More than 1.25 crore youth trained under Pradhanmantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana: Modi

New Delhi, July 15, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today termed skill development of the new generation as a national need and the foundation of "Aatmnirbhar Bharat" (Self-reliant India).

“This generation will take our republic from 75 years to 100 years,” the Prime Minister observed while speaking on the occasion of the World Youth Skill Day.

He underlined the importance of skills in the Indian culture and stressed the link between the importance given to skill development and up-skilling and progress of the society. Festivals like Vijayadashmi, Akshaya Tritiya and Vishvakarma Pujan were occasions to worship skills and vocational implements.

Citing these traditions, Modi called for due regard for skilled professions like carpenters, potters, metal workers, sanitation workers, horticulture workers and weavers. Due to long periods of slavery, the importance of skills in our society and education system got diluted, he said.

“While education tells us what to do, skill guides us in the actual operational implementation and this has been the guiding principle of Skill India Mission,” he said. He expressed happiness that more than 1.25 crore young persons have been trained under the Pradhanmantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

Stressing the need for skills in everyday life, the Prime Minister said that learning should not stop with earning. Only a skilled person will grow in today’s world. This applied to both people and countries. “India providing smart and skilled manpower solutions to the world should be at the core of our strategy of skilling our youth," he said.

Referring to the global skill gap mapping, he exhorted the stakeholders to continuously skill, re-skill and up-skill. This needs to be expedited as there was going to be a huge demand for re-skilling due to fast-changing technology. The Prime Minister also referred to how a skilled workforce helped India mount an effective battle against the pandemic.

Modi referred to the vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar who placed great emphasis on skilling the weaker section. “The nation is fulfilling this visionary dream of Babasaheb through Skill India Mission. For example, programmes like Going Online As Leaders (GOAL) are helping the tribal population in areas like art and culture, handicraft, textiles and digital literacy leading to entrepreneurship development among them.”

Similarly, Van Dhan Yojna is effectively connecting the tribal society with new opportunities. “In the coming days, we need to make such campaigns more widespread and make ourselves and the country Aatmnirbhar through skilling,” he added.

NNN