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Skill India: PM Modi targets 40 crore skilled workers in India by 2022 but this is hardly enough

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government launched the Skill India programme on July 15, stating his vision of maing India the 'human resource capital' of the world. The programme was launched as the government's "war against poverty". 

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The Narendra Modi-led NDA government launched the Skill India programme on July 15, stating his vision of making India the 'human resource capital' of the world. The programme was launched as the government's "war against poverty". 

While launching it, Modi said: "We have opened a war against poverty strategically, and we must win this fight".

Under the ambitious programme, the NDA government will work toward equipping over 40 crore people with adequate skills by 2022. 

But is this enough?

It is imperative that new jobs are created in the country in direct proportion with the number of people that the government looks to train. In the absence of which, we'll only have a rising educated (or skilled) population sitting idle or doing odd jobs, thereby defeating the very purpose of Modi's initiative. 

An Annual Employment - Unemployment Survey report (2013-2014) by the Labour Bureau has listed the rate of unemployment among the youth at 12.9% in the 18-29 years age group, and 17.5% in the 15-17 years group. As against this, unemployment rate in the 30 and above age group was found to be 1.4%.

The Unemployment Rate for the persons aged 18-29 years and holding a degree in graduation and above was found to be maximum with 28% based on Usual Principal Status Approach at All India level, the survey has noted.

Skilled unemployed labour force

-- It is estimated that in 2013-14, in 15 years and above category, 6.8% were undergoing vocational training across the country. 

-- Out of this, about 25% have reported that they were unemployed despite the vocational training they had or were receiving. 

-- About 39% women did not take up jobs despite getting vocational training in various fields. 

-- Out of the number of people trained formally and informally, 14.5% of the people who had formal vocational training reported that they were unemployed, while 3.1% people who had received informal vocational training reported unemployment. 

Despite ambitious growth-inducing economic policies by the government since last year, very little has actually translated into hard core numbers in the year. The manufacturing sector has been sluggish and even the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has failed to indicate any significant improvement in the economic climate. At the same time, retail inflation, indicated by Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up to a eight-month high in the month of June and stood at 5.4%.

To make its Skill India programme a success, the government will not only need to see that more and more people sign up for technical training programmes, but also simplify the process of approving projects, attracting foreign investment, and reducing logjams, to make sure more and more jobs are created in the country.

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