Rethinking Skill and Women Empowerment by Dinesha P T

Rethinking Skill Development and
Women Empowerment
Edited by
DINESHA P.T
Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy

University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka
Rethinking Skill Development and Women Empowerment
© Author
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored,

adapted or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, micro-filming recording or otherwise, or
translated in any language, without the prior written permission of the
copyright owner and the publisher. The book is sold subject to the
condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold,
hired out, or otherwise circulated without the prior publisher’s written
consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is
published.
The views and opinion expressed in this book is author own and the facts
reported by them have been verified to the extent possible and the
publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
ISBN: 978-81-927970-5-2
Price: 1200/-
First Published in 2016
Published by
National Centre for Inclusive Growth and Development Research®
Vinayaka Nagar, Mysore -570 012
Phone No: 8105806756
Email: jythidcn@gmail.com
Printed at: Sri Annapurna Offset Printers, Mysore, Karnataka
ii
UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE
PROF. C. BASAVARAJU
M. A. L L.M, PhD,
REGISTRAR
Foreword
Human development is a process of enlarging the choices of all people not

just for one section of the society. If women are excluded from the benefit
of mainstream development such development process becomes unjust
and inequitable. The rights of gender equality are enshrined in the
constitution and India has also ratified various international conventions
and human rights instruments committed to secure equal rights to
women. However, wide gap continues to exist between the goals
enunciated in the constitution, legislation policies and plans and the
ground reality of the status of women in India. Women face
discrimination and barriers in all fields and the problems in the informal
sector also a major one. It is found that more than 90 per cent of women
workers are concentrated in the informal sector. However, the condition of
women in the informal sector is miserable, most of time they have to work
for extremely low wages and without any job security and social security
benefits, apart from these working conditions also unsatisfactory. Hence,
several international and national commissions, committees, research
studies, seminars and discussions in the last six decades have documented
the pathetic conditions of women workers in the informal sector in India.
Till today the status of women in the non formal sector is far from
satisfactory. And for all these problem lack of skill among women is one of
the main reasons. Hence, to empower women working in the informal
iii
sector, there is an urgent need to transform them as ‘skilled labour force’
through suitable programmes and policies.
Hence, since the 11th five year plan (2007-12) government of India
has recognized massive need to skill millions of formal and informal
labourers in the next ten years. In response, the government developed
many schemes to increase the proportion of formal and informal skilled
workers in its total workforce especially women from a mere 2 percent
now to 50 percent by 2022, thus creating a 500 million strong resource
pool. The aim of skill development, particularly in case of women, is not
merely to prepare them for jobs, but also to improve the performance of
women workers by enhancing the quality of work in which they are
engaged. Therefore it is clear that there is an urgent need for a paradigm
shift in the skill development sector, in favor of special training,
innovations and high quality training. With these I hope this volume will
bring a healthy debate over this issues I take this opportunity to
congratulate Dr. Dinesha P T for his useful work through this edited
volume and may this book a gift to the existing knowledge.
Prof. C. Basavaraju
Registrar
University of Mysore, Mysore.
iv
Preface
The subject of informal economy has a considerable multi-disciplinary
appeal and has caught the attention of scholars and academicians of social
science disciplines. There are growing concerns among academicians and
policy makers on the problems faced by the women workers of the informal
economy irrespective of whether they belong to the category of workers or
the self employed. Against this background, it is argued there is a dire and
urgent need to relook into the problems faced by the women workers in the
informal sector in attaining skill and training. Constraints of both time and
money often prevent women workers in the informal sectors from acquiring
further training, even when such facilities exist. It is also to be noted that the
initiatives required to skill the workforce, cannot be assumed to be the same
for both men and women, as women and men face very different social and
economic circumstances in India. Gender differences abound right from the
access to and the availability of education and training, to the conduct of
training programmes.
Low social value is attached to girl´s education, and as they are
considered secondary income earners, lower importance is given to training
of girls for employment. Hence, a sustainable skill development programme
would aim to take on board, both women’s as well as men’s concerns and
experiences. These should form an integral part of the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and the programmes
on skill training and development. The key strategy for women’s
empowerment and gender equality is to combine policy and institutions at
the local level. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the authors
who have enriched the book by contributing their learned papers. I also
thank Prof..K.S.Rangappa, Hon. Vice Chancellor and Prof..C.Basavaraju,
Hon. Registrar, University of Mysore, Mysore for their never ending
encouragement and logistic support. I thank to Dr.Nanjunda and
Dr.Siddaraju V.G faculty members, Mr. Ramachandra Murthy, Research
Assistant and Non-Teaching Staff of CSSEIP, University of Mysore for their
support. We acknowledge all others who have supported and assisted
directly and indirectly for completion of this work. I also grateful to the
National Centre for Inclusive Growth and Development Research® ®,
Mysore and Sri Annapurna Printers, Mysore Karnataka for publishing this
edited volume.
Editor
Dr. Dinesha P.T
v
Contents
Contents
Foreword
Preface
List of Contributors
1 Skill Development of Leather Sector in India: Challenges

and Opportunities 1-11
-Neeraj Kumar
2 The Role of NGOs in Empowering Women Through

Skill Development – A Case Study in Integrated Rural
Technology Center (IRTC) , Mundur, Palakkad, Kerala 12-22
-Sheeja. K.M.
3 A Study on Status of Skill Development in Emerging

India 23-33
-Chethana B And M. Mahesha
4 National Policy on Skill Development and

Entrepreneurship - 2015: Women Empowerment
Through Good Governance 34-43
-Praveenkumar Mellalli
5 Traditional Skill Development is A Stepping Stone to

Empower Tibetan Women - An Empirical Study on
Tibetan Women Entrepreneurs in Karnataka 44-52
-Reena Francis And Christina Kanthraju
vi
6 Skill Development as A Key to Empowerment of
Women: Issues And Opportunities
53-70
-Sathyanarayana
7 The Role of Education in Women’s Skill Development

and Their Empowerment
71-78
-Sujatha.J.K and.Prof. C. Basavaraju
8 Financial Service Skill in Rural Women through SHG’s

in Karnataka: A Case Study
79-90
-Huchhe Gowda and Deepa Patil
9 Empowering Women Through Skill Development in

India: Need, Opportunities and Challenges
91- 102
-J. L. Banashankari
10 An Analysis of Skill Development Programmes of India

-Prakasha.N 103-112
11 A study on Progress and Performance of Women’s

Training Programmes in Karnataka 113-117
-Siddaraju V.G
12 Skill Development and Tribal Women: A Study in

Hunsur Taluk – Karnataka
118-130
-Mahadevaiah and N.Ningaiah
13 Importance of Skill Development for Women

Empowerment
131-137
-Chethana M G
14 Placement Linked Skill Development of Rural BPL

Women – Under Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarozgar
Yojana[SJSY]: A Case Study of RUDSETI Training
138-145
Centre, Mysore
-Nagaraju.N, Somashekar C.L and Mahadeva A. S
15 Tribal Women and Skill Development

146-156
-Valarmathi R.and Ramesh
vii
16 Issues in Skill Development for Women
-R Nagabhushan 157-165
17 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and Skill India

Program 166-171
-Rashmi.C
18 Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women

Workers With Special Reference to Coffee Plantations in
Karnataka 172-181
-C.P.Chaya And Prof.A.R.Viswanatha
19 Skill Development Through Community College-A Case

Study 182-190
- Sr.Prafula Jessy .C.A and Sr. Sajitha
20 Impact of Skill Development Training Programme on Sri

Lankan Youth (Case Study of National Youth Corps
Training Center in Sri Lanka) 191-198
-Wijitha K, S.A. Nayana Suraweera and Pamodi Edirisinghe
21 Indian Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics (STEM) Education and Jobs: A Gender Gap
Analysis 199-206
-Mahendrakumar S. and Yogesh.U
22 Empowering Women through Skill Development in

India 207-214
-Sridevi Krishna and Chandralekha
23 Role of Education in Women Skill Development

- Vijay.A.N and Prof.C.Basavaraju 215-223
Awareness among the Stakeholders of Pradhan Mantri

24 Kaushal Vikas Yojana: An Empirical Study 224-232
-B.P.Mahesh Chandra Guru, M.Dileepkumar and D.
Srinivasa
25 International Women Migration and Skill Development-
233-243
A Study On Kerala
viii
-Ruksana.M.M and Dr. K. Gangadharan
26 Skill Development of Fisherwomen in Coastal Karnataka

Through Post Harvest Technology In Fisheries 244-255
-S. Gunakar
27 Role of NGO in Women Empowerment Through Skill

Development –With Special Reference to ODP
256-266
-Kumara J.N and Gayathri N.K
28 Social Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for

Women Skill Development 267-276
-Prince C P
29 Skill Development among Migrant Women Workers in

Urban Karnataka: A Study on Un-Organized Workers. 277-288
-Gowrappa M.S
30 “Importance of Skill Development for Women

Empowerment” 289-297
-Mahantesh B Madiwalar
31 Importance of Skill Development for Women

Empowerment 298-304
-D.R. Sarvamangala And Shobha.
32 An Investigation of Influence of Emotional Intelligence,

and Personality Traits on the Occupational Aspiration of
Institutionalized Adolescent Orphans in Kerala 304-313
-Jyothy G Vijayan and Santhi S Rajan
33 An Overview of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

(Pmkvy) In India
-Ramachandra Murthy K, Manjunatha G and Ningaraju. R
314-325
34 An Analysis of Skill Development through Micro

326-334
Finance in India
ix
-Yogesh H. S, S.P. Kiran and Manjuprasad .C
35 Public-Private and People-Partnerships for Skill

Development: A CSR Prospective
335-338
-Nanjunda
36 The Role of Public-Private-Partnership Initiatives in Skill

Development of Women in India
339-349
-Ramesha H.C and Kavitha H.D
37 Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women: A

Brief Note 350-358
-Dinesha P T and Dinesha G A
x
List of Contributors
Banashankari J. L, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics,

Karnataka State Open University, Mysuru.
Basavaraju C, Professor, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Mysore,

Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Chandralekha.V, Assistant Professor, SDM Law College, Mangaluru
Chaya C.P, Principal, Shanthala Women’s College, Belur, Hassan District.

