E-Paper
116 districts to start re-skilling migrant labourers
A letter written by the Skill Development ministry to the district collectors and district magistrates mentions that the Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic disruption leading to large-scale reverse migration.
The Skill Development ministry has zeroed in on 116 districts of the country to re-skill migrant labourers who have returned to their home states. The ministry is trying to make district-specific plans for migrant labourers, a key aspect of which involves identifying their current skills and re-skilling them according to the needs of the job market.
A letter written by the Skill Development ministry to the district collectors and district magistrates mentions that the Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic disruption leading to large-scale reverse migration. “This migration is likely to cause a lot of stress on the local economy and society which is already under considerable stress due to COVID-19,” says the letter by KC Gupta, Joint Secretary in the ministry to various district chiefs.
The said that “district specific” plans will be created to create sustainable livelihood opportunities in the identified districts under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and the Apprenticeship scheme. The ministry plans to hold short-term training as well as recognition of prior learning programmes in the next four months to give direction to its initiatives.
“The Centre and state are in cognizance of the massive reverse migration that has happened in the country and are working jointly to ensure opportunities of better livelihood for them by engaging them in local economic activities. Under the guidance of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our ministry is working in close conjunction with other central ministries the state governments and related organisations to map the existing skills of these migrant labourers basis a certain framework provided by us and future skills that will be in market demand. We are certain this exercise will connect the right workforce with the right work profile,” Skill Development minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said.
In the letter, Gupta sought the support of the district administrations to identify migrant labourers and do skill mapping, job role identification for fresh skilling and surveys of eligible enterprises for proving apprenticeship at the district level.
“The government is trying to move with a focused approach therefore 116 districts have been identified. However, based on the need the number could be further increased. Several flagship programmes of the government, around 15 in all, have been aligned to meet the needs of migrants and job aspirants in the COVID-affected scenario. The skill development ministry can play a key role in this regard,” said the official cited above.
According to information accessed by HT, around 32 districts of Bihar, including East Champaran, Katihar, Madhubani, around 20 from Uttar Pradesh and 20 each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are among districts that have been identified as most-affected due to the high reverse migration.
The government had earlier formed an empowered group that looked into these aspects. A group of ministers had also suggested a slew of measures including bringing a National Employment Policy as part of its suggestion to help the migrants.
