Idea Exchange | Rajeev Chandrasekhar: A lot of tech firms escaped regulation by pushing the innovation image | Idea Exchange News,The Indian Express
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS, IT and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, on the IT Act and future legislation, internet shutdowns, and weaponisation of the Internet. The session was moderated by Liz Mathew, Deputy Political Editor, The Indian Express
Liz Mathew: What is the tangible result of the Skill India campaign at a time when unemployment has become an issue although the government says that 1.07 crore people were skilled in 2021. How will it impact young voters?
Since the Skill India launch in 2016, about 3.2 crore youth have been skilled, upskilled and reskilled. They have acquired capabilities for either micro entrepreneurship or self-employment. The Periodic Labour Force Survey mapping unemployment shows that from 2017 to the time before the pandemic broke out (2020), the unemployment numbers were declining steadily. Then Covid-19 led to workforce disruption. In our sample surveys, we found that 67-70 per cent of those who go through short-term training programmes get employment.
Liz Mathew: The requirement for the workforce keeps changing. What are we doing to make them employable?
Skilling is a demand-driven programme and is developed in partnership with the industries that are going to be the employers. Currently, for example, in the inventory of skills offered by the Skill India ecosystem, there are more than 5,000 types of job roles that range from blue collar to white collar, from carpenters to AI engineers. So, a spectrum of skills is available.
Liz Mathew: The Periodic Labour Survey shows a drop in the women workforce. Is the government concerned about this?
Rating: 5