Chethana B, Research Scholar, DoS in Economics and Cooperation, UOM,
Manasagangothri, Mysore.
Chethana M G, Research Scholar, Center for women Studies,

Manasagangothri, Mysore University, Mysuru.
Christina Kanthraju Faculty, Centre for Women’s Studies

Manasagangothri, University of Mysore, Mysore.
Deepa Patil, Department of Studies in Economics, Rani Channamma

University, Vidyasangama, PBNH-4, Belagavi-591156, Karnataka.
Dileepkumar, M, Research Scholar, Department of Studies in

Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore, Manasagangothri,
Mysore-570006, Karnataka, India.
Dinesha G A, Research scholar, DOS in Economics and Co-operation,

Dinesha P T, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive

Policy, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka.
Dr.B.P.Mahesh Chandra Guru, Professor, Department of Studies in

Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri,
Karnataka.
Gayathri N.K, Associate Professor & Guide, DOS in Economics and Co-
operation, University of Mysore, Mysore
xi
Gowrappa M.S, Assistant Professor, P.G. Department of Economics,
Vivekananda Institute of Management, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Gunakar S. Dept. of Commerce, Pompei College, Aikala-574141.
Huchhe Gowda Assistant Professor, Department of Studies in

Economics, Rani Channamma University, Vidyasangama, PBNH-4,
Belagavi-591156, Karnataka (State), India.
Jyothy G Vijayan, Department of Education, Mar Severios College of

Teacher Education, M.G University, Kerala.
K. Gangadharan, Professor and Head, Department of Applied Economics,

Kannur University, Thalassery Campus, Palayad, 670 661, Kerala.
Kavitha H.D, Research Scholar, Dos in Economics and Co-operation,

University of Mysore, Mysuru
Kumara J.N, Research scholar, DOS in Economics and Co-operation,

Mahadeva A. S, Karnataka State Open University, Muktagangothri,

Mysore
Mahadevaiah, Research Scholar, Department of Studies in Anthropology,

Manasagangothri, University of Mysore.
Mahantesh B Madiwalar, Research scholar Department of Law, Kuvempu

University Shivamogga, and lecturer S J R College of law Bengaluru.
Mahesha M, Associate Professor, DoS in Economics and Cooperation,

UOM, Manasagangothri, Mysore.
Manjunatha G Research Scholar, Dept of Economics and Cooperation,

University of Mysore, Mysore.
Manjuprasad C, DoS in Economics and Co-operation, Manasagangothri,

University of Mysore, Mysuru.
Nagabhushan, Asst Professor, Dept of Economics, Government First

Grade College, Kuvempunagar, Mysore.
Nagaraju.N, Post Doctoral Fellow, DOS in Political Science, University of

Mysore, MG, Mysore.
xii
Nanjunda, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy,
University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Nayana Suraweera, Department of Communication & Journalism,

University Of Mysore.
Neeraj Kumar, Research scholar, Department of Economics, School of

Social Science & Humanities, Mewar University, Chittorgarh (Rajsthan).
Ningaiah N, Professor and Supervisor (Rtd), Department of Studies in

Anthropology, University Of Mysore, Mysore.
Ningaraju R, Research Scholar, DOS in Sociology, University of Mysore,

MG, Mysore.
Pamodi Edirisinghe, Department of Development Studies, University Of

Mysore, Mysore.
Prakasha N, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Government

First Grade College, Krishnaraja Nagar-, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Praveenkumar Mellalli, Department of Studies in Public Administration,

University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006. Karnataka, India.
Prince C P – Ph D scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Ramachandra Murthy K, Research Scholar, DoS in Economics and Co-

operation, Manasagangothri, University of Mysore, Mysuru.
Ramesh, Associate Professor, Department of Studies in Law, University of

Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Ramesha H.C, Research Scholar, Dos in Economics and Co-operation,

University of Mysore, Mysuru
Rashmi.C, 2nd Semester, BALLB, Jss Law College, Mysore.
Reena Francis, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Commerce, St. Philomena’s

College, Mysore & also Research Scholar at DOS in Business
Administration, Manasagangothri, Mysore.
Ruksana M M, Research scholar (UGC-JRF), Department of Applied

Economics, Kannur University, Thalassery Campus, Palayad-670661,
Kerala.
xiii
S. Mahendra Kumar, Professor of cooperation, Dos in economics and
Cooperation, Manasagangothri, University of Mysore, Mysore.
S.P. Kiran, Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Studies in Economics and

Co-operation, University of Mysore, Manasagangothri, Mysuru.
Santhi S Rajan, Department of Education, Mar Severios College of

Teacher Education, M.G University,Kerala.
Sarvamangala D.R., Associate professor, Department of Studies in

Education, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006.
Sathyanarayana, Guest Faculty in Economics, Department of Studies in

Economics, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar PG Centre, University of Mysore,
Chamarajanagara & PG Department of Economics, JSS College for
Women, Saraswathipuram, Mysore.
Sheeja K M, Assistant Professor, Thunchathezhuthachan Malayalam

University.
Shobha. M, Research Scholar, Department of Studies in Education,

University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570018.
Siddaraju V.G, Associate Professor, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion

and Inclusive Policy, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Somashekar C.L, Asst. Professor, DOS in Public Administration,

University of Mysore, MG, Mysore.
Sr.Prafula (Jessy .C.A), Research Scholar, University of Mysuru, Teresian

College, Karnataka.
Sr.Prafula (Jessy .C.A), Research Scholar, University of Mysuru, Teresian

College, Karnataka
Sr.Sajitha, Cordinator, Teresian Community College, Mysuru.
Sr.Sajitha, Cordinator, Teresian Community College, Mysuru.
Sridevi Krishna, Assistant Professor, Vidyavardhaka Law College,

Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Srinivasa, D, Research Scholar, DOS in Social Work, University of

Mysore, Manasagangotri, Karnataka, India.
xiv
Sujatha.J.K. Research Scholar, Department of Studies in Law, University
of Mysore.
Surendra H, Research Scholar, CSSEIP, University of Mysore.
Valarmathi. R, Research Scholar, DOS in Law, Mysore University,

Mysore.
Vijay.A.N Research Scholar, Department of Studies in Law, University of

Mysore, Mysore.
Viswanatha A.R, Professor, DOS in Economics and Cooperation, MG

Mysore.
Wijitha K, S.A., Department of Communication & Journalism, University
Of Mysore.
Yogesh H. S, Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Studies in Economics

and Co-operation, University of Mysore, Manasagangothri, Mysuru.
Yogesh.U, Research Scholar, Dept in Economics and Cooperation,

xv
Skill Development of Leather Sector in India:

Challenges and Opportunities
Neeraj Kumar
I. Introduction:
“Education, vocational training and lifelong learning are central
pillars of employability, Employment of workers and sustainable
enterprise development”
Skill development is a means to harness the human resource
potential of a region by equipping the prospective or the existing members
of the workforce with marketable skills through vocational or technical
training to meet leather industry requirements. It emphasizes demand-
driven systems for leather skill acquisition. Leather Sector is the 10th
largest manufacturing sector in India and it plays an important role in the
Indian economy in view of its substantial overall output, export earnings
and employment potential. The Leather Sector employs 2.5 million people
with a majority from the weaker sections of the society and comprising
about 30% women. The Sector is dominated by small and medium
enterprises. In order to augment raw material base, enhance capacity,
address environmental concerns, human resource development, attract
investment and global marketing Indian Leather, the Central Scheme One
of the major problems confronting the leather industry now is the shortage
of skill manpower, particularly for performing shop floor level operations
like cutting, clicking etc., the workforce employed for performing such
1
shop floor level operations do not undergo any professional vocational

training but are given only on-site training in the factories concerned.
Thus, non-availability of trained manpower is a major stumbling block
which is affecting our productivity and price competitiveness. In order to
over-come this, the Government of India established the National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC) on Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
model so as to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large,
quality, for-profit vocational institutions.
The National Skill Development Mission was approved by the Union
Cabinet on 01.07.2015, and officially launched by the Hon’ble Prime
Minister on 15.07.2015 on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day. The
Mission has been developed to create convergence across sectors and
States in terms of skill training activities. Further, to achieve the vision of
‘Skilled India’, the National Skill Development Mission would not only
consolidate and coordinate skilling efforts, but also expedite decision
making across sectors to achieve skilling at scale with speed and
standards.
SWOT Analysis of the Indian leather industry:
Strengths:
 High Growth
 Ready availability of highly skilled and cheap manpower
 Large raw material base
 Policy initiatives taken by the Government
 Capability to assimilate new technologies and handle large projects
 Continuous emphasis on product development and design
upgradation.
Weaknesses:
 Lack of warehousing support from the government
 International price fluctuation
 Huge labour force resulting in high labour charges
 Lack of strong presence in the global fashion market
 Unawareness of international standards by many players
Opportunities:
 Rising potential in the domestic market
 Growing fashion consciousness globally
2
 Use of information technology and decision support software to

help eliminate the length of the production cycle for different
products
 Use of e-commerce in direct marketing
Threats:
 Major part of the industry is unorganized
 Limited scope for mobilizing funds through private placements and
public issues (many businesses are family-owned)
 Difficulty in obtaining bank loans resulting in high cost of private
borrowing
 Stricter international standards
 High competition from East European countries and other Asian
countries
 Lack of communication facilities and skills
II. Literature Review:

According to the Michel Armstrong, “Training is systematic
development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by an
individual to perform adequately a given task or job”. According to the
Edwin B Flippo, “Training is the act of increasing knowledge and skills of
an employee for doing a particular job.”
According to Aswathappa, K. The term ‘training’ indicates the
process involved in improving the aptitudes, skills and abilities of the
employees to perform specific jobs. Training helps in updating old talents
and developing new ones. ‘Successful candidates placed on the jobs need
training to perform their duties effectively’.
III. Objective of the Study:

The main objectives of paper are
a) To understand the challenges and opportunities of skill
development in leather sector
b) To understand Institute initiative of leather sector
c) To suggest strategies to improve employability skills
IV. Research Methodology:

Data are mostly collected through desk research of online resources,
research papers, conference documents, and other publications. Data from
3
Council from leather export has been used. Annual report on MSMEs,
Annual report of ministry of commerce and industry, various annual
reports of State Financial Corporation, and various financial institutions
have been used.
The data have been compiled from three types of sources: published
documents and reports, the World Wide Web and statistical agencies.
Structure of the Industry:

The leather industry in India is geographically well diversified,
though Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal account for bulk of
the output. The major production centers for leather and leather products
are located at Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Trichi, Dindigul in
Tamil Nadu, Calcutta in West Bengal, Kanpur, Agra and Noida in Uttar
Pradesh, Jalandhar in Punjab, Bahadurgarh and Manesar in
Haryana,Bangalore in Karnataka, Delhi and Hyderabad in Andhra
Pradesh. The sector is dominated by micro and small units with bigger
units accounting for just around 5 per cent of the total manufacturing
units. The distribution of the units in this sector in terms of the broad
classification of MSME and others is indicated below:
Table 1: Shows the Structure of leather industries

Large Medium Small Micro Merchant Total
units units units units units
Finished leather 30 49 309 68 151 607
Leather Footwear 38 46 228 49 81 442
Non Leather 4 2 34 13 17 70
footwear
Footwear 29 32 182 28 22 293
component
Leather goods 14 13 242 259 210 738
Leather garments 8 8 132 49 72 269
Leather gloves 4 3 38 36 24 105
Harness & 3 9 74 69 26 181
sadellary
Total 130 162 1239 571 603 2705
Source: Central leather export council
4
Figure 1: Chart illustration of structure of leather industries
Structure of leather Industries
1500
1000
Axis Title
500
0
Large Mediu Small Micro Mercha
units m units units units nt units
Series1 130 162 1239 571 603
Production, Export and Employment in this sector:

Production data for leather sector, as for the other industries, are
available in the National Accounts statistics (NAS). NAS provides data for
both the organized factory sector (defined in terms of employment and
covering all units employing 10 or more workers) and the unorganized
sector (defined as units employing less than 10 workers). As per the NAS,
total output of the leather sector increased from Rs 27,233 crore in 2004‐05
to Rs 47,940 crore in 2009‐10 at an average annual rate of 11.8 per cent. The
growth in the organized sector at 16.9 per cent was significantly higher
than the unorganized sector, which recorded a growth of 6.9 per cent
during this period. The share of the organized sector, therefore, witnessed
a sharp improvement. Exports had a slower growth compared to total
output resulting in some moderation in the share of exports.
Table 2: Show the Production, Export and Employment

