareness before and after every programme.
09 · Sources & method
Where these numbers come from
- [dtab] Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26, Table 1.1 "Delhi at a glance" and Table 1.2 (Census 2011, GSDP, per-capita income). Planning Department, Govt of NCT of Delhi, 2026. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [des24] Economic Survey of Delhi 2024-25, Chapter 1 write-up. Planning Department, Govt of NCT of Delhi, 2025. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [bs26] Delhi Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled — per-capita income ₹5.31 lakh. Business Standard, 2026. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [es2021] Highlights of Economic Survey of Delhi 2020-21. Planning Department, Govt of NCT of Delhi, 2021. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [dt19] Economic Survey of Delhi 2019-20, Table 1.1(a) — factories and employees. Planning Department, Govt of NCT of Delhi, 2020. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [tgn] Jobs in Delhi NCR 2026 — India Decoding Jobs Report. Taggd, 2026. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [flex] List of Global Capability Centers in Delhi NCR (2026). Flexiple (industry listing), 2025. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [plfs2324] Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2023-24, press note 23 Sep 2024; PLFS Quarterly Bulletin Apr–Jun 2024. MoSPI, 2024. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [plfs25] PLFS Annual Report 2025 (Jan–Dec 2025), PIB release. MoSPI / PIB, 2026. link · accessed Sep 2026
- [aishe] AISHE 2023-24 report. Department of Higher Education, 2026. link · accessed Sep 2026
Method. Figures are drawn from official Indian government statistical sources at the most local level available. Where a city figure is unavailable, the district or state figure is shown and labelled; where only a national figure exists it is labelled "national". Industry estimates are marked as such and never substituted for official statistics. Fields marked "Data being compiled" are awaiting a verified district source and will not be replaced with estimates. Data last reviewed: September 2026.