Highlighting the growing significance of skills, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the country will become the skill capital of the world. Referring to the recently announced Union Budget 2024, the Prime Minister, in his 11th consecutive Independence Day speech from Red Fort, highlighted the landmark initiatives announced by the government to train India’s youth to build the country as the skill capital of the world.
He called for “enhanced focus on skill-building across all sectors, including agriculture and sanitation”, and informed of the more extensive Skill India Programme in the current Budget. “This programme also emphasises internships to provide young people with practical experience and marketability,” PM Modi said, while also expressing a vision for India’s skilled manpower to play a prominent role in the global job market.
“India will become the skill capital. Indian universities should attain global prominence,” the PM said. The Prime minister also envisioned transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, leveraging its resources and skilled workforce.
He noted that the “skilled youth” in the country will become “the first choice in the world.” In July, the Union Budget allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crore for education, employment, and skilling. The government also promised financial support of up to Rs 10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions.
In addition, a scheme to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in 500 top companies with Rs 5,000 per month as internship allowance and one-time assistance of Rs 6,000 was also announced. About 20 lakh youth will be skilled over five years.
A Rs 2 lakh-crore Prime Minister’s package of five schemes was also introduced to facilitate employment and skilling in the country. The government in 2015, launched Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to encourage and promote skill development in the country by providing free, short-duration skill training and incentivising it by providing monetary rewards to the youth for skill certification.
Till June this year, more than 1.15 crore youth have received certification under the PMKVY, while more than 1.48 crore youth have received training since its inception in 2015, government data shows.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) also delivers skill, re-skill, and up-skill training under various schemes — PMKVY, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to all sections of the society.
The government has also announced the setting up of 30 Skill India International Centres to cater to the demand for skilled workers from foreign countries.