Orga Unor Total Share of the Exports Exports
nized ganiz Organized as% to
ed Sector production
2004-2005 12401 14972 27373 45.3 10881 39.7
2005-2006 15406 15530 30936 49.8 11943 38.6
2006-2007 17482 17263 34745 50.3 13650 39.3
2007-2008 24392 19861 44253 55.1 14101 31.9
2008-2009 24828 19228 44056 56.4 16355 37.1
2009- 27017 20923 47940 56.4 15946 33.3
2010
Source: National Account Statistics, 2011
5
The data from NAS (output approach), however, appears to be

under estimated. An alternative way of building the data could be from
the private final consumption expenditure. The Gross Domestic Product,
in terms of expenditure, provides the data for the expenditure incurred by
households on purchase of a variety of products. Footwear is one of items
covered under the NAS consumption basket. The expenditure on footwear
increased from Rs 4,270 crore in 1989‐ 90 to Rs 42,509 crore in 2009‐10 at an
average annual trend rate of 10.6 per cent. The elasticity of demand for
footwear is less than 1 indicating that growth in consumption has
remained lower than GDP growth. The share of footwear in total private
final consumption expenditure (PFCE), however, continued to fluctuate
and averaged 1.18 per cent (the share had peaked to 1.7 per cent in
1990‐91). Since the PFCE does not include the consumption expenditure of
the public sector (and this may not be insignificant given the purchases by
the defence) and since the expenditure pertains only to footwear, the
PFCE in itself is an underestimation of leather goods production for
domestic use. The PFCE data with some mark up to cover the non
footwear sector and public procurement could be used to build up the
market size of the leather industry.
Government schemes/programmes/policies for development of

industries:
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under Ministry of
Commerce and Industry administers the following
schemes/programmes/policies for development of industries:
Industrial Infrastructure Up gradation Scheme (IIUS):

The Scheme was launched in 2003 with the objective of enhancing
industrial competitiveness of domestic industry by providing quality
infrastructure through public private partnership in selected functional
clusters/locations which have potential to become globally competitive.
Central assistance up to 75% of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.50
crore was given for each project. The Scheme was recast in February, 2009
as Recast IIUS. The scheme was evaluated in December, 2011 and a
modified version of IIUS viz., ‘Modified Industrial Infrastructure Up
gradation Scheme (MIIUS) was notified in July, 2013. Under MIIUS,
projects are to be undertaken to upgrade infrastructure in existing
6
Industrial Parks/Estates/Area. Greenfield projects in backward areas and

North Eastern Region (NER) is to be sanctioned under the scheme.
Projects are to be implemented by the State Implementing Agency (SIA) of
the State Government. Central grant up to 50% of the project cost with a
ceiling of Rs. 50.00 crore can be considered under MIIUS with minimum
State Implementing Agency’s contribution of 25% and in case of North
Eastern States, the central grant and the minimum contribution of the SIAs
can be 80% and 10% respectively.
Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP):

The major objective of this programme is to augment raw material
base, enhance capacity, modernization and up gradation of leather units,
address environmental concerns, human resource development, and
support to traditional leather artisans, address infrastructure constraints
and establish institutional facilities. The ILDP comprises six sub-schemes
namely: Integrated Development of Leather Sector (IDLS): It provides
assistance for technology up-gradation/modernization and/or
expansion and setting up of a new unit in the leather sector. The Sub-
scheme provides assistance in form of investment grant to the extent of
30% of cost of new plant and machinery for micro and small enterprises
and 20% of cost of new plant and machinery for other units subject to a
ceiling of Rs.2.00 crore for each product line. Human Resource
Development (HRD): It targets potential work force for leather sector
and lays stress on skill development and technical development. This
project is intended to train and prepare individuals to be fit to work in
medium to large industrial units including up- gradation of skills of
persons already employed in the sector. Support to Artisan: There are
various clusters in India making traditional footwear and other leather
goods. The aim of this scheme is to promote the clusters at various forums
as they are an integral part of rural Indian economy and have potential for
generating local employment and export. The artisan clusters all over
India would be supported for enhancing their design and product
development, capacity building, providing marketing support,
establishing common facility center and marketing support/linkage. The
broad objective of this component is to ensure better and higher returns to
the artisans resulting in socio-economic upliftment.
7
Establishment of Institutional Facilities:

It provides institutional facilities by way of establishing new
campuses of Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) to meet the
growing demand of the leather industry for footwear technologies,
designers, supervisors and mechanics.
Leather Technology, Innovation & Environmental Issues:

It provides financial support to Leather Cluster to meet the
prescribed pollution control discharge norms and environmental issues.
This covers establishment / expansion / up gradation of CETPs,
Technology benchmarking for implementing cleaner technologies for
environment management, utilization of solid waste from tanneries and
conducting workshops to educate and train the tanners and tannery
workers.
Mega Leather Cluster:

Its main objective is to create state of the art infrastructure and to
integrate the production chain in a manner that caters to the business
needs of the leather industry to cater to the domestic market and exports.
These mega clusters will assist the entrepreneurs to set up units with
modern infrastructure, latest technology, and adequate training and
Human Resource Development (HRD) inputs. The development of Mega
Leather Clusters would help in creating additional employment
opportunity, particularly for the weaker sections of society.
North East Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIP), 2007: It was
announced w.e.f. 01.04.2007 for a period of 10 years. The benefits under
this package are Capital Investment Subsidy @ 30% of the value of plant
and machinery, Interest Subsidy @ 3% on working capital loan taken by an
industrial unit for a period of 10 years from the date of commencement of
commercial produce and Insurance Subsidy for 100% reimbursement of
insurances premium paid by an industrial unit. Other
incentives/concession is excise duty exemption and 100% income tax
exemption.
Transport Subsidy Scheme (TSS), 1971:
It covers the eight States of NER, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling District of West-Bengal, Andaman &
Nicobar Administration & Lakshadweep Administration under which
8
cost of transportation of raw material / finished goods ranging from 75%

to 90% to and from the location of the industrial unit to the designated
rail-head is reimbursed for a period of 5 years from the date of
commencement of commercial production.
Special Package Scheme:

It consists of Special Package for Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Special Package Scheme for Jammu &
Kashmir: It was introduced on 14th June 2002, for a period of 10 years.
Subsequently, it has been extended w.e.f. 15.06.2012 to 14.06.2017 in the
12th Five Year Plan period with some modifications in the package. Under
‘Central Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme’, all new industrial units
including substantial expansion, industries are eligible for subsidy at the
rate of 15% of the investment of plant and machinery with a sealing of
Rs.30 lakh. Enterprises under MSME are eligible for subsidy at the rate of
30% of the investment of plant and machinery subject to ceiling of Rs.3.00
crore in manufacturing sector and Rs.1.50 crore in service sector. Detail of
fund released & utilized during last two year (Rs. In crore) released by
department of policy promotion (Ministry of commerce and industries)
Government of India.
Fund allocation for the government schemes/programmes/policies for

development of industries:
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under Ministry of
Commerce and Industry allocate and release the fund up to 2014 -2015 is
given below:
Table 3: Show the Fund detail

S.N Detail of fund released & utilized during last two year (Rs. In crore)
o Name of Fund allocated Fund released
scheme/Programme /Utilised
2013-14 2014-15 2013-14 2014-15
1 Industrial infrastructure up 71.70 113.00 71.70 113.00
gradation scheme (IIUS)
2 Indian development 150.00 270.00 150.00 270.00
programme
3 North east industrial 149.99 221.90 149.99 221.90
investment promotion
policy (NEIIP), 2007
9
4 Transport subsidy scheme 220.00 124.49 220.00 124.49

5 Special package scheme 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
(SPS)
6 Assistance to states for 590.67 553.29 590.67 553.29
infrastructure development
of exports (ASIDE)
V. Conclusion:
India is at the cusp of a great new opportunity: the demographic dividend.
The proportion of the dependent population is decreasing, and the share
of the working age population has been increasing, and will continue to
increase over the next two decades. If they are not productively employed,
this dividend might become a demographic nightmare. On the other hand,
if they are better educated and more skilled, they will be able to not only
contribute to India's growth.
VI. Recommendations:
The Indian Government has laid a special focus on expanding and
improving the skill education and training in the leather industries of
India. The New Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
contains several initiatives which, if implemented earnestly, will go a long
way in minimizing the demand-supply gap and challenges related to skill
mismatch with leather industry requirements.
The main aim of the SDI is to increase the ‘employability’ of the workforce
and to ensure that workers are able to adapt to variations in technological
applications and new demands arising in the labour market. The key
objectives of the effort are to:
 Create long-term opportunities for skills development for all, in
particular, for the youth, women and disadvantaged groups.
 Encourage stakeholders to own skills development initiatives.
 Develop a high-quality skilled workforce relevant to current and
emerging employment market needs.
 Establish flexible delivery mechanisms responsive to a wide range
of needs of diverse stakeholders.
 Facilitate effective coordination between ministries, the central
government, state governments and public and private skills
providers.
10
References:
 Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in Human Beings. Journal of Political
Economy (Vol. 70, No. 5, Part 2, pp. 9-49).
 Edwin B Flippo. Personnel Management, McGraw Hill; 6th Edition, 1984)
 Becker, G. S., Murphy, K. M. & Tamura, R. (1994). Human Capital, Fertility
and Economic Growth In Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical
Analysis with Special Reference to Education (3rd Edition, pp. 323-350).
 Aswathappa, K. Human resource and Personnel Management, New
Delhi(2000): Tata Mcgraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited,, p.189)
 A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page, 8th
Ed.,2001)
 Planning Commission, (2008), Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-12, Government
of India, New Delhi.
 Asian Development Bank (2008). Sri Lanka: Skills Development Project.
 National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS),
Government of India (2009), The Challenge of Employment in India: An
Informal Economy Perspective, Volume I – Main Report, Academic
Foundation, New Delhi.
 Amitendu Palit, (2009), Skill development in India: Challenges & strategies,
No 89.
 IAMR, Planning Commission, Govt. of India (2010), the Challenges Facing
Skill Development in India: An Issue Paper.
 ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited August, (2010) The Skill
Development Landscape in India and Implementing Quality Skills Training.
 Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India (2010), Annual
Report 2009-2010, Government of India ,New Delhi.
 Department for International Development (2011). Engaging the Private
Sector in Skills Development
 Globalization and Developing Employability Skills (2013): Challenges and
their Solutions with reference to NPSD &Government’s Action Plan and role
of Life Long Learning and Extension Departments Journal of Business
Management & Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR) ISSN No: 2319- 5614 ,
Volume 2, No.5, May 2013
 Deloitte Knowledge paper for Skill Con India (2013)
 International Labour organization, (2014), the gender divide in skills
development: Progress, challenges and policy options for empowering
women.
 www.deloitte.com/in
 www.leather india.org
 www.fddiindia.com
 www.msme.org
 www.smallindustryindia.com
11
The Role of NGOs in Empowering Women through

skill development – a Case study in Integrated Rural
Technology Center (IRTC), Mundur, Palakkad, Kerala.
Sheeja K M
Introduction
All non-market and non-state organizations outside of the family in
which people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public
domain are either classified as NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations)
or CSOs (Civil Society Organizations). NGOs and CSOs are the voluntary,
non- profit organization and most of them are working for people’s
welfare. Considering the Typology, ‘NGO’ is sometimes used
interchangeably with ‘CSO’, sometimes as a subset of CSOs, albeit often
one with no clear boundaries. NGOs perform a variety of service and
humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate
and monitor policies and encourage political participation through
provision of information. Some are organized around specific issues, such
as human rights, environment or health. Community-based organizations
(CBO) and village associations, environmental groups, women’s rights
groups, charity trust, farmer’s associations, faith-based organizations,
labour unions, co-operatives, professional associations, chambers of
commerce, independent research institutes and the not-for-profit media,
trade union are the examples of either NGOs or CSOs.
Women Empowerment
The word women empowerment essentially means that the women
have the power or capacity to regulate their day- to- day lives in the social,
12
political and economic terms -a power which enables them to move from
the periphery to the centre stage. Empowerment is an active and
multidimensional process, which enables women to realize their identity
and power in all aspects of life (Ankitha et al., 2013).
When modern India failed to address gender inequalities and
inequities the women leaders and NGOs started their women right
movements during 1960s.Women empowerment emerged from the
feminist movement which began to shun all social, cultural or religious
barriers to the advancement of women. Four types of women
empowerment NGOs showed high impacts and are more visible than the
others. They are: grassroots women self-help NGOs, women’s rights
advocacy NGOs, women’s economic development NGOs, and
international women empowerment NGOs. Right, welfare, economic
independence, are three pillars through which women acquires their
strength and freedom.
Skill Development and Women

