Using data from various published sources, this report reviews the growth of higher education in India over the last 30 years, analyzes employers' needs for higher education graduates since 1950, and suggests guidelines for involving educational planning with manpower planning. The author describes the growth of Indian higher education in the burgeoning of new institutions, in the increase of enrollments, and in the expanding of educational expenditures. Within the perspective of labor force characteristics as a whole, Indian Ministry of Labour statistics are used to show the past effects of employment trends on university graduates' success in finding jobs in their fields. The employment characteristics of a cohort comprising 1968 graduates are detailed, as well, in data drawn from the 1971 census. With primary education being universalized in India, it is argued, planning for higher education must include projecting labor market needs so that unemployment and underemployment of graduates might not dampen future economic expansion. The report thus argues for manpower planning as part of educational planning, to be balanced with the individuals' choices of career. Past Indian programs of manpower planning are described, and the present mismatch of employer needs and employee qualifications is documented. The conclusion contains suggestions for an employment-oriented educational policy and a better relationship to general economic policy. (JW)