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Cover Story

SKILLING RESKILLING UPSKILLING

FEVER RAGING COUNTRYWIDE

With the unrelenting march of automation and artificial
intelligence, a spectre of unemployment and redundancy
is haunting executive suites as much as college campuses.
Therefore a fever to skill, reskill and upskill is pervading middle
class India, if not less aware segments of the population

Summiya Yasmeen

A FTER THE COVID PANDEMIC THAT 2024-25 presented to Parliament on July 23, Union finance

minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given top billing to
swept the nation and took an offi-
employment and skilling the country’s children and youth.
cially estimated 533,570 lives (per-
“The Union Budget 2024-25 focus is on employment,
haps 10x the number, according
skilling, MSMEs and the middle class…. This year, I have
to informed unofficial estimates),
a new contagion is spreading
ployment and skilling,” said Sitharaman. In her 145-min-
countrywide: fear and loathing of
unemployment and redundancy. made a provision for Rs.1.48 lakh crore for education, em-
ute budget speech, she announced several skills education
With the unrelenting march of automation and artificial initiatives to skill 41 million youth over the next five years;
intelligence, a spectre of unemployment and redundancy model skills loan schemes of up to Rs.7 lakh to 25,000 stu-
is haunting executive suites as much as college campuses. dents per year; upgradation of 1,000 Industrial Training
Therefore a fever to skill, reskill and upskill is pervading Institutes (ITIs) and an internship scheme for 10 million
middle class India, if not less aware segments of the popu- youth in 500 top companies. (see box p.53).
lation. This sudden awareness within the BJP leadership which
With the ruling BJP/NDA government at the Centre and hasn’t been serious about according high priority to public
particularly BJP which has enjoyed a majority in Parlia- education — with the exception of Prakash Javadekar, all
ment for over a decade, receiving a shellacking from the Union education ministers including incumbent Dharmen-
electorate — its absolute majority in the 543-seats Lok dra Pradhan have been insular autocrats with no account-
Sabha was reduced from 303 to 240 in the recently (June) ability to the media or public — has pleasantly surprised
concluded General Election 2024 to a great extent on the informed monitors of the neglected education sector.
issue of rising youth unemployment — in the Union Budget “Although a separate Union ministry of skill develop-

48 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024