Skill Development and Affirmative Action: Foundations for a Sustainable, Equitable and Inclusive Economic Growth.


The Economic transformation of India is one of the greatest stories discussed globally. Indian economy over the years has grown with an enviable growth rates and it is projected to grow at an average rate of 9% in the coming years. India has benefited from the process of Globalization and improved technology and India has been able to diversify from primarily agricultural based economy to Knowledge based Economy. But the challenge before the nation as a whole is to work out solutions to make this growth more sustainable and inclusive so that all sections of the Society benefit from this growth. The foundation for such a vibrant Economic Growth in India can be laid through the Skill Development and Affirmative Action. This entails devising the right strategies which can address these critical issues.


Affirmative action is one of the core programmes of CII to actively involve the deprived sections of the society in the growth process. Around 130 companies under CII in South India have signed the corporate code on Affirmative Action. Many of the member companies are actively undertaking activities to promote the well being of these deprived sections of the society which involves Entrepreneurial training , Skill Development training, Scholarships for students , job oriented training programme for aspirants for IT/ITES jobs and other allied activities. CII (SR) is committed to the economic upliftment of the disadvantaged group. CII is running programmes throughout south India on developing the Skills for these deprived sections and also to nurture their entrepreneurial skills and make them more competitive in the free market. CII has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Ahemdadabd to train the budding entrepreneurs within these deprived sections of the society. The other challenge before the Government of India and CII is to the strengthen the education level of the SC/ST community. This has to be improved from the Grass root level by reducing the drop out rate of SC/ST students at the school level. This has to be supplemented with vocational and other training programmes.


Another critical area of focus of CII is the skill development in the country. The current growth that is being witnessed in the country if to be maintained requires the youth to be trained in multitude of Skills. Realizing this important aspect CII has embarked on a mission in South India to help nurture the skillsets of the Youth. CII strongly feels that a multi-partnership approach is the key for the development of skills in the India, cooperation among Government, policy makers, Industry, Researchers, Skill training providers and educators, development specialists and international agencies. Such a close cooperation will help to exchange and share information and ideas and discuss strategies for coping with the present and future demands of educational and technical skills for employment and income generation. CII is committed to the cause of Skills development in the country and has taken upon itself the task of being a catalyst in creating a skill movement in the country.


The above two initiatives of CII is closely aligned with the National Theme of ‘Build People : Build India. Although the Indian Economy has relatively good levels of education, there still exist severe skills shortages in certain areas. There is a need for a concerted effort to increase both academic and vocational skills to a broader section of the population. These activities of CII will strengthen the divide that exist in the society and also firms up the skills of the youth to Global standards. Also such activities will also enable to distribute the economic growth so that all sections of society benefits from this growth.