The main aim of skill development is socio-economic development.
The major target groups in the skill development training programmes
which are being conducted by NGOs or government agencies are women,
especially from the vulnerable and economically backward communities.
According to recent survey the rural women’s literacy rate is only 58%
while rural male is 78%. Women employment in urban area is only 13.9%
while in rural area it is 29.9%, with rise in poverty women are forced to
work for low wages. Recent survey reveals that only 8% of women got
employment in organized sector. All these figure points out the need of
women empowerment for poverty eradication.
Skill development training are conducted with the approach to
eradicate poverty among most neglected segment of the society by
providing them employable skills, facilitation for home based income
generating activities and developing market linkages. Skill development
not only prepares a woman to do a job but also prepares her for the
economic and social development of entire society. Skill development in
rural women plays an important role in women empowerment,
community development and sustainable development.
Review of literature
13
The following literature has been reviewed in this paper to study

the role of NGO’s in women empowerment: Rowlands1995 has
documented that woman empowerment is essentially a bottom-up process
rather than something that can be Formulated as a top-down strategy. In
fact, the collective empowerment is very closely related to the personal
level since without empowerment at a personal level it is very hard for an
individual to be active collectively According to Collier (1998) Since, the
1980’s the Government of India has shown increasing concern for
women's issues through a variety of legislation promoting the education
and political participation of women. Sneddon (2000) suggests that the
goal of sustainable development is to find a balance between three pillars
social, economic and environment – of the communities. Langran (2002),
revealed in his study that NGOs through capacity building help to sustain
community development. NGOs are often created in order to expand the
capacities of people. Furthermore, NGOs are praised for promoting
community self-reliance and empowerment through supporting
community-based groups and relying on participatory processes (Korten
1990)
Bridger (1997) has mentioned, sustainable community development
includes five dimensions. The first dimension emphasizes on increasing
local economic diversity. The second is self-reliance which recommends
the development of local markets, local production, local processing of
previously imported goods, and greater cooperation among local
economic entities. The third dimension involves a reduction in the use of
energy, coupled with the careful management and recycling of waste
products. The fourth dimension focuses on the protection and
enhancement of biological diversity and careful stewardship of natural
resources. Finally, the fifth dimension is related to the commitment of the
sustainable communities to social justice.
Desai (2005) has mentioned that NGOs have an important role to
play in supporting women, men and households, and expected that they
can meet the welfare. She accounted some role and functions for NGOs,
such as counseling and support, service, awareness raising and advocacy,
legal aid and microfinance. These ser-vices help the people to achieve their
ability, skill and now ledge, and take control over their own lives and
finally become empowered. Rama Sahoo (2008) reveals the ‘Importance of
Women NGOs in alleviating poverty and improving the Economic
14
Condition of the poor’ reviewed various problems faced by the members

of NGOs in alleviating poverty, the attitude of Banks and concerned
officials in monitoring the activities of SHGs and found out the nature of
work undertaken by the SHGs for benefiting the people. The outcome of
the research was though the NGOs are engaged in mobilizing thrift, they
were unable to receive timely, matching and revolving funds to generate
employment, identified NGOs are not getting revolving fund from the
Government agency due to bureaucratic bungling, there are no facilities
for the marketing of the products of the SHGs, financial agencies are
finding it quite difficult to meet the rising credit needs of the members.
Objective of the Study

Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) is a research center in
Mundur, Palakkad, Kerala, established by Kerala Sasthra Sahithya
Parishad (KSSP) in 1987. The organization’s aim is to spread Science and
Technology among masses and to provide appropriate technology for
rural development. This organization encourages young scientists,
research scholars, students and rural innovators to work for rural
development. One of the main objectives of IRTC is women empowerment
through income generation. The economic self sufficiency of women are
achieved by skill development training
The study is a effort to assess the implementation of rural technology, skill
development training, watershed development training programmes
impacted the women empowerment. The specific objectives of the study
are as follows:
 To study the function which are extensively involved in the process
of Women empowerment in IRTC
 To study the various methods used for Women empowerment by
IRTC
 To Study the various experiences gained and problems faced by IRTC
during the women empowerment process.
 How this NGO forms a guide for new innovative ideas among
women workforce.
Methodology
15
To achieve the objectives of the study, primary data has been collected
IRTC, Palakkad. Interview and questionnaire survey was conducted
among the coordinators, officials of the Training programmes and among
the women participant.
Result and Discussion

Empowerment and sustainable development
Several organizations are working with strong grass-roots base, are
active in rural India to represent the interest of poor. The development
approach of several of these based on the above system approach have
resulted in sustainable models of activities, where application of science
and technology have resulted in improved living condition as well as new
opportunity for gaining employment for rural poor, including women
from deprived and vulnerable group. The joint venture of Dept. of Science
and Technology (DST) New Delhi and Council for Advancement of
Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), New Delhi has
launched many technology models and package of appropriate
technology which are most suitable for the rural poor. This programme
collaborates science and technology field groups and science and
technology institutions. One of the most successful model evolved
through this programme is food processing sector- involving women as
primary stakeholders at all levels as producers, as consumers and change
agent from designing to adopt of cost effective technology package to suit
local needs. IRTC is one among the institution where innovative
technologies are developed to sustain traditional artifact like pottery, and
agriculture. It also encourages and provides training for the deprived
rural poor especially women in various sector such as ornamental fish
rearing, rabbit rearing, mushroom cultivation, organic farming, fruit crop
farming etc.,
While focusing on the overall rural development through

technological intervention and skill development; it should be linked to
carrying capacity in order to achieve sustainable development. The
measurement of sustainability is the immediate challenge. Women have
been oppressed and suppressed for a long time such trends demand
innovative approaches, institutional development, awareness and
education and socio economic motivation for economic development and
16
environmental soundness which are complimentary to each other. But

such development at village level can be sustainable only when social and
economic processes are more equitable, efficient and endogenous. Thus
the promotion of gender based equity in access to and control of
productive resources, access to research and extension service benefits and
enhancing women participation in decision making process at all level
must be pursued in order to address the root cause of persistent poverty
and food insecurity among the rural women and the family they support.
In this process focus must be given for technological empowerment of
women with skill and critical thinking that fosters a sense of self reliance
and ability to evaluate that is beneficial or detrimental to their interest as
well as the factors contributing to the degradation of environment and
unsustainable development. Here women empowerment is operationally
concerned with the genuine empowerment through awareness, ideas,
education, and consciousness through time management, skill
development and participatory approach to improve their lives in a
practical way which would ensure a sustainable future for the rural India.
Schumacher (1973) defines it as “the technology of production by the

masses, making use of the best modern knowledge and experience that is
conductive to decentralization compatible with the law of ecology gentle
in the use of scarce resources and designed to serve the human person
instead of making him the servant of machines.
Role of IRTC in Women Empowerment
No of people attended in the training
Sl Training program program
No: 2011-12 2012-13 2013- 14 2014-15
1 Mushroom cultivation - 52 206 123

2 Handmade Soap - 22 130 89
3 Pottery, Decoupage & Clay 9 23 182
Ornament
4 Vermi composting - 6 28 -
5 NABARD water shed project - 903 989 360

based
5 Watershed training - 112 - -
6 Ornamental fish rearing - 120 - 28
7 GIS training - - 32 28
17
8 Karshaka Mahila Sangham - - - 754
9 Kudumbasree mission - 118 - -
Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) is conducting training for

mushroom cultivation for more than two decades. While analyzing last
three years data approximately four hundred persons were given training
out of which 90% of trainees are women participants. Among the women
participants about 25% have started mushroom cultivation and they are
earning a decent income through this. IRTC have their own production
unit and they lay 20- 25 buds a day and produces 5-6 kilograms a day.
Trained women workers are employed at IRTC for mushroom cultivation.
Ornamental fish breeding and rearing is skilled activity. It is
essential that the entrepreneur requires knowledge and skill for mass
production of quality fish as well as management of an ornamental fish
breeding unit successfully. The aim of the ornamental fish training center
is to provide hands on training to entrepreneurs at a model ornamental
fish breeding unit at IRTC established in 2011. This is one of its kind in
Kerala directly supported by MPEDA. In order to impart this quality
training necessary infrastructure was created at IRTC. Around 150 persons
were given training during the last four year time. It supports both house
hold ornamental fish farming and small scale natural fish farming. Youths
are more active participants in fish breeding and rearing training
Traditional terracotta pottery is an art of exquisite beauty; its
modernization and diversification are of extreme significant as we need to
cater to the need and taste of the public for better income generation of
potters. A skill development workshop on modern techniques in
traditional pottery was organized at IRTC with the support of dept. of
science and technology and KVIC govt. of India. The techniques
introduced were smoke firing, giger jolly ornamental making, mural
work, glazing and decoupage. Hands on training were given for the
participants and more than 70% of the participants were pottery artisans
including women potters.
IRTC palakkad- Kerala was the first organization to intervene in the
mechanization of the pottery making. The mechanization and skill
development training to the traditional potters were given in the year of
2000. The economic status of the potters during that period was poor and
a study conducted at kazhanichungam pottery cluster at palakkad during
18
2005 shows that the economic and social status of these potters were
improved. In traditional pottery making more than 60% of the work is
being done by women workforce. This study reveals that women
participants played a vital role in increasing social and economic
development through their effort. Dramatic change in the standard of
living was observed in Alathur, Puthukode and Kazhanichungam
panchayaths of palakkad district. Here small scale mechanization was
adopted in order to reduce the health issues faced by potters, related with
the pot making. Pug mills of different capacity ( for community use and
household use), Chula, motorized pottery wheel, microwavable terracotta
are some of the innovative ideas developed by IRTC in pottery unit.
Soap making and vermin composting are the other skill
development technologies which are more related with women’s day
today life. Around 95 % of the trainees in this sector are women and more
than 75% of the trainers are employed this technique (soap making) either
for household needs or as cottage industries.
Livelihood support programs for Kudumbasree (SHGs) units are one of

the most successful women empowerment program carried out by IRTC
as a part watershed development program. Around 23 Kudumbasree
units (SHGs) containing an average of 5-6 women in each unit, were
trained to achieve sustainable community development. Skill
development training was given for their livelihood includes cow and
goat rearing, banana cultivation, tailoring and embroidery, broom
making, coconut oil production etc. The training program helped 775
women from 4 different watersheds namely Alangad vengassery,
cheerakuzhi, cherambi and konnakkalkadavu watershed from
Kizhakkanchery and Vadakkanchery Panchayath of Palakkad District.
Training for capacity building was given for Watershed development
team members of PFAs, Village Watershed committee members, joint-
liability group members, livelihood coordinators, supervisors, progressive
farmers, laborers as a part of Watershed Development Program. Through
these training IRTC achieved to enhance the capability of different stake
holders. As a result in laborers, coordinators and farmers are associated
and formed a ‘Thozhilsena’ namely “Karshaka Mahila Sangam” after the
completion of watershed development program activity (completed on
march 2014) in Muttuchira watershed spread over Pattanchery,
19
Muthalamada and Vadavannur Grama Panchayath od Palakkad district.

