Lok Sabha Question No. 2033 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Economic Survey of India
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Behanan Benny

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2033 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2022

## ECONOMIC SURVEY OF INDIA

## 2033. SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the Economic Survey of India (ESI) 20212022  has  revealed  that  females  have  consistently  received  lesser  Vocational  Training than males since last three year and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the Government has formulated a  plan of action  to  address  the  gender bias  in  skilling  to  ensure  females  have  equal  access  to  training  and  skill  development programmes and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government is aware that the Economic Survey of India 2021-2022 reported that the rural population receives lesser training than urban population and if so, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) whether the Government has formulated a plan of action to address the urban-rural divide and ensure equitable and fair access of training and skill development programmes to rural and urban populations?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) Yes. The Government is aware of the phenomenon mentioned above. But, in case the figures in the Economic Survey of India (ESI) 2021-22 are interpreted in the context of vast  differences  between  Labour  Force  Participation  rates  of  Males  and  Females,  the same facts and figures would show an opposite picture of higher percentage of skilled females in the female labour force, as compared to the corresponding figures for males. In  Table  1  below,  the  distribution  of  persons  who  received  formal  vocational/technical training (in percent) is shown (on the basis of which the conclusion drawn in part (a) of the question appears to be true):

Table 1 :

| Survey (PLFS)   |      |        |       |
|-----------------|------|--------|-------|
|                 | Male | Female | Total |
| PLFS 2017-18    | 2.3  | 1.7    | 2.0   |
| PLFS 2018-19    | 2.8  | 2.0    | 2.4   |

Period Labour Force

All India (Age Group- 15-59 years)

Table 2 below is based on Survey Estimates as mentioned in the same PLFS Reports 2017-18 to 2019-20 as taken from the Economic Survey of India, 2021-22. As may be seen, in India, the female participation in Labour Force is approximately one-third (1/3 rd ) (or,  a  little  more),  of  Male  participation [12.24 Crore of females vis-a-vis 38.73 Crore of males in 2017-18, 12.45 Crore of females vis-a-vis 39.37 Crore of males in 2018-19 and 15.47  Crore  of  females  vis-a-vis  40.87  Crore  of  males  in  2019-20].  This  table  is  given below:

Source: Period Labour Force Surveys

Table 2 : Estimates of Labour Force for the years 2017-18 to 2019-20 (all ages; principal status+ subsidiary status, in crore)

Labour Force

Male

Female

Total

| 2017-18   |   38.73 |   12.24 |   50.97 |
|-----------|---------|---------|---------|
| 2018-19   |   39.37 |   12.45 |   51.82 |
| 2019-20   |   40.87 |   15.47 |   56.34 |

Source: Table 7 of Chapter 10 of the EEconomic Survey of India, 2021-22

Hence,  if  calculated  as  a  percentage  of  labour  force,Table-1  actually  shows  a  much higher  rate  of  skilling  in  Female  labour  force  than  in  Male  labour  force  since  Table  1 shows the percentage  of skilled  persons  in  male,  female  and  total  population  in  which female population is approximately 48.5% whereas in terms of labour force participation, women number around 25%.

## As far as the MSDE Schemes are concerned,

Not  only  the  MSDE  but  many  other  Ministries,  State  Government  and  Private sector players have skilling programmes and the PLFS Reports as well as the  Economic Survey are taking into account all skilling programmes of not only the Ministry but in the entire  eco-system, with substantial shares of State Governments and Private Sector as well. The fact that the skilling schemes are demand-driven, if combined with the analysis in  terms  of    figures  in  Table  1  at  the  top, rather implies that the women are getting skilled at a higher rate than men in the labour force ,  thus showing skilling to be an aspirational  achievement  for  women  who  are  coming  out  in  higher  numbers  than  ever before to skill themselves and offer their labour to the market for monetization rather than keeping entirely within the confines of their homes where their labour do not command any monetary value.

(b) Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  is  implementing various  programmes  to  encourage  skilling  and  entrepreneurship  in  the  country  which aims at stimulating employment opportunities among women of various socio-economic levels  and  different  age  groups.  Inclusive  skill  development,  with  the  objective  of increased women participation for better economic productivity is one of the focus areas of the National Policy on Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, 2015.

In Jan Sikshan Sansthan scheme, focus is given to Women, SC, ST, OBC and Minorities. The Third-Party Evaluation study report conducted by Indian Institute of Public Administration  (IIPA)  during  2020-21  has  shown  that  this  scheme  is  very  effective  for empowerment of women since the representation of women is around 80%.

