‘State govts need to expand scope of skill development programmes’

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the state governments need to expand the scope of their skill development programmes for the youth, and enhancement of skills in the manufacturing sector will help the country become `atmanirbhar’ or self-reliant.

Speaking after inaugurating 511 Pramod Mahajan Gramin Kaushalya Vikas Kendras in Maharashtra through video link, he said the state governments should focus on designing skill development programmes in such a way that they will help the country grow.

The Gramin Kaushalya Vikas Kendras (rural skill development centres), named for late Pramod Mahajan, a prominent Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister, have been established across 34 rural districts of Maharashtra, as per an official statement.

We must explore in which sectors skill development or enhancement will give the country strength, the prime minister said in his speech.

“Need of the hour is to have zero-defect products in the manufacturing sector. Industry 4.0 needs new skills...governments also need to focus on new skills in the service sector, knowledge economy, modern technology,” he said.

The focus should be on the development of skills in the manufacturing sector “which will help us become self-reliant”, the prime minister said, adding, “state governments should expand the scope of skill development.” He also stressed the need to develop online modules for soft skills.

The earlier governments had no vision or seriousness about skill development, Modi said. “This cost the youth dearly despite there being demand from the industrial sector and the youth having talent,” he added.

During his tenure, when a separate skill development ministry was created with a separate budget, and under the Kaushal Vikas Scheme, more than 1.30 crore youth have been provided training in multiple trades while more than a hundred Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras have been established all over the country, Modi said.

“Tribal, poor, Dalit, backward class youths were the true beneficiaries (of these schemes),” he added.

Further, more than three crore women have received skill training through Self-Help Groups, Modi noted. The agriculture sector also requires new skills for natural farming, irrigation planning, and processing, and branding of farm produce, he said.