Lok Sabha Question No. 1845 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-19
Subject: Skill Training to Global Standards
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1845

ANSWERED ON 19.12.2022

## SKILL TRAINING TO GLOBAL STANDARDS

## † 1845 SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state:

- a. whether the Government proposes to benchmark the skill training according to global standards so that India can become a world skill capital;
- b. if so, whether there is a possibility of covering rural India in the said scheme so that rural India skill capabilities could be recognized globally as a hallmark of quality;
- c. if so, details thereof;
- d. whether  rural  India  has  the  potential  to  become  the  largest  provider  of  skilled manpower; and
- e. if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

- (a) Sir, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has identified 'Skill Bench-marking' as a high priority area in its foreign engagements. However, given the lack of  any  unified/collective  global  benchmark  standards,  MSDE  has  decided  to  take  up  the issue bilaterally with selected countries. Presently, requirement of bilateral skills benchmarking has been recognized as an area of cooperation by India  and  United  Arab Emirates  (UAE), KSA.  Further,  MSDE  has  also  taken  up  the  matter  during  the  bilateral negotiations with Australia, Singapore, and other countries.

As an initial  step  to  the  objective  of  Skill  Harmonization  and  Benchmarking  of  Job roles,  NSDC  International  under  the  aegis  of  MSDE  has  done  a  global  assessment  of demand for  the  skilled  work  force  in  16  destination  countries  namely,  Australia,  Bahrain, Canada,  Germany,  Japan,  Kingdom  of  Saudi  Arabia,  Kuwait,  Malaysia,  Oman,  Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

(b) to (e) Yes Sir, MSDE is working for international mobility of skilled, trained, and certified workers  from  all  over  India  including  rural  areas.  At  present  India  is  witnessing  an unprecedented  opportunity  in  the  form  of  the  'demographic  dividend'  with  60%  of  Indian population in the working age group. Of these, around two third people are residing in rural areas. This gives India a unique position and by leveraging this India can become a global supply hub of skilled and trained workforce.

Sir,  in order to utilize this opportunity, MSDE has taken various steps in this regard; such as bilateral engagements  with  different countries to provide a  framework of cooperation in areas like information exchange, standard setting, recognition of qualification, etc.  NSDC  under the  aegis  of  MSDE  has  singed  Business  to  Business  Agreements  with business  entities  of  various  countries  to  facilitate  overseas  mobility  of  Indian  skilled workforce, capacity building of trainers, employer engagements, etc.

Furthermore, to facilitate the international mobility of skilled manpower, a dedicated company namely NSDC International (NSDC I), a 100% subsidiary of NSDC has been set up.  NSDC (I) is aiming to create a network of Skill India International (SII) Institutions by involving  Government  and  Private  institutions.  SII  will  provide  global  career  mobility opportunities  to  the  aspiring  candidates  in  an  internationally  bench  marked  quality  skills ecosystem.

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