SKILL INDIA PROGRAMME – ITS IMPACT AND CHALLENGES AHEAD

Dr. Poonam Rani
Associate Professor
Dept. of Economics , Bareilly College Bareilly

Introduction-
Make in India campaign was launched in new Delhi by the Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on 25th of September in 2014. It is an initiative to make a call to the top business investors all across the world (national or International) to invest in India. It is a big opportunity to all investors to set up their business (manufacturing, textiles, automobiles, production retails, chemicals ,ports ,hospitality, tourism, wellness, railways, leather, etc) in any field in the country. This attractive plan has resourceful proposals for the foreign companies to set up a manufacturing powerhouse in India. (1)
Make in India campaign focuses on building the effective physical infrastructure as well as improving the market of Digital Network in the country to make it a global hub for business (ranging from satellites to submarines, cast to softwares, pharmaceticals to ports, paper to power , etc). The symbol( derived from national emblem of India) of this initiative is a giant lion having many wheels (indicate peaceful progress and way to the vibrant future). Giant walking lion with many wheels indicate the courage strength, tenacity and wisdom.
This National program is designed to transform the country into to the Global Business hub as it contains attractive proposals for top local and foreign companies. This campaign focuses on creating number of valuable and honoured jobs as well as a skill enhancement in almost 25 sectors for improving the status of youths of the country.(2)
The successful implementation of this plan will help in the hundred smart cities project and affordable housing in India. The main objective is to ensure solid growth and valuable employment creation in the country with the help of top investors. It will benefit both parties, the investors and our country. The Government of India has created a dedicated help team and an online portal (makeinindia.com) for the easy and effective communication of investors. A dedicated cell is committed to answer all the queries from business entities anytime.(3)
Skill India Programmme-
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the make in India campaign inviting investors from all over the globe to invest and set up business in India, he promised and abundance of skilled labour in the country . Complementary to this was the idea of skills development among the youth of the nation.
Skill India is a campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra damodardas Modi on Kaushal 15th July 2015 which aim to turn over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022.(4)
The Pradhanmantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was envisaged as a key measure to impart skills based training to young men and women, making them capable of earning and supporting the Nation’s anti-poverty endeavours. The scheme becomes all the more important in the Indian society which has the world’s largest youth population that requires employable skills .
Objectives of Skill India and National Skill India Mission-
The main goal is to create opportunities, space, scope for the development of talent of Indian youth and to develop more of those sectors which have already been put under skill development for the last so many years and also to identify new sectors for skill development. The new program aims at providing training and skill development to 500 million youth of our country by 2020 covering each and every village. Schemes are also proposed to achieve this objective. Government of India promoted National Skill India Mission(NSIM). It has several objectives as Employment generation, reducing poverty, enhancing competitiveness of Indian business ,preparing the youth of India main power source for World markets, diversifying skills development programs to meet the changing requirements, ensuring quality and relevance of training, providing greater and active involvement of social partners in skill development, mobilising adequate investments for financing skills development sustainable.(5)
Initiatives of Skill India-
Various initiatives under this program are
o o “National Skill Development Mission” ,
o o “National policy for skill development and Entrepreneurship 2015”
o o “Pradhanmantri Vikas Yojana”
o o “Skill Loan Scheme”
o o “Rural India”(6)
Features of Skill India-
o The emphasis to skill the youths in such a way so that they get employment and also improve entrepreneurship.
o Provides training , support and guidance for all occupations that were of traditional type like carpenters, cobblers, welders, blacksmiths, masons, nurses, tailors, weavers etc.
o More emphaisis will be given on new areas like real estate, construction, transportation, textile, gem industry, jewellery
o designing, banking, tourism and various other sectors, where skill development is inadequate.
o Various training programmes would be on the lines of international level so that the youths of our country can not only meet the domestic demands but also of other countries like the US, Japan, China, Germany and those in the West Asia.
o Another remarkable feature of the’Skill India’ programme would be to create a hallmark called ‘Rural India Skill’, so as to standardise and certify the training process.
o Tailor Made ,Need-based programmes would be initiated for specific age groups which can be like language and communication skills, life and positive thinking skills, personality development skills, management skills, behavioural skills, including job and employability skills.
o The course methodology of ‘Skill India’ would be innovative, which would include games, group discussions, brainstorming sessions, practical experiences, case studies.(7)

