Skill India Mission, Objective, Features, and More

Skill India Mission, under the Government of India, delivers skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling training programs through an extensive network of skill development centers and institutes. It is an umbrella scheme covering various programmes, including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS). 

The Mission aims to enable the youth of India to become future-ready, equipped with industry-relevant skills. The schemes under this mission are demand-driven, and the participation is voluntary.

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Skill India Mission Overview

The Mission launch date was July 15, 2015. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The primary objective of the mission is to provide market-relevant skills training to over 40 crore youth of India. It aims to create opportunities and space for the development of talents in the Indian youth. The following table mentions the details about the beneficiaries under this scheme:

Objectives of Skill India Mission

Apart from being the umbrella scheme including several programmes of the Government of India, it also focuses on recognizing new sectors for skill development. The objectives of the Mission can be summarized as follows:

• Closing the gap between skills required by the industry and skills possessed by the youth in India.

• It aims to reduce poverty in India through skill development and employment generation.

• It also looks to increase the competitiveness of Indian businesses.

• It also ensures that relevant skill training is imparted that can prepare Indians to take on the world manpower market.

• The scheme also focuses on better and active engagement of social partners and building a strong public-private partnership in skill development.

Skill India Mission Significance

According to various government reports, the formally skilled workforce in India is less than 10%. There are a lot of issues in India around the employability of educated youth. The lack of vocational and professional skills makes it difficult for youth to adapt to the changing demands of the job market. In such a scenario, the significance of Skill India Mission UPSC can be summarized as follows:

• India, unlike other countries around the world, has a favorable demographic dividend. India can grab this opportunity and serve the manpower market. For this, adequate skills need to be provided to the youth to grab employment opportunities.

• Through this mission, the percentage of skilled workforce is being increased in India, which is very low at present in comparison to some other countries like Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc.

• Changing demands of technology were a big challenge as well as an opportunity for the labour force. Through this mission, youths are being trained to be market-ready and upskill to remain competitive in the job market.
  It is an umbrella scheme under which several schemes and programmes are undertaken with various specialized focus areas.

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