TEJAS Skilling Project

• 29 Mar 2022

Why in News?

Recently, TEJAS (Training for Emirates Jobs And Skills), a Skill India International Project to train overseas Indias was launched at the Dubai Expo, 2020.

What is the Aim of the Project?

• Skilling, certification and overseas employment of Indians.
• Creating pathways to enable the Indian workforce to get equipped for skill and market requirements in the UAE.
• Creating a 10,000 strong Indian workforce in UAE during the initial phase.

What is the Need of Such Initiatives?

• Tap the Potential of Youth:
  
  • The youth are the largest stakeholder in both nation building and image building.
  • The focus is to skill this population and provide the world with a large skilled workforce from India.
• Tackle the Rising Unemployment:
  
  • India's unemployment rate reached an all-time high in 2020.
    
    • India’s unemployment rate touched a 7.9% in December 2021.
    • There were several factors responsible for this, including the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown.
• Potential to contribute in the Economy:
  
  • According to the World Economic Forum report released in January 2021, investment in upskilling could potentially boost the global economy by USD6.5 trillion by 2030, and India's economy by USD570 billion.
  • India had the second-highest additional employment potential through upskilling as it could add 2.3 million jobs by 2030, second only to the US's 2.7 million jobs.
• Unskilled Labour Force:
  
  • According to the UNDP’s Human Development Report-2020, only 21.1%of the labour force was skilled in the period 2010-2019 in India.
    
    • This dismal result is due to lack of cohesion within policy actions, absence of holistic approach and working in silos.

What are the Other Initiatives Related to Skilling?

• IndiaSkills 2021
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
• Recognition of Prior Learning
• National Career Service Project
• Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood (SANKALP)
• Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors’ (YUVA) scheme
• Kaushalacharya Awards
• Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS)
• Atmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)
• Skill Certification

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements: (2018)

1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things, will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (c)

Exp:

• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), GoI launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in the year 2015.
  • The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme was to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood.

Source: PIB