At the beginning it was only one sena contains 10 members worked on
contract basis. They were continuously monitored and supported by the
coordinators with the help of agriculture assistance and officers and
trained for skill development in organic farming, agronomic activities like
replanting of paddy, weeding etc and time management for effective
progress are also given. It increased the confidence level and socio-
economic status of women in Muttuchira Watershed, resulted to attracted
more women worker and now its strength is 100 members (8 groups).
Farmers relieved from the tension of lack of agriculture laborers, it also
promoted paddy cultivation in and around this watershed. The farmers
are giving their land for free of cost to these Labor groups for the inter
croping in organic way.
Conclusion
Women Empowerment has been the central agenda for both government
and NGO’s. Voluntary action promoted by voluntary agencies engaged in
development play a significant role at the grass roots level. For the
success of rural development which is dependent upon the active
participation of the people through Non-Government Organizations
(NGO). The various roles of
NGOs are described below for better understanding:-
 Educating the Rural Women Supplementation of Government
Efforts Efforts Organizing the Rural Women Building various
Model and Experiment Ensure Women’s Participation in their
empowerment Mobilizing the optimum Resources Promoting
Rural Leadership
 Representing the Rural Women Promoting Technology in Rural
areas
 Activating the Rural Delivery System Providing effective &
efficient Training to Rural Women.
 Monitoring and Evaluation. Impact assessment. Planning and
Implementation.

General suggestions
 Social structure is an integral part of every women upliftment
program
20
 Training should be conducted at the centrally located places in the

area of project and mechanism need develop for the mobile training
units to suite women daily working schedule
 Post training monitoring should be strengthened for documentation
and accountability
 Technical support should be made available as and when required
by the entrepreneur at their unit site at nominal cost
 Market support should make available for the entrepreneurs
working in decoupage, terracotta ornamental making, ornamental
fish culture and vermin compost units.
 Ready market support is required in the case of perishable product
like mushroom
 Awareness must be given for the trainers about the available and
supporting financial source.
 The procedure of fund supporting should made simple
 In the case of higher production feasibility of setting up of
processing plant need to be studied and necessary training should
impart.
 Regular interaction of scientist growers and non growers should be
arranged to propagate the technology
Limitations of the study

 The study considers only one institution that is IRTC, many
empowerment activities are regularly conducting since from its
establishment. Due to lack of documentation especially in the area of
women empowerment made the study difficult there for only 4 years
data has been collected and reviewed. Hence it might not be a
representation of whole women empowerment programme which is
conducted by IRTC and the women empowerment in Kerala as such.
 The follow up after the training made very difficult due to the phone
number change or location change of the trained persons.
Reference:
 Probal Gupta – Recognizing the value of women empowerment in skill
development, tactful management research Journal, ISSN: 2319-7943
21
 Rama Sahoo 2008 ‘Importance of Women NGOs in alleviating poverty

and improving the Economic Condition of the poor’.
 Tauffiqu Ahamad , Hemlata, Ananta Narayana 2015Role of NGOs in
Women Empowerment: With Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh IJAR
,1(10): 115-118
 Ankita r. Brahmbhat Dr. Pinakin Sheth 2013 The role of NGOs in
empowering women- an empirical study of the selected ngos of India,
Asian journal of multidimensional research vol.2 issue 3,.
 Rowlands J 1995. Empowerment Examined. Development in Practice,
5(2):101-107.
 Hedayat Allah Nikkhah and Ma’rof Bin Redzuan 2010 The Role of NGOs
in Promoting Empowerment for Sustainable Community Development J
Hum Ecol, 30(2): 85-92.
 Desai V 2005. NGOs, gender mainstreaming, and urban poor
communities in Mumbai. Gender and Development, 13(2): 90-98.
 Bennell P 1999 “Learning to Change: Skills Development among the
Economically Vulnerable and Socially Excluded in Developing
Countries”, Employment and Training Papers, 43, Employment and
Training Department, International Labour Office, Geneva.
 Sneddon CS 2000. Sustainability in Ecological Economics, Ecology and
Livelihoods: A Review. Progress in Human Geography, 24(4): 521-549.
 Bridger JC, Luloff AE 1999. Toward an Interactional Approach to
Sustainable Community Development.Journal of Rural Studies, 15(4): 377-
387.
22
A study on Status of Skill Development in Emerging

India
Chethana B and M. Mahesha

1. Introduction
The development of human capital and the improvement of the skill

and intellectual capacity is an important priority of a nation. Focusing on
these areas will enable the country to raise its capacity for knowledge,
creativity, and innovation, which are critical elements in the context of
globalization. Skill Development means developing ourself and our skill
sets to add value for the organization and for our own career
development. In the last two decade, India has emerged as a key country
in the world with setting up of knowledge based industries such as IT,
biotechnology and engineering. India leads in electronics, computer
software, and biotechnology exports. Education and skill up-gradation
has become the corner stones of Government Policy in India. The
Government is providing thrust on vocational training. It has opened
several institutes throughout the country, assistance is also provided to
private players for setting up training institutes to empowering all
individuals through improved skills and knowledge.
Classification of skill
 Skill in formal sectors: Skill levels for formal sectors have been
assessed based on the level of education attainment in combination
with experience, as follows:
 Semi-skilled workforce: General college degree graduates, ITI pass
outs and other vocational training
 Skilled workforce: Specialized degrees such as engineering
(including diploma holders), medical, dental, etc.
23
 Highly skilled workforce: Post graduate degrees such as MA,

MBA, PhD etc.
 Skill in informal sectors: Skill levels for informal sectors have been
assed based on the experience. Number of years for which
experience is counted varies from sector to sector. (District wise
skill gap study for the State of Karnataka)
Global skills development trends

The United Nations (UN) emphasizes reform through human
development and political institutional reform. According to the UN, good
governance has eight characteristics. Good governance is: consensus
oriented; participatory; following the Rule of Law; effective and efficient;
accountable; transparent; responsive; and equitable and inclusive
(UNESCAP, 2010). Of these principles, skills development relates to the
effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and responsiveness of the state.
Effectiveness and efficiency means that processes and institutions produce
results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of
resources at their disposal. Accountability relates not only to
governmental institutions but also to the private sector and civil society
organizations. These organizations must be accountable to the public and
to their institutional stakeholders. Responsiveness requires that
government institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within
a reasonable timeframe. (Measuring Impact Assessment of Skills
Development on Service Delivery in Government departments - Pundy
Pillay, Andrea Juan and Thembinkosi Twalo)
2. Objectives
 To study the requirement of skilled manpower in India by 2022.
 To analyze the state wise trends and pattern in skill development in
India.
 To examine the funding pattern for skill development in India.
3. Methodology
The present study made use of the secondary data from the Skill
Gap Reports, Indiastat.com and others. The data collected for the research
are analyzed with the help of simple statistical techniques such as AGR,
CAGR, percentage and graphs to come to meaningful conclusions.
24
4. Results and Discussions

Every year, India produces 2.5 million college graduates. Out of
these, the country has 100,000 more specialising in the sciences and 60,000
more in engineering than the United States. On the strength of this one can
assume that India contains the foundations for a strong manufacturing
core (Rahul Advani). However, the country faces the challenges of a lack
of technical skills among its youth population. With this backdrop this
study analyzed the present status of skill development and trends in
funding the skill development as follows,
Figure 1: Industry-wise Incremental Human Resources Requirement
(Skilled Manpower) in India -2022 (In Lakh)
1200 1030
1000
800
600
330 350 376
400 262
140 173 127 177
200 46 46 33 53 42 34 36 14 19 93 30 58
0
Auto and Auto…
Education and Skill …

Select Informal…
Building and…
Transportation and…
Media and…
Banking, Finance…
Tourism and…
Construction Material…
Leather and Leather…
Electronic and IT…
Chemicals and…
Organized Retails
IT and ITES
Infrastructure Structure
Healthcare
Food Processing
Textile and Clothing
Furniture and Furnishing

Real Estate Services
Gem and Jewellery
Source: Indiastat.com
Industry wise incremental requirement of skilled manpower in
India by 2022 is represented in the above figure 1. By the end of 2022 India
needs 3470 lakh incremental skilled manpower, out of which
infrastructure sector required around 30%(1030 lakh) of the total
requirement. Because infrastructure sector is one of the very important
sector which needs huge skilled manpower to make India as a developed
country. Under formal employment, building and construction industry,
auto and auto components sector required more than 320 lakh of
incremental skilled manpower by 2022. Under informal sector which
contains domestic help, beauticians, facility management, security guards
and etc totally 376 lakh of incremental skilled manpower is required by
2022. In order to reach this required skilled manpower the government
25
has to take proper policy initiatives by funding through various skill

development schemes.
Figure 2: Number of Persons Skilled under National Policy on Skill

Development in India (In Lakh)
150 131.34
105.08
100 72.51 73.43 76.37 76.12
46.53 51.88
45.58
50
9.73
0
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16-upto
June, 2015
Target Persons Skilled
The above figure 2 shows that the number of persons targeted and
skilled under national policy on skill development in India from 2011 to
2015. Only in the year of 2013-14 the actual achievement of skilled persons
exceeded the target. Only 72% of persons have skilled against the total
target in 2012-13 and 2014-15. The total target for the year 2015-16 was that
131.34 lakhs against which 9.73 lakhs persons have skilled till June 2015.
There was an increasing trend in the persons targeted and skilled under
national policy on skill development in India, but the actual achievement
was less than the target. This may because of the lack of funding by the
government or lack of involvement by the persons. In this regard
government should take necessary actions to reach the target and through
this achievement of growth of an economy.
Table 1: Funds Disbursed by National Skill Development Fund/Trust

(NSDFT) to National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for
Skilling of Labour in India (Rs. in Lakh)
Particul 2008 2009- 2010- 2011 2012 2013- 2014- 2015
ars -2009 2010 2011 -2012 -2013 2014 2015 -2016
NSDF/T
Funds
Flow to
NSDC
26
Transfer
2000 1049 2890 1430
red - - 45000 20000
0 5 0 0
(Skilling)
Transfer
3898.9
red - - - - - 2261.09 6000
1
(UDAAN)
Transfer
red - - - - - 58500 41500 8700
(STAR)
1045
PMKVY - - - - - - -
0
Fund
Allocation
From GOI
to NSDF
Skilling 995 - - 500 - 250 - -
Source: Lok Sabha Unstarred and starred Question No. 580,128 and 3
dated on 2014,2015,2016.
The above table 1 reveals that funds disbursed by national skill
development fund to National Skill Development Corporation for skilling
of labour in India. The NSDF transfer 45000 lakh rupees of fund in the
year of 2013-14, but later it has reduced to 20000 lakh and finally it has
reached to 14300 lakh rupees in the year 2015-16. This is because after 2013
there were other schemes came into existence, hence the fund allocated
among different schemes. In 2015-16 UDAAN, STAR and PMKVY has got
6000 lakh, 8700 lakh and 10450 lakh of amount respectively by NSDF.
Table 2: Targets and Achievements of Training and Placement of

