With nearly 65 per cent of its youth in the working age group, India boasts one of the world's largest young populations, offering the country significant opportunities to channelize this demographic dividend in becoming the "skill" capital of the world, reported Asian Lite International.

According to the World Bank, "global trends such as the rising role of technology, climate change, demographic shifts, urbanization, and the globalization of value chains are changing the nature of work and skills demands."

This demographic dividend can be a key element in the industrial revolution 4.0 (IR-4). IR-4 has integrated new technologies - like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing & analytics, artificial intelligence & machine learning - into manufacturing production processes and operations, ushering in a new era of 'smart manufacturing'.

Consequently, the Indian government's focus on skill development infrastructure has increased with attention now being given to vocational and practical skills, and plugging the gap between industry needs and education.

Moreover, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India the skills capital of the world, the Union government has launched several ambitious projects to train 400 million Indians in different skills by 2022, reported Asian Lite International.

The flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) aims to recognize and provide skills to youths, such as workers in the vast unorganized sector, who lack formal certification. To date, this scheme has recorded close to over 13 million youths getting skilled.

The digital skilling initiative FutureSkills PRIME aims to re-skill and up-skill over 400 thousand professionals in emerging technologies such as AI and IoT, making India the 'Digital Talent Nation'.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been allocated over Rs 34 billion in this budget which is 20 per cent higher than the allocations from the previous year. The increased allocation of resources shows the significance attached to skill development.

Investing in skilling this group can be a major game changer by diversifying the skills and increasing employment opportunities for them.

Moreover, a collaboration between the public and private sectors is also critical to move forward.

Skill development is a top priority, and India has taken lead in integrating skill development into the larger social and economic strategies to reap its demographic dividend, reported Asian Lite International. 
 

Image courtesy: Skill India