Modi govt abandons Skill Development

 

Modi government flipflopped  and abandons its promise of training 500 million people to get jobs by 2022. The announcement came at a press conference on Tue 6/6/2017, when Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy stated that skill development "will be demand driven than supply driven." Analysts point out that without any numbers to pursue, the overall mission of providing skill development and vocational training would lack structure. 

• It was in 2009, Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had set the target of providing skill development and vocational training to 500 million people by 2022. 
• In Nov 2014, The Modi government had said that its National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 "supersedes" the 2009 policy. 

India is one of the youngest nations in the world, with more than 54% of the total population below 25 years of age and over 62% of the population in the working age group (15-59 years). The country's population pyramid is expected to bulge across the 15-59 age group over the next decade. This demographic advantage is predicted to last only until 2040. India therefore has a very narrow time frame to harness its demographic dividend and to overcome its skill shortages. -- National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

• In January 2015, Rudy had said that the government was committed to creating a resource pool of 500 million skilled workers by 2022 and that 450 million workers would be trained between 2017 and 2022.
• In the 2017-2018 budget, the government has set aside over Rs. 17,000 crore for skill training, employment generation and providing livelihood to millions of youth who enter the workforce. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship received its highest ever allocation of Rs. 3,016 crore.
• Only 2% of India's workforce is skilled.
• There has been considerable talk over the years around the need to provide jobs, both the former UPA government and the current NDA government have missed the skill training targets since 2011. 
• In 2014-15, the NDA government trained 7.5 million people, and in the succeeding two years, 11.7 million people were trained.
• Rudy did not say how many of 11.7 million trained in the past two years had been employed.

Ever since liberalization started in 1992, successive governments focused on 'cash cows' and neglected agriculture and rural economy. The revenues generated was spent on trophy projects siphoning money by politicians, businessmen, industrialists and bureaucrats resulting in distress among lower classes and destruction of agriculture. Modi just doubled the speed without deep thinking. Almost all his schemes stands miserable failures. His failures are Make in India, Start up India, Skill India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat,  Demonetization, GST Roll out, black money & corruption, One crore jobs a year, No Lok Pal yet, Kashmir burning, Chinese troops remained at Doklam, Agriculture distress, Jan Dhan Yojana burdening Banks, Smart cities development, Minorities & Dalits alienated and so on with resultant side effects. Mind boggling amounts were spent on publicizing these senseless schemes. In discriminate imports from China resulted in closure of 250,000 SMEs. Agriculture and Rural economy, which provides livelihood to 70% of India, needed investment of about Rs.2-3 lakh crores every year for a period of 6-7 years to make it dependable, viable and remunerative and would have done wonders in terms of consumption growth resulting in vibrant economy. But that would be unspectacular and won't please demagogues like Modi, Chandrababu Naidu etc. In the process healthcare, education and welfare took a big hit. In 2019, worst performing rulers will be dumped without any doubt. Such is the collective wisdom of people of India.