National Skill Development Corporation in India
Plac
Training ement
Trainin Training Placeme AGR
Years % %
g Target Completed nts of
Achievement Achiev
Target
ement
2010-11 20000 20484 14399 102 70 -
2011-12 162000 181691 144238 112 79 87.65
2012-13 400000 402506 216741 101 54 59.5
2013-14 1000000 1005074 646394 101 64 60
2014-15 3300000 3442422 1226639 103 69 69.7
2015-16
(upto 6060000 151266 64070 2 42 45.54
June)
Source: Calculated from the Indiastat.com
27
As the above table 2 expressed the percentage of training completed

people is greater than the target. But the percentage of placement of
training completed people has reduced to 42% in 2015 from 79% in 2011.
This is the main cause for the decreasing involvement of people under
skill development initiative. This problem should be addressed by govt by
creating more employment opportunities for skilled manpower.
Table 3: State-wise Fund Released and Utilized under Skill
Development Initiative in India (Rs. in Lakh)
Utilisat Utilis Utilisat

ion ation ion 2015-16
2012- Certific 2013- Certifi Certifi -upto
States 2014-15
13 ate 14 cate cate 20.12.20
Receiv Recei Receiv 15
ed ved ed
Andhra
2347 280.25 0 - - - -
Pradesh
Arunachal 1006.5
136 136 1259 1077 - 30.42
Pradesh 7
Assam 253 252.75 0 - 1195 - 686.03
Bihar 2600 - 0 - 0 - 0
Chhattisgarh 1038 1038 0 - 3175.3 78.79 70.27
1007.7
Delhi 450 450 1008 1500 - 0
7
Gujarat 426 426 0 - 600 - 166.28
Haryana 750 39.2 0 - 0 - 124.7
Himachal
264 264 166 166 180.1 114.1 18.88
Pradesh
Jammu and
383 383 1100 1100 1629 250.7 220.5
Kashmir
28
Jharkhand 1319 674.35 0 - 0 - 0
Karnataka 1950 474.84 1854 - 0 - 794.1
Kerala 1234 244.88 0 - 0 - 0
Madhya 426.7
426.75 3651 3651 5943 1353.85 331.81
Pradesh 5
Maharashtra 901 60.01 0 - 0 - 529.2
Manipur 150 - 3 - 0 - 56.5
Meghalaya 149 148.99 0 - 726 182.73 65.22
Mizoram 39 - 0 - 264 - 0
Nagaland 24 24 160 147.01 1566.7 232.13 43.5
Odisha 1684 386.73 0 504.22 0 - 115.48
Punjab 1064 1064 0 - 1081 - 0
Rajasthan 131 71.42 75 - 0 - 0
Sikkim 88 - 0 - 0 - 13.4
Tamil Nadu 2711 492.5 0 468.45 0 - 0
Telangana 0 - - - 2039.15 1181.43 0
Tripura 47 47 85 - 171 - 80.76
Uttar Pradesh 5000 926.78 0 - 0 - 0
Uttarakhand 208 - 92.44 - 0 - 0
29
West Bengal 3465 3465 0 - 6627 - 801.11
State-wise Fund Released and Utilized under Skill Development
Initiative in India is found from the above table 3. As the data revealed
southern states got more percentage of fund compare to other states. But
one of the major drawbacks is that the total fund which has disbursed is
not fully utilized. Most of the states not utilized even 30% of the disbursed
amount. The lack of proper utilization of funds by the state governments
will results in poor human resource development. Finally it negatively
affects the development of the country.
Table 4: State-wise Number of Persons Enrolled and Trainings

Completed under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) in
India (As on 17.02.2016)
Total
Total
Total Training
States/UTs Count of
Enrolled Complete
Centres
d
Andaman and
194 194 3
Nicobar
Andhra Pradesh 72467 46266 575
Arunachal Pradesh 691 616 12
Assam 22440 17217 245
Bihar 60025 38293 386
Chandigarh 3056 2087 27
Chhattisgarh 23768 14829 134
Dadra and Nagar
153 83 3
Haveli
Daman and Diu 90 30 2
Delhi 51246 36943 333
Goa 428 155 4
Gujarat 29498 21555 183
Haryana 50189 33028 414
Himachal Pradesh 16203 11198 151
Jammu and Kashmir 10340 7335 98
Jharkhand 17211 12276 149
Karnataka 46475 32155 449
Kerala 9134 5684 149
Madhya Pradesh 93138 68952 766
30
Maharashtra 61885 44791 553

Manipur 1046 757 11
Meghalaya 1523 1378 21
Mizoram 487 307 4
Nagaland 1009 649 13
Odisha 40970 26605 356
Puducherry 4472 3082 37
Punjab 45544 31221 365
Rajasthan 67838 46926 659
Sikkim 643 551 9
Tamil Nadu 109642 86475 923
Telangana 61923 42209 472
Tripura 11243 8374 93
Uttar Pradesh 146804 95423 1087
Uttarakhand 8922 5916 70
West Bengal 84573 58181 558
India 1155270 801741 9314
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY- launched on

March 20th ,2015) envisaged as a key measure to impart skills-based
training to young men and women, making them capable of earning and
supporting the nation’s anti-poverty endeavours. The scheme becomes all
the more important in the Indian society which has the world’s largest
youth population that requires employable skills. The table 4 explains the
total persons enrolled and the number of persons completed the training
under PMKVY. In Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Telangana, UP and West
Bengal more number of persons enrolled and completed the training. But
the percentage of people who have completed the training is much lesser
compare to enrolled persons. Andaman and Nicobar is the only one UT
which has registered 100% of achievement in completing the training. In
this regard the government should initiate some necessary actions to
increase the percentage of skilled human resource. It requires the large
percentage of funding by the government and proper policy
implementation by the policy makers. If we look it from the beneficiaries
perspectives they should be provided with sufficient incentives.
5. Conclusion and Policy Suggestions
31
The overall conclusion emerging from the analysis of the

status of skill development in India is that, though India contains the
foundations for a strong youth population, all youths are not skilled and
they are not more productive. Hence to make use of the youth resource
the study suggested initiating more programmes and schemes in order to
improve the skills and employability of youths. By the end of 2022 India
needs 3470 lakh incremental skilled manpower, out of which
infrastructure sector required around 30%(1030 lakh) of the total
requirement. The actual achievement of skilled persons is less than the
target. This may because of the lack of funding by the government or lack
of involvement by the youths. In this regard government should take
necessary actions to reach the target and through this government can
achieve higher growth of the economy. Hence to make use of this
productive youth population the government should focus on the skill
development of youth and should funding more through various skill
development schemes. Further, the percentage of placement of training
completed people has reduced to 42% in 2015 from 79% in 2011. This is the
main cause for the decreasing involvement of people under skill
development initiative. This problem should be addressed by govt by
creating more employment opportunities for skilled manpower. Southern
states got more percentage of fund compare to other states and one of the
major drawbacks is that the total fund which has disbursed is not fully
utilized. Most of the states not utilized even 30% of the disbursed amount.
The lack of proper utilization of funds by the state governments will
results in poor human resource development. Finally it negatively affects
the development of the country. Hence this study suggested that proper
utilization of funds by the state governments.
References:
 Chun-Yi Shen and Hsiu-Chuan LIU (2011), “Metacognitive Skills
Development: A Web-Based Approach in Higher Education”, The
Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, volume 10, pp. 140-
150.
 District wise skill gap study for the State of Karnataka (2013).
32
 Donald L. Hamann, Nancy Lineburgh and Stephen Paul(1998), “Teaching

Effectiveness and Social Skill Development”, Journal of Research in
Music Education, Vol. 46, pp. 87-101.
 Kemal A. R (2005), “Skill Development in Pakistan”, The Pakistan
Development Review, Vol. 44, pp. 349-357.
 Mian Tajammal Hussain (2005), “Skill Development, Productivity, and
Growth”,
 The Pakistan Development Review, Vol. 44, pp. 1153-1155.
 Pei-Li Yu, Shih-Chieh Fang and Yu-Lin Wang (2015), “Improving IT
professionals job skills development: The use of management styles and
individual cultural value orientation”, Asia Pacific Management Review,
vol.23, pp. 63-73.
 Pundy Pillay, Andrea Juan and Thembinkosi Twalo(2012), “Measuring
Impact Assessment of Skills Development on Service Delivery in
Government departments”.
 Rahul Advani(2015), “Skills Development in India: Prospects of
Partnership with Singapore and Japan”, Institute of South Asian Studies
Working Paper.
33
National Policy on Skill Development and

Entrepreneurship - 2015: Women Empowerment
through Good Governance
Praveenkumar Mellalli
Introduction
The National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
(NPSDE) – 2015 is an ambitious policy of the Government of India to
make Mother India as ‘Skill Capital’ of the world, by effectively
transforming her ‘Demographic Dividend’ into ‘energy of skills’ in all
sectors, that serve as efficient fuel to the engine of her overall
development. According to Census Data 2001, women account for 48% of
the entire population in India. Women have the capability to further drive
the economy of the country if their participation in the workforce is
increased. With the help of Skilling, women can have viable incomes,
decent work and be major players who can contribute equally to the
economic growth of the country, this in turn will contribute to the
empowerment of women. For this, Good Governance, that is, the
institutional arrangements and processes for exercising the sovereign
power of the state for the good of the people, especially the weaker section
of the society like women, could be the most effective tool to empower the
women.
The policy thoroughly explained the need and significance of the

Skill Development in India, particularly for women. It mentioned that,-
“The country, has a big challenge ahead as it is estimated that only 4.69%
of the total workforce (for women workforce it is less than 2%) in India
has undergone formal skill training as compared to 75% in Germany, 52%
in the USA, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. As per the NSDC, there
is a demand for 109.73 million skilled manpower by 2022. The total
34
workforce in the country is estimated at 487 million, of which

approximately 57% is in the non-farm sector, most of the m are women.
Approximately 241.86 million workers would be either unskilled or skilled
through non-formal channels. Out of these, it is estimated that
approximately 170 million would be in the age group 15-45 years.
Assuming an average labour participation rate of 90% (male) and 30%
(female), at least 16.16 million persons will enter the workforce and they
all, except few, need to acquire skills. This will add another 104.62 million
persons, mostly 40% of them women to be skilled in the next 7 years. This
workforce will need to be mapped through recognition of existing skills
and then provided with necessary Skilling, Re-Skilling and Up-Skilling to
increase productivity and provide a livelihood pathway particularly for
women”[1]. In the light of above, this paper aims to, - explain the key
elements of Good Governance, Rule of law; Participation of people and
civil societies; Effectiveness and Efficiency; Responsiveness and Equity
and Inclusiveness; in NPSDE-2015 that are, potentially very helpful for
women’s empowerment:
1) Rule of Law
Good governance requires fair and sound legal frameworks that are
enforced by an impartial regulatory body for the full protection of
stakeholders; and the NPSDE-2015 ensured this in sagacious manner that
might be beneficial to protect and promote the interest of women. At the
apex level, the policy has created the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MoSDE), to realize the vision of ‘Skilled India’. This
Ministry aims to coordinate all skill development efforts across the
country and to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled
manpower, to build the new skills and innovative thinking, by giving
special focus on women.
The policy provided for the establishment of the National Skill
Development Mission (NSDM) to implement and coordinate all Skilling
efforts in the country with tree tier institutional structure under the
umbrella of MoSDE, those are, - at the Union level, it will consist of a
Governing Council, a Steering Committee and a Mission Directorate as the
executive arm of the Mission; at the state level, a State Skill Development
Missions, a Steering Committee and Mission Directorate; and at the
District level, a District Committees will act as functional tier.
35
Mission Directorate will be supported by three other institutions:

National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), which was created in 2013,
will focus on Quality Assurance and policy research in the skill place; the
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), created in 2009, acts as a
nodal organization for all private sector initiatives in the short term
Skilling space, and Directorate General of Training (DGT), focus on both,
pre-entry and post-entry training aspects across the country and it runs
special institutes for the training of women and men. All of three
institutions have horizontal/vertical linkages with Mission Directorate.
Also, the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) are industry-led and industry-
governed bodies, which will help link the requirements of industry with
trained manpower, especially the emphasis on the Skilling needs of
ST/SC, differently abled, minorities and women. The National Skill
Development Fund (NSDF) is established to makes sure that skill
development initiative has sound financial support. But the policy
should’ve dedicated exclusive institution with vertical and horizontal
linkage to look after the women skill development space across the
country.
2). Participation of People and Civil Societies

