Slum-skilling pipelines feed India's retail, QSR and gig hiring as entry-level labour tightens

CII-ABVKVK, Lighthouse, Hasiru Dala and Dr Reddy's Foundation have driven 65,000 training-to-placement outcomes, with 18,300 women placed in 2025. Telecom takes 25% and ecommerce 15% of placements, while Urban Company and Snabbit absorb gig supply across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad ahead of Mission 2026.

— Source publishedMon, 15 Jun, 2026, 19:19 IST·First seen Mon, 15 Jun, 2026, 19:28 IST·Source The Hindu BusinessLine

What happened

CII ABVKVK · Skilling programmes by CII, Lighthouse, Hasiru Dala and Dr Reddy's Foundation are channeling urban slum workers into retail, ecommerce, QSR,

Key facts

  • 65,000 training/placement outcomes
  • 18,300 women placed in 2025
  • telecom 25% of placements
  • ecommerce 15%
  • 50 slum clusters mapped
  • 100+ job fairs planned

Why this matters

Mission 2026's 100+ job fairs and 65,000 placement track record signal acquisition or strategic-partnership targets in the skilling-to-placement layer that could lock in workforce moats for retail platforms.