India’s demographics are the envy of the world. As populations in countries such as China, the US, and Japan are getting older, India’s population is getting younger. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. This increase in the working-age population generates a “demographic dividend” that can power economic growth. And to harness the power of the country’s favorable demographics it is critical to empower India’s labor force with the right skills for the modern economy. Thus, Skill India.
Skill India – Kaushal Bharat Kushal Bharat
Keeping in mind the potential perks of the major working-age population of India, the Government has always considered skill development as a national priority. So it was not like we didn’t have any Skill Development program before 2015. The BJP Government came to power and took a new approach toward skill development. The National Skill Development Mission was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on July 15th, 2015 on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. Under the Skill India Mission, there are about 20 Central Ministries/Departments including the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to enhance the employment opportunities of the youth. They are involved in the implementation of more than 40 schemes for various skill development programs.
These are the major schemes and initiatives taken under the Skill India Mission :
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
- The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC)
- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra
- Technical Intern Training Programme(TITP)
- National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme(NAPS)
- Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs)
- International Skill Training
Objective of Skill India
The vision is to fulfill the growing need in India for skilled manpower across sectors and narrow the existing gap between the demand and supply of skills. It targets to train over 40 crore people in different skills by 2022. The emphasis is to skill the youths in such a way so that they get employment and also improve entrepreneurship. The foremost focus has been on providing professional training for all occupations like carpenters, cobblers, blacksmiths, nurses, tailors, weavers, and so forth. New areas like real estate, construction, transport, textile, banking, tourism, etc have also been given importance. This campaign to skill the youth covers both rural and urban areas.
Achievements in the last 5 years
Source: Hunnarbaaz 
Source: Orf online
- In less than a year more than 10 lacs people enrolled in the PMKVY.
- In the last 5 years, the Skill India mission has created a vast infrastructure for skilling, reskilling, and upskilling the youth of India and has trained nearly 5 crores youth. Making sure to not just educate the youth but skill them.
- Lacs of new seats were added in the training programs
- The MSDE has been mapping the need for different skilled workers throughout the world and has been giving the training accordingly. It has enhanced opportunities to access employment both locally and globally.
- Skill India Mission is making the youth aware of the novel and changing scenarios. They focus on providing the trainees with correct guidance along with the need of time.
- Recently there was a portal launch to map the skilled trainees which would help the employers connected to the man-power with just a click. This would highly benefit the migrants by giving them easy access to jobs.
- Ministry has also undertaken various measures to encourage greater participation of the industry to skill the ecosystem to improve employment outcomes. Encouraging Employer led skill development has also helped to further improve placements.
- The placement data is reported within 90 days of certification of trained candidates. And as per the reports, 12.6 lac candidates have been placed in various sectors across the country last year.
- MSDE has conducted special skill development projects with Armed Forces (Navy, Army, Air Force), CRPF jawans, etc.
- ITI Students received Academic Equivalence for upward mobility
“If you don’t skill the nation, you will kill the nation”
Sadhguru
Skill India mission is the Government’s ambitious plan with the aim of training 500 million youth by 2022. But that certainly seems difficult amidst this pandemic. Yet the government is taking necessary steps in keeping up with the numbers of skilled workers in the following year. Skill India Mission will be the foundation of Make- In India and Digital India.
