Promoting herbal and medical gardens in tribal areas, providing street vendors access to credit and using the infrastructure of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) are among a slew of measures that the Centre is examining to generate employment in the post-Covid scenario.
Realising the challenges posed by the migration of lakhs of workers to their home states, the Modi government had been quick to appoint a group of ministers, headed by social justice and empowerment minister Thaawaar Chand Gehlot, to ensure that new means of livelihood are generated and the skill training is accelerated.
The group has zeroed in on a gamut of measures to ensure a plethora of employment opportunities to meet the current scenario.
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According to a person familiar with the development, one of the focus areas of the group is to come up with strategies for promoting rural manufacturing, including handicrafts, terracotta, brass and khadi industries, etc.
A key aspect that the group is examining is the possibility of promoting herbal and medicinal gardens especially in the tribal areas to benefit the local population. Tribal affairs minister, Arjun Munda, is a also a member of the group.
{{/usCountry}}A key aspect that the group is examining is the possibility of promoting herbal and medicinal gardens especially in the tribal areas to benefit the local population. Tribal affairs minister, Arjun Munda, is a also a member of the group.
{{/usCountry}}Another aspect the government is exploring is improving the prospects of street vendors, by providing them credit at accessible rates. “This is one of the ideas being explored. The city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh has done some work for the welfare of the street vendors. The group has examined the possibility of adopting ideas and the learning from these experiences to improve the situation of street vendors,” said the person cited above.
Another aspect that the government is looking at is using the infrastructure of skill development ministry’s ITIs to impart skilling to workers to prepare them for job opportunities in the pandemic-affected world.
The skill development ministry, led by Mahendra Nath Pandey, is already holding consultations with various sector skill councils to improve the employability of the country’s workforce. The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, is also chipping in by conducting a study on skill gaps, according to the person cited above.
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Several other measures, including a National Employment Policy, a National Electronic Employment Exchange and building of a skill based database, are also in the pipeline.
“There will be brainstorming and presentations on all these aspects in the coming days. And many of these measures will soon be launched as the government is increasingly focusing on giving a boost to employment and livelihood,” said a government official, when asked about the details.