The Policy recognizes Skill development as the shared responsibility
of the Government; the corporate sector; civil societies (community based
organization, NGO’s, etc.); highly qualified, dedicated and experienced
individuals; industry and trade organizations and other stakeholders.
Hence, it has provided broader scope of participation of civil societies and
the people, especially women.
To quote NPSDE – 2015, “Women constitute almost half of the
demographic dividend. The key challenge here is to increase their
participation in the country’s labour force, which is directly linked to
economic growth of the country. Census data revealed that, there has been
a continuing fall in labour force participation rate of women from 33.3% to
26.5% in rural areas, and from 17.8% to 15.5% in urban areas between 2004
and 2011.Mainstreaming gender roles by Skilling women in nontraditional
roles and increasing gender sensitivity in the workplace will have a
catalytic effect on productivity” [2]. To realize this recognition, the Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the ‘SKILL INDIA’ Campaign on
the occasion of the first ever World Youth Skills Day on 15th July 2015 [3].
36
Through this campaign, widespread awareness and mobilization drives

have been initiated to reach out to every part of the country to encourage
the participation of the people, particularly young women .
As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
the School dropout rate amongst adolescent girls in India is as high as
63.5% in 2012-13 [4]. As per the Ministry of Human Resources and
Development, in 2012-13, nearly 41% female students had dropped out of
the schools without completing elementary education [5]. For such girls,
the policy provides for Special programmes give skill training, such as
Separate skill courses, to be held in existing schools/centres during
evening hours to provide alternate career pathway to these students. The
‘Skill Loan’ initiative has been started, which will make the availability of
loans from Rs 5,000-1.5 lakhs to more than 34 lakhs youths of India, it’ll
largely benefit women workers.
To encourage the participation of rural people, who constitute 68%
of the country’s population [6], it provides for the establishment of the
‘Kaushal Vardhan Kendras’ (KVKs) at Panchayat level to mobilize and
impart skills pertaining to local employment/livelihood opportunities to
school drop outs, adolescent girls, housewives and rural youth. The KVKs
will also function as counselling and guidance centres for youth,
especially women to help them make informed choices.
The policy recognizes that, Women participation in vocational
education and training is especially low as compared to men. To include
more women in the Skill Development programme, the policy provides
Special mechanisms in the delivery of training such as mobile training
units, flexible afternoon batches, training based on the local needs of the
area, to ensure participation and mobilization of women. It makes the
government to promote setting up of more training and apprenticeship
seats exclusively for women and to design an appropriate incentive
mechanism to achieve the same. Under the policy, Training in non-
traditional fields for women will be promoted through the establishment
of specific training programmes that focus on life skills training modules
and literacy training. Apart from that, it makes to put efforts on to increase
the pool of women trainers and provide them certification by earmarking
a certain percentage of intake in training of trainers institutes, for women.
New institutes exclusively for the training of women as trainees and
trainers will also be promoted by the Government.
37
The policy has a provision to include Women related issues in the

guidelines for skill training procedures; these could include issues of safe
and gender sensitive training environment, employment of women
trainers and equity in remuneration, and complaint Redressal mechanism.
It also provides for an internet or mobile-based platform for women’s
employment, by connecting skilled women and employers, will be
promoted. This platform could focus on women willing to re-enter the
workforce after a break and those affected by migration.
The policy provided scope for Global Participation to exchange of
knowledge, experiences, research findings, teaching and learning
materials, and innovations in skill development, these will be a good
helpful for women to inculcate the best practice of other countries in skill
development. According to US Census Bureau estimate, by 2022,
countries like USA, UK and China will fall short of skilled labour by 17
million, 2 million and 10 million, respectively; while India will have a
surplus of almost 47 million in the age group of 19-59 years [7]. This is
expected to be useful for the ageing developed countries through the cross
country Labour Mobility particularly women, for this the policy provides
for building Human Resource Mobility Partnerships (HRMP) with key
countries in collaboration with the concerned parties. At present, there are
about 14 million Indians overseas, 70% of whom are unskilled or semi-
skilled labourers [7]; including women labour who are facing adverse
work circumstances and biased terms of employment. To address this
issue, the policy provides for pre-departure orientation training to
emigrant workers and to equip them with the basic knowledge about
laws, language, and culture of the destination countries for the purpose of
overseas employment. This is a good measure to protect the interest of
Indian women’s in abroad. But, special care needs be taken of women
going to work abroad, for instance, it would be better to establish
exclusive hot line to help such women.
3) Effectiveness and Efficiency

This policy recognized the inefficiency of Women Skill development
programmes of the Central Government over the years, such as more than
20 Ministries/Departments worked without any robust coordination and
monitoring mechanism to ensure convergence. This legacy has resulted in
a multiplicity of norms, procedures, etc. Further, many of these skill
38
development initiatives often remain unaligned to demand, thus defeating

its entire objective. To overcome these inefficiencies, the policy focused on
an outcome based approach towards quality Skilling that, on one hand
results in increased women’s employability and better livelihoods for
individuals, and on the other hand translates into improved productivity.
To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the programme, the

policy also focused on education. It has intention to integrate the Skilling
with formal education by introducing vocational training classes linked to
the local economy from class nine onwards in at least 25% of the schools,
over the next five years; it will introduce new courses in higher education,
such as Bachelor of Vocational Studies degrees. Under this policy, the
Centres of Excellence, India's first, “National Skill Development
University”, will open in Raipur, Chattisgarh .
‘One Nation, One Standard’ is the mantra of the policy to ensure
that national standards and quality for Skilling are globally aligned and
Indian youth can aspire to secure local, national and international job
opportunities. So it provides for the measurement of the Quality of
training based on competency outcomes and employability of trainees.
The Government will provide the Skill Cards linked to Aadhaar for the
labour force trained and certified as per the National Skills Qualifications
Framework (NSQF) and this card is expected to reduce the duplication of
training, simplify training, and provide an overview of the skills and
abilities of the entire workforce. Hence, the Skill Cards, is seems to be the
best means to ensure effective and efficient policy implementation, that
benefit the women to increase their work quality. However, Skill Cards
must thoroughly track the strength, need of the women’s labours in a
particular geographical area and needs to be create suitable job in that
areas, so it could give a better job for women.
4) Responsiveness
The policy is very responsive to the requirement of skilled labour,
particularly women labour to the industry and the country’s strategic
priorities, including flagship programmes like Make in India, aging
country’s demand and also requirement of employment of Indian youth,
especially women. To give effect to this, it provides for the creation of
National Labour Market Information System (LMIS), that will act as an
39
integrated database, which include the socioeconomic data on, - supply

side skilled labour force statistics, demand of skilled / unskilled labour
and market trends like wage structures and distribution, economic growth
trends across sectors, focus areas for skilled manpower, occupational
shortages etc. The policy attempts to integrate and synergize Make in
India and Skill India programmes. The key objective of Make in India is to
promote manufacturing in 25 sectors of the economy, which will lead to
job creation and consequently need for skilled men and women power.
Correspondingly, Skill India aims at preparing a highly skilled workforce,
which is completely aligned to the requirements of industry so as to
promote growth through improved productivity, this will have huge
potential for women’s employability.
The policy is responsive to need of conducive work environment of the
women employees. Because, it recognizes that, the language and soft skills
like etiquettes, appreciating gender diversity in the workplace to promote
and protect women’s interest, building positive health attitudes, social and
life skills are enabling the women to be employable.
5) Equity and Inclusiveness

According to the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 68th round
(2011-12), from 2004-05 to 2009-10, only 2.7 Millions net additional jobs
were created in the country, most of them are for men. For any skills
strategy to be successful, it should be more inclusive that is, it should
create of jobs in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors equally for
men and women; including SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, and differently
abled persons, women and those living in difficult geographical terrains.
The NPSDE-2015 is in line with this idea and it has also given high
priority to socioeconomic growth of rural areas, especially rural women
since India lives in her villages, for instance, it provides for the
establishment of Skill Development Centres in rural areas.
More than 93% of India’s workforce is in the unorganized sector, the
majority of them are women. The rate of job growth in the informal sector
is estimated to be twice than that informal sector, which included most of
the underprivileged women, who are working for extremely low wages,
without having any kind of job and social security benefits. Hence
strengthening and certifying the skills of the unorganized workforce will
contribute to overall economic development women.
40
The policy provides for the, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), it

will act as a key instrument to map the existing skills in the unorganized
sector and integrate the informal sector to the formal Skilling landscape.
Through the RPL, formal/informal channels would be assessed and
certified. RPL will provide both horizontal and vertical pathways to an
individual woman for acquiring additional skills for better livelihoods.
The RPL programme will help the women’s labours involved in
unrecognized apprentice system or on the job training exist in the informal
sector, to obtain certification. To develop the unorganized sector, LMIS
will be used to aggregate the availability of labour along with their
certified skill levels that can help some of them to move to organized
sector. All desirous women candidates who cannot afford training fee, the
Government will promote grant of scholarships, rewards and Skill
Vouchers (SV) for funding of training costs. Levy from future incomes
would be linked for recovery of loans through SVs. This is proposed to
promote an environment of “Learn, Earn, and Pay”.
The policy intended to use ICT as an effective tool to ensure the
inclusiveness of women. In India, there are approximately 900 million cell
phone users (nearly 40% are women). The Government aims to promote, -
online/mobile matching platform for connecting supply and demand of
skilled workers and to develop mobile applications for aggregating
informal sector workers such as plumbers, carpenters, etc. for household
services, through innovative commercial models. But, as most of the
women labour don’t have e-literacy. For instance, in rural India, where the
men to women Internet user ratio stand at 88:12 . Hence, there is sceptical
of the success of this plan, unless special measures taken to increase the e-
literacy among women.
Conclusion
The NPSDE – 2015 is indeed an excellent policy to transform the
‘Demographic Dividend’ of India into ‘Skill India’ and make India as the
Skill Capital of the world. Good Governance thoroughly and deeply
rooted in this policy that could be very helpful for empowerment of
women in India. It has covered the all most all aspects of skill place,
especially women’s skill development and provide an impetus for
empowerment of women. It has understood the need and significance of
women’s skill development and inefficiency of previous programmes in
India.
41
It has provided a sound institutional framework, cutting across the

country that provides the strong foundation to empower the women
through skill development. It has left no room to provide the
opportunities for participation of women; for that, it has launched many
good programmes such as,- Skill India Campaign on the World Youth
Skills Day (15th July), Separate skill courses for school dropout girls, Skill
Loan, Kaushal Vardhan Kendras, New institutes exclusively for the
training of women as trainees and trainers, Global Participation initiative,
etc.
To increase the efficiency and effectiveness, the policy has focused
on, - education (creation of new course and new University) and quality of
Skill Development like issuing skill cards. The policy is responsive to the,
- requirements of skilled labour, particularly women labour to the
industry and the country’s strategic programme like Make in India, thus it
created innovative National Labour Market Information System (LMIS)
and to the need of conducive work environment of the women employees.
The policy has given importance for Equity and Inclusivness particularly
for marginalized and underprivileged groups, such as, SCs, STs, OBCs
and Women especially rural women, etc. It had made an excellent attempt
to solve the problems of unorganized sector in India, such as, - provision
of Recognition of Prior Learning and grant of scholarships for acquiring
skills. It tried to effectively use the ICT scenario in India to promote skill
development.
This paper identified certain loopholes in the policy, such as, non-
provision of, - exclusive institutional framework for women’s skill
development; hotline for women workers in abroad; constraints of e-
illiteracy among rural women. Still, if the policy implemented with full
zeal across the country, it would be the game changing and path breaking
the empowerment of women in India.
Bibliography:
 The National policy for Skill development and entrepreneurship (2015)”,
pages 2-3 pibphoto.nic.in/documents/rlink/2015/jul/p201571503.pdf
 The National policy for Skill development and entrepreneurship (2015)”,
pages 6-7.
 Child Rights and You website. http://www.cry.org/rights-to-
know/statistics-on-children-in-india.html
42
 Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Skill Development and

