What is the importance of skill development? What steps have been taken by the government?

Skill development means the addition of a set of skills to oneself which can benefit the organization as a whole as well as for personal career development. The main role of skill development is highlighted below:

1. Create a set of skills which provide a lifelong opportunity for development. It involves the incorporation of skill during the early stages of schooling as well as good quality short term and long term training skills.
2. Establish a skill training setup that is acceptable both nationally and internationally and by creating a good quality skill framework that is applicable to all the states and training provider.
3. Improve the skills of certain sectors such as the construction workers. This would also help them to transit into a formal sector of employment.
4. Development of a skilled teacher training institution so that they are able to impart a good set of skills to the students.
5. Support the weaker and disadvantaged sections of the society through targeted skill development activities.

In India, there is a separate Ministry of skill development and Entrepreneurship which was developed on 9th November 2014 with the main aim to coordinates skill development efforts in the country. It focuses on the development of skill in the youth and to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled labor. With an annual budget of 3400 crore rupees, it is run by Dharmendra Pradhan as the Minister.

In the same context, prime minister Narendra Modi introduced a campaign called skill India on 15 July 2015. Its aim was to train 40 crore people of India through different skills by 2022. It included four schemes:
1. The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC) to set up good quality vocational Institute.
2. "Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to encourage the youth to take up those skill training programs which are relevant to the current industry
3. National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, is an umbrella framework for all the skill related activities being carried out in the country
4. Skill Loan Scheme for any Indian citizen who has admitted in a course run by ITI, Polytechnic, state skill mission, etc

The development of the country in this sector is highlighted below:
1. On 12 February 2016 Oracle has announced to build a campus in Bangalore. This would help approximately 50 lakh students to develop computer science skills.
2. The UK has set up a partnership with India under the same program. This is a virtual partnership under which students at the school level will be able to experience the education system of the schools in the UK.
3. Japan's private sector has decided to set up 6 Institute to train the Indians in the Japanese style of manufacturing skills and practices. Three of them have already been set up in Gujarat, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.
4. The Government of India has decided to allocate Rs 17000 crore ocean in the sector.
5. The government has invested Rs. 4000 crore in the launch of SANKALP (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion Programme)
6. The government would set up a hundred International skill centers that would conduct courses in a foreign language that can help the youth of the country to prepare for a job overseas.