New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu has underlined the need to harness the potential of youth. He has urged the private sector to participate in the faster implementation of government’s employment generation programs. The Vice President was addressing the inaugural session of a Conference on Jobs & Livelihood Creation – Critical Growth Enablers,” organized by the NITI Aayog and the CII, in the capital today. The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayat Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Minister of State (I/C) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog .Rajeev Kumar ,the CEO of NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The Vice President said that there is a need to create appropriate opportunities to harness youth potential. He further said that Good education, training in tune with industry requirements, social safety net, health facilities and buoyant labour market are crucial for individual’s gainful employment. India’s demographic advantage is an opportunity to access gainful employment through appropriate skilling not just to meet the domestic requirements but also the requirements of the aging economies of the world, he added.
The Vice President said that unemployment and underemployment are a formidable challenge that needs attention of every citizen. He called on private sector participation for faster implementation of government’s employment generation programs. Building a rich human capital, encouraging private investors, focusing on sectors that have greater growth potential and anticipating the future trends in the global geo politics, and preparing adequately to take advantage of the emerging opportunities can make a big difference, he added.
The Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Shri Rajiv Kumar laid emphasis on correcting the anomaly which exists between the importance given to employment generation but the lack of comprehensive data. In this context, he mentioned NITI Aayog’s initiative to have quarterly household-based employment surveys. The Vice Chairman, NITI said that it would help generate unique, India-specific models of development. NITI Aayog is committed to evolve a model which captures the ground realities of India, he added.
Minister of Rural Development, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar noted that job creation should be the collective responsibility of the Government as well as the Industry. He emphasized that training and technical skills for different products are required and the self-help groups in rural areas should be facilitated so that the products created by them reach newer markets..
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh emphasized that Industry should don the role of social entrepreneurs and work in the rural areas to provide employment opportunities.
The second day of the Conference on Friday, 9th February, would include panel discussions on the challenges and solutions of job and livelihood creation. Members of the NITI Aayog shall preside over the discussions.The Conference will provide a platform for dialogue between various stakeholders and is an embodiment of the public private partnership envisaged in all sectors of the economy.
