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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Don't merely enrol students, but equip them with skills
As the admission season for colleges and universities begins, institutions across India are once again promoting their programmes under banners promising knowledge, transformation, and research excellence. This growth in enrolment at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels suggests a dynamic academic landscape full of potential. Yet, beneath this expansion lies an important challenge: degrees are proliferating faster than meaningful job opportunities. A gap that needs attention According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics, the unemployment rate in India tends to increase with higher education levels. This paradox reveals a critical gap between academic achievement and employability — a gap that requires urgent attention. This challenge is particularly acute in India's vast network of non-elite institutions in Tier 2 and tier 3 colleges, where most students pursue BA, BCom, or BSc degrees and their corresponding master's programmes. These institutions often face resource constraints and limited industry connections, operating with curricula that have not kept pace with the evolving job market. While elite colleges make headlines for placement challenges, the gradual erosion of employability in everyday colleges often goes unnoticed. In many such institutions, instruction remains largely theoretical, with limited emphasis on real-world skills. For example, an English literature student might study Shakespearean tragedy yet miss out on learning practical skills such as writing professional emails. Similarly, an economics graduate may understand complex theories but struggle with everyday tools such as Excel. This disconnect means millions of educated young people find it difficult to translate their degrees into career opportunities. This situation stems partly from a deeply entrenched academic culture that values scholarship and abstraction over practical application. Within many academic circles — even prestigious ones — higher education is often celebrated as an end in itself, while immediate employment is sometimes subtly undervalued. Postgraduate degrees and PhDs are frequently pursued not just for intellectual fulfilment but as a refuge from the job market, creating a cycle where many graduates end up teaching in the very colleges that perpetuate the same system. It is important to recognise that successive governments have acknowledged this issue. Initiatives such as Skill India, Start-Up India, and the National Education Policy have pushed for skill development, vocational training, and entrepreneurship. However, the transformation remains incomplete. Many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes continue to emphasise rote learning over practical skills. While new courses in AI or entrepreneurship are being introduced, they often lack depth, and integration into the broader curriculum. A broader societal challenge Countries such as China and Japan have successfully aligned education with economic strategies by elevating technical and vocational education to a central role in workforce development. In India, vocational training is still often perceived as a fallback option, both within academia and society. This stigma limits the appeal and effectiveness of skill-based education, despite its vital role in economic empowerment. This contradiction highlights a broader societal challenge: degrees are highly valued as symbols of upward mobility, but they increasingly fail to guarantee it. This is not a call to abandon liberal education or abstract learning — they remain essential for critical thinking and creativity. However, education must also provide tangible economic benefits. Degrees should offer pathways to agency and dignity, especially for students from smaller towns and under-resourced institutions. A way forward lies in integrating practical skill modules — communication, digital literacy, budgeting, data analysis, hospitality, tailoring, and health services — into general degree programmes as core elements, not optional extras. Doctoral education should be diversified to prepare candidates for policy, analytics, consulting, development, and industry roles, not solely academia. Research remains vital, but it must be pursued by those inclined towards it. Finally, the widespread aspiration for government jobs reflects the limited opportunities graduates currently perceive. While these roles remain important, expanding private sector and entrepreneurial pathways through improved employability will offer youth a broader range of options. Enhancing skills and opportunities can reduce the over-dependence on competitive exams. India's growing economy demands an education system that not just enrols students, but equips students with skills. Viewing education as a social contract that guarantees a meaningful connection between learning and livelihood is essential. Gourishankar S. Hiremath teaches Economics at IIT Kharagpur. Views are personal
Hans India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Mfg sector key to fueling growth of India's exports
The Indian manufacturing sector, aiming to reach a $1 trillion economy by 2025, is being guided by a roadmap focusing on localization, entrepreneurship, and technological self-reliance. India's manufacturing roadmap aims to leverage the country's strengths and address weaknesses to achieve significant export growth, particularly in sectors like hand and power tools. The roadmap focuses on localization, entrepreneurship, and technological self-reliance, aiming for a more robust and competitive manufacturing sector. Specific initiatives like 'Make in India 2.0' and 'Skill India' are crucial for achieving these goals. It also highlighted in its latest research report, titled 'India Forward: Transformative Perspectives', that India is ramping up its push for alternative energy to build a cleaner, self-reliant transport future in which biofuels will play a central role. This push offers a triple win for the country through strengthening energy security, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing rural incomes, the report said. Over the past three decades, India has grown significantly in scale and international influence, the reported noted. Its core sectors—manufacturing, agriculture and services—have grown in step with demographic shifts and structural changes, and will see demand grow as the economy advances, it said. Meanwhile, an analysis of S&P Global Market Intelligence's Strategic Opportunity Index shows India has made notable gains in competitiveness, especially in attracting global investment to its manufacturing sector. 'Energy will be a key thread that will enable the performance and viability of all sectors in India,' the report said. 'Cross-cutting themes will span security and reliability, in the larger framework of a more market-oriented and globally integrated economy,' it added. However, India continues to lag in the resource availability momentum score, registering 69.4 out of 100. This score measures the cost and availability of two key inputs: labour and finance. 'This is primarily due to the relatively low score of the labour component (50 out of 100), as the availability of labour with the required skills for value-added manufacturing remains a significant challenge that hinders India's competitiveness,' the report said. 'The targeted skill development initiatives (e.g., for semiconductors and solar photovoltaic cell manufacturing) underway may take some time to translate into an improvement in the score,' it added. Meanwhile, with exploration activity dwindling around the world, many producers are looking at India, which presents an investment opportunity as a major growth market. 'Looking forward, how India prepares for potential supply-chain disruption will be an indicator to watch. The largely benign global oil price environment rewards India's import strategy, but energy security now goes beyond physical supply security,' it added. Prioritizing job creation and value addition within India, with a focus on local entrepreneurship and technological capabilities. Emphasis on building a foundation for locally anchored innovations and capabilities. Expanding industrial corridors and smart cities to facilitate integration and promote advanced manufacturing practices is progressing. Specific initiatives are underway in areas like aerospace components, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. The Manufacturing Mission is a planned executive policy backed by policy initiatives, industrial collaboration, and infrastructure development to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities.
