Over two months after the announcement, the government has given final shape to the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship that will be a part of the ministry of sports and youth affairs.
Carved out after discussions with nearly two dozen ministries that are already involved in vocational training, the ministry of skill development has taken over key roles from the finance ministry as well as the labour ministry.
Less than 10 per cent of the Indian workforce has had formal skill training, while in countries like South Korea, it is closer to 98 per cent. We have had two consecutive years of rising unemployment. Nearly 95 per cent of our workforce is in the unorganised sector, which is a way of saying the people working in this sector have had no formal training in any skill. Agriculture and construction constitute a large part of this sector.
Among PM Modi’s pet plans, few would be more significant to India than building 100 smart cities, as the country is in the middle of a massive wave of urbanisation. Modi was smitten with the idea of a smart city long ago, and he had set the ball rolling in Gujarat with the Greenfield Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT). This venture is now proceeding rapidly, as it has been allotted 11 million sq ft for construction. As he moved to the Centre, Modi started work on implementing the idea all across India. It is among his few plans that are moving smoothly ahead.
The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Friday announced new secretaries for five ministries/departments. This is for the first time since Modi took charge as prime minister that so many ministries have undergone bureaucratic changes at the top. The most significant shuffle seems to be that of Ashok Lavasa, who has been named secretary, environment ministry.
NEW DELHI, AUG 29:
Senior IAS officers V Somasundaran and Rakesh Singh were today appointed as new secretaries in ministries of Civil Aviation and Steel respectively.
Somasundaran, who is serving in Kerala, will take over the charge from Ashok Lavasa, who has been appointed Secretary in Ministry of Environment and Forests. Somasundaran is a 1979 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
NEW DELHI: In a first sign of interministerial squabble, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to carve out a separate department for skill development and entrepreneurship is facing stiff resistance from ministries who will see a major chunk of their funds disappear if the plan is approved.
Skill development is a massive government programme with annual allocation of about ` 5,000 crore. The funds and the work are spread over 11 ministries including HRD, labour and rural development that often end up working at cross purposes.