What is Skill India?
On July 15th 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched this campaign with hopes of being able to impart various skill sets amongst at least 40 crore Indians by year 2022. The campaign was based on the belief that filling the pockets of the poor is not enough but rather instilling a sense of self- confidence in the poor. This is accurately quoted in the Bible,
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
“Skill India” aims at training individuals who seek help to enhance their knowledge and skill through hard work and commitment. The initiative was introduced by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship along with National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) , they have since partnered with CMC to create an online platform in order to provide a holistic view of the scheme.
What skills does it promote?
The beauty of this campaign is the diverse skills it has tried to incorporate under its umbrella; the courses offered include technical courses such as banking and accounting or process instrumentation as well as labour intensive work such as construction or woodwork.
Overall, it covers approximately 184 courses from different sectors and provides employment opportunities with as many as 150 registered employers to those who are trained under the campaign.
Another interesting angle to the online portal is how the citizens are encouraged to contribute to the idea; people are even free to provide course material to those seeking it actively. This platform has proved its influence to spread awareness about everything “Skill India” has to offer under its belt.
The Rural Impact
Even though the campaign was introduced on a Pan India level, its major impact was felt in rural areas and small towns. The government had indicated that its primary area of focus is development of rural India, keeping in tune with that objective; efforts have been made to implement the campaign with the same ferocity in rural areas as well.
The greater impact can be attributed to the reality that rural workforce lacks a platform to get access to vocational and skill training or pursue their interests. The campaign seeks to break the monotony of hierarchical and restricted choices of career for the youth and lack of opportunities for them. The structure has been designed in such a way that a person residing in rural area can use it to find a firm footing in areas that he or she would not have had an easy access to otherwise.
Few of the courses have been introduced to cater to rural population specifically, such as the ones dedicated to:-
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry
- Sericulture
- Toy making
- Basic art of engraving
- Carpet Making
- Jute work
- Meat Processing
Other than above given courses, programmers have also been planned to reintroduce education for the people who left school early in the face of special night programmers and differential training.
The future Reliance
The milestone that the campaign hopes to reach has a much deeper impact on rural India, not only does it provide a way to the youth to learn and open up the doors to many opportunities, it also contributes to helping natives engaged in agriculture and allied activities by imparting knowledge about new updates in technology and market.
In the economy slowing shifting away from its sole reliance n agriculture, this campaign can act as a catalyzing agent to make this change smoother.
Therefore, it is safe to say that “Skill India” can be considered the bread and butter of rural India in the near future.