Fashion Network
23-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Groyyo partners with Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission
Groyyo Consulting has entered a strategic partnership with the Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission under the Flexi MoU scheme to support skill development in the state's textile and apparel manufacturing sector. The initiative is designed to align workforce training with evolving industry requirements and create sustainable employment opportunities. Through the collaboration, Groyyo Consulting will develop and deliver customised training programmes aimed at equipping young talent in Uttar Pradesh with relevant skills, the business announced in a press release. The company's focus is on building a resilient, future-ready workforce capable of supporting India's broader industrial ambitions. 'Skill development is the cornerstone of sustainable economic growth," said Groyyo Consulting's managing partner Abhishek Yugal in a press release. "By aligning industry needs with grassroots potential, we're creating a scalable model that doesn't just fill job vacancies, but cultivates a robust, innovative workforce that can drive India's industrial ecosystem forward." The partnership also supports the Make in India and Skill India initiatives, while working to prevent talent migration by strengthening local employment ecosystems. Groyyo's expansion into workforce development follows its broader aim to optimise textile manufacturing and support MSMEs through technology and consulting. 'The partnership with UPSDM transcends business initiative to a transformative mission," said Groyyo's co-founder and CEO Subin Mitra. "We are here to build bridges of opportunity in the apparel manufacturing sector. Empowering young minds to become architects of their own futures, we are on a course to impact real change in this industry.'
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Hoteliers seek central scheme benefits to improve business
Panaji: Faced with a scarcity of financial resources, low visibility, and infrastructural challenges, Goa's small and medium hoteliers have urged the tourism department to use the Centre's schemes to improve the situation. A proposal was submitted to the tourism director outlining how schemes like Swadesh Darshan , Prashad, solar incentives, Mudra, and Skill India could benefit the sector. The proposal details several key areas where central schemes could provide support. 'This segment requires strategic support to overcome structural challenges such as limited access to finance, lack of visibility, infrastructural gaps, and the need for eco-compliance. The tourism department must proactively engage with various Central govt schemes and align them with a localised roadmap for strengthening small and medium hoteliers,' said Santosh Divkar, the president of Small and Medium Hoteliers Association of Goa. The association highlighted the potential of the ministry of new and renewable energy's (MNRE) rooftop solar subsidy scheme for small hoteliers to adopt green energy practices and meet environmental regulations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Что о вас может рассказать поза во время сна? Удивительные Новости Undo Divkar proposed the establishment of a green hospitality transition grant to provide a 50% capital subsidy under the MNRE's rooftop solar programme so that it aligns with benefits offered to domestic consumers. Under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 and Prashad, the association suggests enabling the participation of smaller hotels in tourism circuit development and supporting village-level clusters for homestays and cultural accommodations. 'Funds could also be used for community rest areas, signage, and infrastructure in less popular destinations,' said Divkar. For green initiatives, beyond the solar subsidy, the proposal includes incentives for solar water heaters, energy-efficient lighting, and net metering. It also suggests promoting 'solar villages' powered by micro-enterprise homestay operators. To enhance compliance with environmental norms, Divkar suggested that the state must facilitate partnerships with agencies for eco-certification and subsidised provisions for composting, grey water reuse, and waste segregation infrastructure. Skill development is another urgent requirement, said Divkar. He recommended district-level training in housekeeping, online booking, local cuisine, and eco-tourism operations under central schemes like 'Hunar Se Rozgar', Skill India, and PM Vishwakarma Yojana. The latter could also upskill local artisans, he said. The association said that a digital onboarding drive to register smaller hotels on online platforms and the Goa tourism app will benefit the sector. Access to finance would be improved by promoting Mudra loans and utilising PMEGP for new or renovated homestays. Integrating agri-tourism through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), supporting women entrepreneurs, and enhancing disaster preparedness are also part of the association's comprehensive proposal. The SMHAG believes that a strategic alignment of central schemes with a localised roadmap is crucial for strengthening small and medium hoteliers in Goa.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
‘Unit to boost nat'l security, job opportunities for youth'
Lucknow: Highlighting the capability of during the launch of the manufacturing unit in Lucknow, Sarojininagar MLA Rajeshwar Singh said that it is not just a missile but a "thunderous strike of Atmanirbhar Bharat"."BrahMos, Tired of too many ads? go ad free now with a speed of Mach 2.8 and a range of up to 500 km, is the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile," he Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility is located in Bhatgaon, under Sarojininagar assembly constituency, which is represented by Singh. "The Rs 300 crore facility, built on 80 hectares of free land provided by the UP govt, was completed in just three-and-a-half years. This reflects the state's commitment towards promoting ease of doing business and transparent industrial policy," Singh said that the facility would not only boost but also create employment and training opportunities for youth. "The unit will produce lighter next-gen BrahMos missiles capable of being deployed in groups of five on fighter jets like the Sukhoi-30, and can be launched from land, air, and sea," he also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives like Digital India, Skill India, and Make in India for driving self-reliance in defence, and praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for making UP a top investment destination.
