A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign launch aimed at promoting India as a global manufacturing hub, the Rural Development Ministry has consolidated its skill development scheme to provide quality skill training to rural youth to ensure them jobs not only in domestic but in global market as well.
While Modi will formally launch the Make in India campaign on Thursday, the RD Ministry will announce the reworked ‘AaJeevika’ skill development scheme which has now been rechristened as ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY). The DDUGKY is named after the RSS ideologue as a tribute on his 98th birth anniversary.
‘Aajeevika — National Rural livelihoods Mission’ - was launched by the Congress-led UPA Government with an aim to help the rural poor increase their household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.
The DDUKGY seeks to re-position rural India in the 15-45 age group as a resource that can support the needs of global manufacturing industry, said a senior RD official. He added that the Ministry has already identified countries such as the US, Japan, Russia, Germany, France, Spain, Britain and China apart from countries in the Middle East which have demand for skilled and semi-skilled manpower.
“We felt we should also fulfil the global demand for manpower. To meet this quality, skills of international standard will be imparted to the interested beneficiaries. Priority will be given to international placement, captive skilling and placement and educational institutions of high quality,” he said.
The move aims to tap the job potential in the developed countries which are predicted “to face a shortfall of 57 million semi-skilled manpower by 2020 while India is expected to have a surplus of 47 million.
Under the revised scheme, upper age restrictions have been removed for women, differently-abled, victims of human trafficking, rehabilitated bonded labourers and other special groups. The Ministry hopes to set up 1,500-2,000 centres in the PPP mode within next two years to cater around 4-5 lakh beneficiaries.