The  Directorate  General  of  Training  (DGT) of  MSDE,  under  its  Craftsmen  Training Scheme (CTS), meant for the Individual Training Institute (ITIs) has imparted long-term vocational training. The government has made a provision of 30% reservation of seats for women candidates all over the country in Industrial TrainingInstitutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training  Centers  (ITCs).  The  vocational  training  to  women,  is  implemented  through  a network of 19 National Skill Training Institutes for Women (NSTI-W).

Special Provisions are also made to support the female candidates in Common Norms governing implementation of skilling schemes of the Government of India.

(c) Under Skill India Mission, MSDE  is delivering skills through various skill development schemes/programmes viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana (PMKVY), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for entire India including rural population. Since 2015-16, more than 351 lakh candidates have been trained by MSDE under these schemes including those from rural areas. Apart from MSDE, Ministry of Rural Development is running schemes viz. DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) Scheme. RSETI, an initiative of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to have dedicated infrastructure in each district of  the  country  to impart  training  and  skill  up  gradation  of  rural  youth  geared  towards  entrepreneurship development.  RSETIs  are  managed  by  banks with active co-operation from the Government of India and State Governments. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood  Mission  (NRLM),  tasked  with  the  dual  objectives  of  adding  diversity  to  the incomes  of  rural  poor  families  and  cater  to  the  career  aspirations  of  rural  youth.  From 2018-19 to 2020-21, 10,42,838 candidates have been trained.

DDU-GKY is uniquely focused on rural youth between the ages of 15 and 35 years from poor  families.  As  a  part  of  the  Skill  India  campaign,  it  plays  an  instrumental  role  in supporting the social and economic programs of the government like the Make In India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Start-Up India, Stand-Up India campaigns. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, total 5,26,975 candidates have been trained

The Central Government and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare have introduced various  central  schemes  /  programmes  to  impart  and  promote  skilling  in  agriculture through Agriculture Skill Council of India. Imparting of skills is essential to improve on the traditional agriculture skills,  as also, to infuse new  skill sets  and  techniques  for sustainable growth and development. The skills in farming agriculture are imparted to the rural youths and farmers in agriculture and allied sectors including women in Agriculture Sector.

Focussed agriculture segments : Agriculture Crop Production, Seed Industry Segment, Farm Mechanisation & Precision Farming, Production Horticulture, Amenity Horticulture and Landscaping, Post - Harvest, Supply Chain Management, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farm Management, Poultry Farm Management, Fisheries and other allied segments

(d) Currently, MSDE is delivering skills through more than 750 PMKKs, 304 JSSs, 14, 722 ITIs to rural and urban population. The Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS) initiative is one such step in the direction of realizing  the unique  demographic potential of urban slums and  rural  India.  The  main  target  of  the  JSS  is  to  impart  vocational  skills  to  the  non- literates,  neo-literates  and  the  person  having  rudimentary  level  of  education  of  8th standard i.e.,upto class 12th in the age group of 15-45 years with due relaxation in case of  'Divyangjan'  and  other  deserving  cases.  The  scheme  is  women  dominated  and catering to the mandated target group.Under the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme, the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) engaged as the JSS go to the rural areas for outreach programmes for skill training. More than 50% of JSS beneficiaries are from rural areas  and  it  has  many  number  of  skill  training  programme  in  agriculture  and  related areas.

Further,  District  Skill  Committees  (DSCs),  under  the  guidance  of  respective  State  Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), are playing a key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing  demand  at  the  district  level  including  in  rural  areas.  The  DSCs  have  been entrusted with the development of District Skill Development Plans (DSDPs) to promote decentralized  planning  and  implementation  at  the  grassroots.  To  build  capacity  of  the DSCs and to  help  them manage  skill  development  planning  and  program  delivery,  the Ministry  of  Skill  Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) attaches Mahatma Gandhi National Fellows with the district administration. The Fellows are posted as part of their academic programme in premier management institutes, which has an in-built component of  on-ground  practical  experience.  So  far,  more  than  510  DSDPs  have  been  received from  31  States/  Union  Territories.  The  DSDPs  identify  sectors  in  which  employment opportunities  and  demand  for  skilling  exists.  These  activities  are  performed  under  the World  Bank  assisted  programme  Skill  Acquisition  and  Knowledge  Awareness  for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) for strengthening of skilling institutions.

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