Skill Development & Employment Generation
by Prince Luthra Sir (UPSC CSE AIR 577) ·
Excellent! Let’s proceed with Topic 85: Skill Development & Employment Generation. Below is the 1000+ words explanation, followed by 5 fully structured Practice MCQs (including 2 and 4 statement-based), with WordPress Skill development and employment generation are two critical pillars for ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic growth in India. With over 65% of the population under the age of 35, India’s demographic dividend can only be harnessed through skilling initiatives aligned with market demand. Bridging the skill gap and ensuring gainful employment opportunities for both rural and urban populations is essential for economic resilience, poverty reduction, and social equity. Skill development refers to the process of imparting technical, vocational, and life skills to enhance the employability and productivity of individuals in line with market needs. ✔️ Enhances employability of youth. Employment generation refers to the creation of new job opportunities across sectors through public policies, private investment, and entrepreneurship promotion. ✔️ Ensures economic stability by providing regular income. ✔️ Education system not aligned with industry requirements. ✔️ Over 90% of workforce engaged in informal sector with: ✔️ Low wages. ✔️ Rural areas lack skilling infrastructure, leading to urban migration. ✔️ Cultural barriers, safety concerns, and lack of support services restrict women’s entry into workforce. ✔️ Automation, AI, digital transformation are displacing traditional jobs, creating demand for new-age skills. ✔️ Comprehensive framework to skill 400 million people by 2022. ✔️ Flagship skill development scheme. ✔️ Incentivises industries to engage apprentices. ✔️ Focused on rural youth aged 15-35 years. ✔️ Community-based skill development for non-literate and semi-literate individuals. ✔️ Provides 100 days of wage employment to rural households. ✔️ Promotes entrepreneurship and innovation. ✔️ Provides collateral-free loans (₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore) to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs. ✔️ Subsidy-linked credit scheme to promote micro-enterprises. ✔️ Promotes manufacturing-led employment generation. ✔️ Skill India Digital Platform integrates: ✔️ Online training courses. ✔️ Job-matching portals. ✔️ E-learning certifications. ✔️ Collaboration with private edtech companies. ✔️ Skill training often mismatched with industry demand. ✔️ Limited coordination with private sector. ✔️ Majority of workers in unorganised sector lack formal skilling access. ✔️ Women’s participation in technical and vocational training remains low. ✔️ Trained youth migrate to metros, causing rural talent drain. ✔️ Highly skilled professionals migrate abroad. ✔️ Training quality often compromised. ✔️ Weak placement tracking and alumni engagement. ✔️ Align skill development programs with Industry 4.0 and green jobs. ✅ Options: ✅ Options:
🟠 Topic 85: Skill Development & Employment Generation
📌 Introduction
🔹 What is Skill Development?
📖 Definition
Importance of Skill Development
✔️ Addresses skill gaps in key sectors.
✔️ Promotes entrepreneurship and self-employment.
✔️ Boosts labour productivity and economic competitiveness.
✔️ Facilitates career progression and lifelong learning.
🔹 What is Employment Generation?
📖 Definition
Importance of Employment Generation
✔️ Reduces poverty and social unrest.
✔️ Enhances domestic demand and economic growth.
✔️ Supports inclusive development by engaging women, rural youth, and disadvantaged groups.
🔹 Challenges in Skill Development & Employment Generation
1️⃣ Skill Mismatch
✔️ High unemployment despite vacancies due to inadequate skills.
2️⃣ Informal Employment
✔️ No social security.
✔️ Limited career mobility.
3️⃣ Regional Disparities
✔️ Employment concentrated in few states.
4️⃣ Low Female Participation
5️⃣ Technological Disruption
🔹 Key Government Initiatives – Skill Development
1️⃣ Skill India Mission (2015)
✔️ Focuses on: ✔️ Short-term training (STT) through Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
✔️ Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for informal workers.
✔️ Creation of Sector Skill Councils (SSCs).
2️⃣ Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
✔️ Offers free short-term training (3-6 months) in demand-driven skills.
✔️ Certification aligned with National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
✔️ Focus on placement linkages and entrepreneurship.
Achievements (2023)
Parameter
Value
Trained Candidates
Over 1.36 crore
Placement Rate
~54%
Training Centres
12,000+
3️⃣ National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)
✔️ Government shares stipend costs and supports training infrastructure.
✔️ Focus on on-the-job training to enhance industry readiness.
4️⃣ Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)
✔️ Provides residential training and placement assistance.
✔️ Part of DAY-NRLM (National Rural Livelihood Mission).
5️⃣ Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS)
✔️ Focus on traditional and livelihood-oriented skills (weaving, handicrafts).
🔹 Key Government Initiatives – Employment Generation
1️⃣ Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
✔️ Focus on asset creation (water conservation, roads).
✔️ Ensures inclusion of women and SC/ST households.
2️⃣ Startup India
✔️ Provides: ✔️ Tax exemptions.
✔️ Startup Fund of Funds.
✔️ Easier regulatory environment.
3️⃣ Stand-Up India
✔️ Promotes greenfield enterprises in manufacturing and services.
4️⃣ Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
✔️ Implemented by KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission).
✔️ Focus on traditional crafts, rural enterprises.
5️⃣ Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme
✔️ Focus on: ✔️ Electronics. ✔️ Pharma. ✔️ Textiles. ✔️ Green energy.
🔹 Sectoral Focus for Skill Development & Employment
Sector
Focus Areas
Agriculture
Agri-business, food processing, organic farming
Manufacturing
Smart manufacturing, industrial automation
Tourism
Hospitality management, tour guiding
Healthcare
Geriatric care, medical technicians
Construction
Green building techniques, safety standards
Case Study – Skill Training & Tourism in Meghalaya
🔹 Role of Digital Platforms
🔹 Challenges in Skill Development & Employment
1️⃣ Low Placement Rates
2️⃣ Informal Sector Exclusion
3️⃣ Gender Gap
4️⃣ Migration & Brain Drain
5️⃣ Funding & Monitoring Issues
🔹 Way Forward
✔️ Strengthen public-private partnerships (PPPs) in training delivery.
✔️ Expand on-the-job apprenticeships for real-world exposure.
✔️ Promote rural entrepreneurship linked to local resources.
✔️ Improve labour market information systems (LMIS) for better planning.
📚 Practice MCQ
1️⃣ Under PMKVY, the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component focuses on:
(a) School students
(b) Skilled but uncertified workers
(c) Government employees
(d) Retired professionals
2️⃣ DDU-GKY primarily targets which group?
(a) Urban unemployed youth
(b) Rural poor youth
(c) Migrant labourers
(d) Retired workers