Select Schemes-
The Government has introduced new schemes along with a revamp of existing schemes. Some of the more important ones are listed below
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) This is flagship outome-based skill training scheme aimed at benefiting 24 lakh youth. A monetary reward is provided to trainees on assessment and certification. The steering Commitee for PMKVY is responsible for providing directions for implementation.
Implementing Agency: The scheme will be run through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gramin Kaushal Vajana (DDC-GKY):The Skill component of NRLM, Aajeevika Skills, has been revamped as the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya- Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. The minimim entry age for the scheme has been reduced to 15 years (from the earlier 18) Training will be imparted through 1500-2000 centres to be set up for the purpose over the next two years.
Implementing Agency: The DDU-GKY National Unit in the Ministry of Rural Development functions as policy making, technical support and facilitation agency. DDU-GKY State Missions provide implementation support and the Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) implement the programme through skilling and placement projects. Other Schemes: Under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana (DAY)scheme, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation will undertake skill development of 5 lakh urban poor per year.
Other new programmes include NaiManzil for education and skill development of dropouts, USTTAD(Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts Crafts for Development to conserve traditional arts/crafts and build capacity of traditional artisans and craftsmen belonging to minority communities, NaiRoshni, a leadership training programme for minority women, and MANAS for upgrading entrepreneurial skills of minority youth.(8)
Skill India – Its Impact on Economy and Society-
One of the key impact on the due to lack of skill development is that the social expenditure increases which create further ripple impact on the economy. Lower taxes reduce investments in a democratic country. The problem is that Total Factor Economy is being ignored and the basics of the human labour are being ignored. If a qualified person is not getting a job that does not mean jobs are not available in the market. Neither the blame can be passed to technology advancement.
India is looking for a USD 5 Trillion GDP which cannot be achieved only on the service industry and consumption. Manufacturing, reducing inequality will lead to the growth of the Indian economy. Indian consumption-based GDP growth cannot achieve based on capital or liquidity injection within the society. One needs to understand when the labour force skilled education is enhanced employment gets into the picture which actually drives the consumption. What we are trying to do is that by lowering taxes and interest rates we want people to borrow and spend. This consumption theory will not work. The demographics of the economy is changing simultaneously with the velocity change of technology.
India is currently looking ahead to consumption growth through reduction of taxes and increasing liquidity into the system. But these triggers will fail to push the growth of the Indian economy as the key area of human labour is not able to get the consumption. Now capital and labour are the two segments which help the economy to grow.
Labour is struggling due to lack of skill and the capital is being deployed at the wrong place. Total factor productivity includes infrastructure, education, and advancement in technology.
Skill development is mandatory since the growth of the economy will be restricted and unskilled jobs per capita income will be declining over the long term with more labour force breaking the monopoly of the same.
Technology and capital will open up new gates but that will not push the per capita income of the society. (9)
Challenges of Skill India Programme-At over 19% unemployment rate, one in every five Indian who graduate (or even better) is unemployed. It is almost as if the economy penalises workers for getting educated. According to most estimates India continues to be a country that faces one of the highest shortages of skilled workforce. This chart essentially looks at companies that face a shortage of skilled workers.

The other side is the massive unemployment in India – one that worsens with educational attainment . The data for this chart is for the January to April 2021 period, when the overall unemployment rate in the country was 6.83%. In comparison, those with graduation (or even higher degrees) face almost three-times the unemployment level. At over 19% unemployment rate, one in every five Indian who graduate (or even better) is unemployed. It is almost as if the economy penalises workers for getting educated

The upshot of these two charts: On the one hand, companies in India face an acute shortage of skilled manpower and, on the other, India has millions of educated unemployed.(10)
The challenge of Skill Development is multifold. There is a large proportion of the existing workforce, which needs skill training support of varying levels. While it is estimated that at least 1.7 crore will enter the workforce every year for the next 7 years. The current annual skilling capacity is inadequate to match this demand, with many initiatives un-aligned and suffering from a lack of coordination. The situation is further complicated by different states having different demographic situations, hence different skilling needs and challenges. “Vocational Training” falls under the Concurrent list, which means State Governments have a key role and responsibility in realizing the objective of “Skill India”. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship however, will have a crucial role in coordination between a range of stakeholders- including skill training providers, governments at all levels, and the end beneficiaries.
Suggestions to improve skill development-
1. Capacity building of DSC is essential. Further, to ensure true decentralisation the DSCs has to ensure optimum resource utilisation and the inclusion of all marginalised sections of society.
2. The skill development of DSC have to focus on, o Creating and managing knowledge
o Customising and localising content
o Disseminating knowledge through training
o Providing opportunities for guided practice
o Lastly, Evaluation with actionable feedback.
3. Leveraging skill training to ensure socio-economic development: For example, mechanisation of the work for manual scavengers, rag-pickers will provide monetary benefits and result in social change. Further, it will also provide entrepreneurial ability and career opportunities to the caste-based skills also.
4. The increased role of states: The state government not only have to send officials for skill enhancement but also has to provide incentives to the trained officers. For example, the state government can provide choice for their next postings, extending them in their deputation posts, sponsoring them for a higher training course, etc.
5. District skill planning has to understand the socio-economic profile of the district population. To understand this, the government have to perform the micro-level study. The study should also take account of individuals attitudes and aspiration.
6. The government also has to differentiate between the training that gives livelihoods to people at the local level and the training that grow beyond the local at state, national or international levels. The government also has to encourage people to move ahead and get training beyond the local level.
7. Interact with industry representatives: The government has to interact with Local industry, trade chambers, sector skill councils, and experts to identify relevant industrial skills. Similarly, the government also has to provide courses in self-development and interpersonal communication and other softer aspects.(11)
Conclusion-
To make India internationally competitive and to boost its economic growth further a skilled workforce is essential. For transforming its demographic dividend, an efficient skill development system is the need of hour.

References-
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org.wiki
2. Focus on ‘Make In India’ Business Standard, 25 Sept,2014.
3. www.makeinindia.com
4. “Government to train 40 crore people under Skill India initiative” , The Economic Times , 15 July 2015.
5. https://nationalskillindiamission.com
6. “PM Modi launches Skill India Initiative That Aims to Train 40 crore people” NDTV , 15 July 2015.
7. www.mapsofindia.com
8. www.swanti.com
9. https://taxguru.in/finance/skilldevelopment
10. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explainspeaking-the-challenge-of-skilling-india-7411258/
11. https://blog.forumias.com/yojana-summary-skill-development- initiatives-challenges-and-solutions