Shillong: The chief minister of Punjab and chairman of the Niti Aayog sub-group on skill development, Parkash Singh Badal, on Monday said unemployment was a big problem in the country, the reason being lack of skilled manpower.

He was speaking at the regional consultation meeting of the sub-group of chief ministers attended by 13 states.

In his opening address, Badal praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his timely action in setting up the sub-committee to address ‘the most important issue of the country’.

India is the youngest nation country in the world with 65% of the population below 35 years of age, he said. “However, even after so many years of Independence, our country has remained an unskilled nation lagging far behind other countries in skill development,” he added.

He stressed on the need to link skill training and placement to motivate the youth. “Attention has not been paid to the problem of unavailability of trained labourers,” Badal told reporters after the meeting. According to him, this is the most important aspect because higher the percentage of skilled persons, higher the per capita income.

While most countries have more than 80 to 90% skilled workforce, in India the figure is just 12%, the Punjab CM rued.

Asked if the committee has set any target, the chairman said, “Matters are still at the discussion level and final reports will be prepared soon.”

Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma said the meeting was an opportune moment for integrating creative and practical ideas from various states. Northeastern states face similar challenges of providing jobs to unemployed youths, he said. There was a need to integrate the idea of skill development right from the school level, he added. Mukul said a majority of the skilled weavers in the country are from the region, so they should be imparted advanced training.

Arunachal CM Nabam Tuki talked about the skill development programmes that are being organized in the state since 2012 and his plans to have ITIs in every district of the state.

The next meeting of the sub-group of CMs will be held in Chhattisgarh. All the NE CMs, except Mukul and Tuki, skipped the meet on Monday.

The Punjab CM is the convenor of sub-group while the CMs of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Tripura and Tamil Nadu are members. The CEO of NITI Aayog is the coordinator of the sub-group.

Source : Manosh Das