Hyderabad : The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Skill Development in youth crucial for India’s progress. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating two Skill Development facilities – CCTV Network Management and Optic Fiber Technician courses in association with L&T Smart World Communications Limited and GATI Drivers Training Institute in association with Gati-KWE Pvt. Ltd., at the Smart City Skill Development Centre, at Swarna Bharat Trust Campus, in Hyderabad on October 26, 2017.
The Vice President said that India is the youngest country with 65% of our population below 35 years of age. He further said that India must skill its young population not only for economic benefit but for social reasons too. India’s huge human capital has to be made more qualitative with focus on rapid growth of productive enterprises and jobs and growth and inclusion must go together, he added.
The Vice President said that specially designed training in tune with the market needs should become part of the educational system so that students who pass out find immediate employment and are not left out in the lurch. He further said that manufacturing currently contributes about 13% to the GDP of the country and Make In India seeks to increase it to 25 per cent in the coming years to give a major push to the economy. In China, the manufacturing sector contributes about 36 per cent to the GDP, he added. The share of manufacturing in the GDP at 13% is amongst the lowest as compared to many rapidly developing economies, he said.
The Vice President said that the sector as a whole has been facing shortage of skilled manpower and the efforts of the government in skilling the youth should be supplemented by the corporate sector and the industries so that the target of 25 per cent contribution to the GDP is achieved faster. He further said that this is the time when Skill India, Digital India and Make in India can work in conjunction in one ecosystem and create a new resurgent India. We have to ensure that we scale up our efforts with greater speed and with proper ecosystem, India will become the worlds largest exporter of skilled manpower in the future, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali complimented Venkaiah Naidu for organizing courses for unemployed youth in the State in the Swarna Bharat Trust. Irrigation Minister Harish Rao said there was dearth of heavy vehicle drivers in the State and the course launched in Swarna Bharat Trust today would be helpful in providing gainful employment to the youth.
Mahendra Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, GATI Limited, said even though the road sector contributes 60 per cent of freight transport in India, there was a lack of skilled drivers in this sector. He said there are 800 drivers for 1,000 trucks. Emphasizing the need for training heavy vehicle drivers properly, Agarwal said India has the highest fatalities in road accidents. Therefore, skilled and trained drivers are needed, he said.
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