Rural Employment through Skill Development

Abstract

India has more than 430 million young people in the age group of 15-34 years, which constitutes 35% of the country‟s population. Rural Development is a process of change, by which the efforts of the people themselves are united with those of government authorities to improve their economic, social and cultural conditions, and to enable them to contribute fully to national development. Since independence, rural employment has been prime agenda of debate as 74% of the unemployed population hails from rural India. To ensure inclusion of the rural poor in the national development, for the past 3 decades, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India has been implementing many rural employment generation programmes, like, various pilot projects through public private partnership, establishment of Self Help Groups, Women Entrepreneurs, Aajeevika Skills, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), MNREGA, PMEGP, Watershed Development Programmes, NABARD Consultancy Services, engagement in Security Solutions (TOPSGRUP), Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana, National Skill Development Coordination Board, National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework, Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institutes, Self-Employed Women‟s Association, implementing remote village electrification, village energy security test projects and decentralized biogas-based power generation programmes etc. and many more. Different innovative scheme and programme have been initiated time again in different 5 year plans. These approaches help the poor to build their self-confidence through community action and ultimately lead to the strengthening and socio economic empowerment of the rural poor as well as their collective bargaining power.

 

Keywords: Rural, Employment, Empowerment, National, Development, Aajeevika skills.