Career Development Models in India: A Systematic Review of Research Trends, Contextual Limitations, and Future Directions with Special Reference to Maharashtra

Career development in India has expanded from traditional occupational guidance towards multidimensional approaches involving career choice, aptitude assessment, self-efficacy, career adaptability, employability and counselling interventions. However, the Indian literature remains dispersed and there is limited consolidated evidence concerning the actual models, assessment frameworks and intervention approaches developed, adapted or empirically tested within the Indian context. This systematic review examines Indian research on career development, career guidance and career choice models, with particular attention to their research designs, sample characteristics, constructs, geographical coverage and empirical findings. The review uses a structured search strategy based on combinations of career development, career guidance, career counselling, career choice, career aptitude, career maturity, career adaptability, career self-efficacy, India and Maharashtra. The identified evidence indicates that Indian research has predominantly adapted established psychological and career theories rather than developing fully indigenous comprehensive models. Empirical studies have generally examined specific determinants of career choice or individual components of career development rather than testing integrated Indian career-development models. Studies include a 93-student investigation of career choice among Indian management students, a qualitative study of 33 Indian students, a 729-student study examining emotional intelligence, career adaptability and job-search success, a 200-student Indian career-guidance assessment study, and recent intervention and model-development studies. Evidence specifically from Maharashtra remains considerably smaller, although a distinctive rural Maharashtra career-guidance practice based on the 7-Point Career Aptitude Test has been documented and a 2026 study identifies career mapping, aptitude, personality and employability assessment as components of this approach. Maharashtra's official educational system also maintains a dedicated Vocational Guidance and Psychological Counseling structure. The review identifies major gaps in model validation, longitudinal evidence, regional comparison, multilingual assessment, intervention evaluation and integration of individual characteristics with family, institutional and labour-market conditions. The paper argues for development and empirical validation of a Maharashtra-sensitive career development model integrating aptitude, interests, personality, self-efficacy, family influence, educational opportunities, employability and regional labour-market information