Skill Capital of
the World ?
While
announcing major reforms in, " Apprenticeship
Training Scheme " ,
Shri
Narendra Modi said :
"
Let's make India the Skill Capital of the World "
He
went on to add :
"
By next decade, India will have 50 million
surplus manpower for export "
But
, we all know that :
#
NSDC ( National Skills Development Corporation ) has a target to impart
" Skills " to 300 million youth by 2022 ( approx 50
million / year
)
#
As of now , only some 27 % of college graduates are " employable "
#
50 % of our current population (approx 550 million) are under age of 27
In
light of the foregoing , the reforms ( in Apprentice Scheme ) announced are
most welcome , especially in respect of the following :
#
Inclusion of " SERVICE " sector
#
Inclusion of Graduates / Post Graduates from Arts / Science / Commerce
#
Self Assessment by Companies
#
Freedom to Companies to introduce own NEW courses
#
Freedom to engage apprentices from ANY state
#
Doing away with trade-wise ratios
It
could have been still better if :
#
Offset against CSR ,( of the expense incurred by Companies on
Apprentice Scheme ) was NOT restricted to only those Companies
which engaged apprentices in excess of mandatory 2.5 % of employee
strength
#
For 6 trades , training duration was NOT reduced from 3 to 2 years
#
Stipend payable was lower than specified 70% / 80 % / 90 % of
Semi-Skilled minimum wages ( of approx Rs 6000 per month )
#
Minimum Mandatory limit was raised from 2.5 % to 5 %
#
There was NO upper limit for engaging ( currently 10 % of employees )
But , all of these , will still be " tinkering "
!
Nothing bold enough to turn India into , " Skill capital of
the World "
None
of the above-mentioned reforms will enable us to train / skill , 50
million youth , EVERY YEAR !
Now
consider the following :
#
If current diasporas of 21 million Indians working abroad , remit $ 70
Billion annually , then how much can 50 million surplus manpower
remit to their relatives in India , by 2026 ?
Can current 21 million plus another 50 million ( a
total of 71 million ) ,
remit , $
250 Billion , by 2026 ? Let there be NO doubt !
#
Are Government machineries / incentives , enough to train 50 million
youth each year , even under this " Reformed Scheme " ?
#
If one training Institute can train ( say ) , 1,000 trainees each year ,
we would need some 50,000 Training Institutes
, each with an
investment of Rs 100 Crores ( Land + Building + Plant and Machinery ) ,
entailing , a total investment of Rs 50 lakh*crore
!
#
Government has neither such funds , nor an administrative machinery to
set up 50,000 training institutes , even in next 5 years !
There
is only one way
This
can be made to happen , as follows :
* Turn this entire exercise into a PROFIT
MAKING proposition in the
hands of PRIVATE
SECTOR ( Individuals + Corporate + Start Ups )
* Enable BLACK MONEY to be invested in
private sector SPVs called,
" XYZ Manpower
Skilling SPV ",
with no questions
asked as to the source of funds invested ( domestic
or Foreign )
* Grant INDUSTRY status to such SPVs
* In order to attract PRIVATE Individuals /
Corporate, to come forward
and set up these
50,000 SPVs ( before March 2018 ), provide a 10 year
TAX HOLIDAY ,
to " Manpower Skilling Industry "
Much in the same way NITI Aayog has recommended for companies
investing in Electronics manufacturing activities . And as against
expected creation of 20,000 jobs due to this proposed policy in
Electronic Industry , my suggestion would create 50 LAKH jobs @ 100
jobs / SPV !
Also worth noting that :
NITI Aayog is recommending this tax-holiday policy for only NEW units
being set up , without any estimate as to the amount exchange likely
to be earned through exports from these NEW units
On the other hand , my suggestion has a definitive
potential to bring in
remittances worth $
250 Billion by 2026 !
# Just like various IIMs ( and other reputed Management Training
Colleges ) , permit these SPVs to charge to the Companies conducting
Campus Interviews ,
* Fixed Participation Fees
* Variable Student Support Fees ( per student hired )
# SPVs will be allowed to devise their own courses / curriculum and
conduct their own exams / award their own certificates / diplomas
# SPVs will be free to charge their own fees and compete for
placement
of their graduating students , in an
atmosphere of open and free
competition ( much as it works today for most educational institutes )
# Government may continue to provide STIPEND SUBSIDY as proposed
in the Reforms , but only to Indian MSMEs
My proposal has the potential to bring back those Rs 35
lakh*crore that Indians have siphoned abroad , between 2003-13
As
far as I can see , there is no other way , India can either become the Skill
Capital of the World or be in a position to export
50 million surplus Skilled persons
I envisage an alternate scenario under which Europe , in order to
overcome its shrinking population and resultant " Skill Shortage ",
starts , intensive " Skills Training " of those millions of unskilled
migrants from Middle East and Africa , who are flooding the shores of Italy and
Greece
That will put to rest , Shri Modiji's dream of exporting
surplus skilled manpower !
It
is still not too late for some " Out of the Box / Bold " decisions !
A
shining example of what a PROFIT MOTIVATED / PRIVATE sector can achieve is Elon
Musk ( of TESLA motors ) , who , within a short span of 2 years , has landed a
re-usable rocket on a floating platform in sea 4 times - something which NASA
could not achieve in 50 years !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08
June 2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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