Day 46 – Q 2.With regards to India’s unique position with respect to its demography, examine the significance of skilling the young population. What measures have been taken by the government in this direction? Examine.

2. With regards to India’s unique position with respect to its demography, examine the significance of skilling the young population. What measures have been taken by the government in this direction? Examine. 

जनसांख्यिकी के परिप्रेक्ष्य भारत की अद्वितीय स्थिति के संबंध में, युवा आबादी के कौशल विकास करने के महत्व की जांच करें। इस दिशा में सरकार ने क्या उपाय किए हैं? जांच करें।

Introduction:

According to the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, more than 54 per cent of India’s population is below 25 years of age and 62 per cent of India’s population is aged between 15 and 59 years. This demographic dividend is expected to last for the next 25 years. 

With most of the developed world experiencing an aging population, India has the opportunity to supply skilled labour globally and become the world’s skill capital. However, the demographic advantage might turn into a demographic disaster if the skills sets of both new entrants and the existing workforce do not match industry requirements.

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Significance of skilling the young population

• Employability – India’s workforce is young and growing fast: 250 million people will enter the labour market by 2025. However, the India Skill Report 2018 states that only 47 per cent of those coming out of higher educational institutions are employable.

• Entrepreneurship – India is extremely competitive in terms of labour and production costs, and has a successful culture of entrepreneurship. Skill enhancement is important to sustain this culture. 

• Growth of the economy – As highlighted in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, India is already among the fastest growing major economies in the world. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has surged in the last few years as a result, which implies that investors share my optimism. India’s young workforce only adds to the attraction.

• Global competitiveness – With globalization, innovation and digitalization driving global competition and exorbitant consumer expectations, goods and services will have to constantly evolve to remain relevant, as will the skills required to deliver them.

• Sustainable development – Imparting skill sets for greener transformation will generate employment opportunities and strengthen our resolve to conserve and preserve the priceless environment.

• Balanced regional growth – For instance, there is need for skill development at the grassroots to meet the challenges of hospitality and tourism industry in order to better harness India’s tourism potential.

Measures taken by the government in skilling the young population

• A dedicated Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was set up in 2014 to implement the National Skill Development Mission, which envisions skilling at scale with speed and standards.
• On July 15, 2015, on the first ever World Youth Skills Day, Skill India scheme was launched. 
• To improve the relevance and quality of courses offered by industrial training institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and private training providers, sector skill councils (SSCs) have been involved in curriculum up-gradation/preparation, and in the assessment and certification process. Courses are being aligned to the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). 
• Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has been introduced to ensure certification of and bridge training for the existing work force. 
• 40.5 lakh candidates have been trained under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), and 74 lakh candidates under fee based training programmes run by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
• A ‘Skill Loan’ initiative is launched in which loans from Rs 5,000-1.5 lakhs will be available to whom who seek to attend skill development programmes, over the next five years. The idea is to remove financial constraints as a hindrance to accessing skill training programmes.
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya – Grameen Kaushal Yojana. The Ministry of Rural Development implements DDU-GKY to drive the national agenda for inclusive growth, by developing skills and productive capacity of the rural youth from poor families.

Conclusion

It is estimated that 75 per cent of the new job opportunities to be created in India will be skill-based. In a country where more than 90 per cent of workforce is in the informal sector, the task is immense. For harnessing the demographic advantage that it enjoys, India needs to build the capacity and infrastructure for skilling/reskilling/up-skilling existing and new entrants to the labour force