JOIN USUnion Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, on Monday, said, the country has a good number of skilled workers and their skills should be recognised, certified and promoted. If skills are linked with suitable industries and with entrepreneurs, 'Make in India' concept will reach global standards, he said.
He was addressing the youths and participants during the inaugural ceremony of the 'Skills on Wheel' programme, at JSS College of Arts and Commerce, on Ooty Road, in the city.
"The Union government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has taken several initiatives to promote skills. Channapatna toys, handloom and silk are internationally accredited. But, the skills behind the works are not recognised and certified. India has enormous skills, but, lack recognition," he said.
"To create entrepreneurs, we need ideapreneurs. While entrepreneurs are the ones who make a dream come true, ideapreneurs are the ones who come out with new ideas. According to a leading entrepreneur 32.5 lakh start up will come up in the country in a span of five years," the minister said.
"In order to encourage youths to set up businesses, the Union government has introduced MUDRA Yojana to meet the financial needs of non-corporate small business units. It is aimed at providing financial support for small businesses, which employ a majority of the Indian working population. Though the then UPA government had provided loans, the beneficiaries were expected to produce security. But, under MUDRA, the loans are advanced without any security," Ananth Kumar said.
He informed that 8.5 crore youth and 3.5 crore entrepreneurs are benefited from Mudra Yojana. Highlighting the Skills on Wheel programme, the minister said, the initiative aims to create awareness about skills and to train 6.5 lakh youth in a year. He said that the Union government has trained 77,000 youths in the last three years. The Skill on Wheel will cover 48,000 villages in Karnataka over the next five years.
Suttur mutt seer Shivaratri Deshikendra Swami said, there is no dearth of jobs in the country, but, employees lack dedication. "In recent years, traditional occupation such as agriculture have been neglected and the people are migrating to other sectors. This is a matter of concern, he said.
Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ananth Kumar Hegde said, the Union government aims to make India a skill headquarters of the world. "Skills on Wheel is a part of it. Youths will be educated about skills, it's importance and opportunities. As part of Skills on Wheel, several programmes will be conducted in 100 places in the state," he informed.