Entrepreneurship, Government of India, 13-07-2015,
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=123208
 Kanchan Srivastava, “More boys than girls dropping our of school in
India”, 08-08-2015, DNA, India.
 http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-more-boys-than-girls-
dropping-out-of-schools-in-india-2112206
 Census Report, 2011
 “The National policy for Skill development and entrepreneurship (2015)”,
pages 21-22
 Business Standard, “India's first National Skill Development University to
open in Chhattisgarh”, 25-03-2016.
 http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/india-s-first-
national-skill-development-university-to-open-in-chhattisgarh-
115032500113_1.html
 9.Radhika Nair, “India to have the second-largest Internet user base in the
world by December 2015”, YourStory, 18-09-2015
 http://yourstory.com/2015/11/india-internet-user-base-2015/
43
Traditional Skill Development Is A Stepping Stone To

Empower Tibetan Women - An Empirical Study On
Tibetan Women Entrepreneurs In Karnataka
Reena Francis,
Christina Kanthraju
C. Sumangala
Introduction:
Tibetans in Exile have come up from nothing to everything today it
is all because of their entrepreneurial talent especially among the women
flock. Tibetan Women are very hard workers and they have flourished
well in entrepreneurial activities even without any type of training, or
even without having any knowledge about market, product and product
launching.
Education opens the door to lead a life of liberty, but skills make
that liberty meaningful by allowing one to achieve prosperity.
Entrepreneurship and Skill Development are equally important for any
individual who opt for entrepreneurship as their source of living and can
harvest great success without any doubt.
Most of the Tibetan women are illiterates or with minimum
education. They carry out entrepreneurial activity just to make a living out
of it. They know the importance of enhancing entrepreneurial skill; had
they been given some sort of skill development training, the scenario
would have been entirely different. They could have progressed in
business and upgrade their business from tiny or micro enterprise to small
enterprises by now, as they have the skill and the knack of business. Skill
development training in the field they are familiar or have interest would
yield better result than work on inventing the wheel. There was all
possibility to keep alive their rich culture which is gradually vanishing.
Hence, more emphasis has to be given on imparting skill training and help
the Tibetan Women Entrepreneurs march forward towards sustained
socio-economic development which leads to Women upliftment and
empowerment.
Even there is an urgent need to tackle the problem of young Tibetans who
are mostly unemployed or underemployed because of which they go
44
abroad to those countries where their relatives or friends are settled in the
refugee camps and spend time doing nothing for years together or take up
some low paid job. The younger generations are prone to adopt western
culture very fast and they have given up their custom and culture. Hence,
Skill Development Training could motivate them to take up
entrepreneurial activities not only from economic point of view but to
keep alive their unique culture.
Need for The Study: Tibetan Women are very good at business and so
they look forward for support and encouragement from the side of both
the Indian and Tibetan government in Exile by providing training facilities
in their respective field of business, especially, women entrepreneurs who
are engaged in traditional products are fading away from the market.
Among the Tibetan Refugees many young people who are educated are
not getting job as they are considered as foreigners. It is time for the
Government of India relook into the matters and help Tibetan refugee live
a normal life as any citizen of the country could do, as some of them have
already taken up Indian Citizenship for they lost hope of returning back to
Tibet.
Citizenship is a serious problem among Tibetans as they always feel that
they are in India as refugees and they have no freedom to make properties
as any other citizens of a country can do. Hence, they spend lavishly
without any worries about their future. Tibetans in Exile do not have the
habit of saving, also younger generation is not keen on taking up any
employment mainly because of lack of freedom to invest and make
property in India or any where is the world.
Tibetans who are given free land by the Government of India was
indeed a boon for them, but this was attached with a major threat and that
was about the lease agreement which His Holiness the Dalai Lama had
signed an agreement where the gifted land was for 99 years and later to be
acquired by the Indian government. 56 years later, now the younger
generation is not interested either in business or in agriculture, they look
for jobs no matter for short period without any investment.
45
The present Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narandra Modi has a

Vision of making India self dependent and has launched Missions such as
–Make in India, Digital India, and Smart Cities. He says future prosperity
of any country depends ultimately on the number of persons in
employment and how productive they are at work. He strongly feels that
skilled human resource is essential for inclusive growth of any nation.
(Source: www.visionias.in VISIONIAS SKILL DEVELOPMENT) Tibetan
Refugees are part of our country as many of them have already taken
citizenship, hence, India’s Mission of Make in India will be successful only
if the young Tibetans are given training and help enhance skill
development to produce products which are very unique and have gained
popularity in the Indian markets hence, would fetch good revenue to the
government and contribute for an inclusive growth of the Nation.
Literature Review: Jainendra Kumar Verma (2013) has made a study on

rural women entrepreneurs which was an exploratory research. His study
revealed some major challenges such as lack of technical knowledge and
skills and to make balance family and work which was of course the major
challenges faced by rural women entrepreneurs. Other challenges includes
provision for seed capital, high rate of Illiteracy, low risk bearing capacity,
lack of visibility as strategic leaders, lack of information and assistance
from the right sources, mobility constrains and even the need for training
and development was the suggestions drawn from this study. The
relevance of entrepreneurship to economic development has been
highlighted by many researchers (e.g Davidsson et.al, 2006) and it is now
well-recognized that education and training opportunities play a key role
in cultivating future entrepreneurships and in developing the abilities of
Entrepreneurship and skill development can be considered as either side of a coin.
existing entrepreneurs to grow their business to greater levels of success.
Objectives of the Study:

1. To find the kind of enterprise run by Tibetan women entrepreneurs
2. To learn the support extended to women by children in
entrepreneurial activities.
46
3. To uncover the opportunities leading to traditional skill development

4. To unearth if low literacy rates among Tibetan Women, slow down the
rate of financial progress.
Research Methodology: The present study is descriptive in nature.

Random sampling technique was adopted for the sample selection, where
200 women entrepreneurs were considered. Data collection was done by
adopting both primary and secondary sources. Tools were designed to
collect primary data - personally meeting more than 200 respondents in all
the 5 Tibetan Refugee settlement / camps in Karnataka State, India. The
secondary data and information collected from books and statistics
provided by the Tibetan Representative office in respective camps, also
analyzed secondary information collected from published books, articles
published in journals, periodicals, conference papers and websites.
Techniques of Data Analysis: Data analysis is done using Microsoft Excel
and SPSS package.
Findings:
1. Literacy and business are directly related:
Majority of Tibetan women settled in 5 settlements of Karnataka were
mainly involved in entrepreneurial activities at a very young age to
make a living, hence, they didn’t get an opportunity to educate
themselves, therefore, literacy rate was not found to be good. Around
29 of them have not got the privilege to go to school at all, while 39
have studied till PUC and 15 of them have completed graduation and
only one in Mundgod settlement was found to have completed post
graduation degree and manages enterprise related to online ticket
booking, currency exchange, internet browsing etc.
Chart showing respondent's literacy

29 54 62 39
15
1
47
Education puts entrepreneurs at advantage to perform better compared to the

uneducated. Education and business management are found to be directly
proportionate, for higher the education better is the enterprise managed and vice
versa. Tibetan Women Entrepreneurs are more confident who are educated
which is a sure sign of progress as they do not hesitate to make huge
investments in their venture. They find ways and means to overcome hurdles
and know to balance the risk of business.
2. Family support adds fuel to entrepreneurial activity, thus enhance
women empowerment.
Supporting women entrepreneurs by the family members boosts their
moral as per the Tibetan women; however, it was found that the
younger generations were not at all interested in entrepreneurial
activities as they were looking for salary based jobs. It was found that
30.5% responded had said that their children do not support them at
all, while, it is about 23% respondents who have endorsed that they get
support but, limited to 25 to 50% of the time and another 10% of the
respondents could train their ward (above 15 years) on the
entrepreneurial activities who were spending 76 to 100% time with the
women entrepreneurs.
It was found that children above 15 years are more encouraged to pursue
higher education than devoting time in entrepreneurial activities, as parents
feel that their children should have better future by taking up job, than carry
forward family business.
3. Future of Enterprise depends on regular R&D support

Women Entrepreneurs are weak in many aspects such as planning, risk
taking, finding new market, financial accountability, customer need and
so on. When asked if they see bright future in their enterprise, around 78%
said they see an upward trend, while the remaining said they need more
48
support or they would go on the downward curve or stay static with the
present support extended to them.
Tibetan women respondents were of the opinion that they have bright future
for their enterprise provided they get some support in the form of traditional
skill training, finance, technology, market and product recognisition for their
unique Tibetan products.
4. Tibetan women entrepreneur run more enterprise in a single year

In the chart given below we can find that 62% of women entrepreneurs are
involved in more than one enterprise in one single year as they take up
seasonal business, so that they can make a good living the enterprise
combination are woolen and textile, petty shop and agriculture,
agriculture and agriculture produce, woolen and agriculture.
Chart showing percentage of

respondents in various enterprise
62
7 10.5 5.5 11.5

0 2.5 1
Agriculture Woolen Textile Carpet Imported Petty shop Agriculture Others

Cloth items Produces
It is also found that some of them would combine more than 2 enterprise,
as both being seasonal business, or even handle two business
simultaneously along with domestic work, such as running petty shop
and agriculture they are capable of multitasking and throughout the year
keep themselves busy, surprisingly all women have given up carpet
weaving as it was not possible either to weave or to sell, because of the
time required and at the same time high cost of production - as it is labour
intensive.
It was very special among Tibetan women that they were able to manage more
than one enterprise in a year. They plan in such a way that they could manage
comfortably without much hazels. Of course their family support is a great
contribution towards this as the aged parents take care of the children in their
absence while they go out to other places on business.
5. Fading Traditional Skills
49
Unique products Tibetans deal with have become so popular that people
from far and near visit local market place and buy products which are sold
at a reasonable price as well as the quality is also maintained. But, the
study shows that only 37% respondents deal with unique Tibetan
products and the rest 63% deal with products which are available in any
local market. The researchers call the attention of the policy makers and
government to uphold the traditional skills that are vanishing due to lack
of support to the entrepreneur in the field of product launching and
advertisement of such products.
Tibetan unique products such as Tibetan incense stick, Scarf, noodles,
painting, flag, dairy product, Tibetan food, Traditional dress, Tourism and
so on, are in great demand not only in their settlements, but also in
Metropolitan cities. Hence, such products should be produced in large
quantities to cater to the needs of large population. This is possible only if
traditional skill development is encouraged clubbed with large scale
production.
6. Potential age group receives skill training better.
Entire focus of this paper is on the age group of people involved in
entrepreneurial activities which stresses and encourages, training and skill
development for women entrepreneurs. In this study it is found that 69%
Tibetan women entrepreneur enter the age group of 17 to 50 which is a
potential age group who can easily modify the knowledge and skill
component for the benefit of their enterprise. Thus, the threat of losing
Tibetans identity need to be addressed immediately.
It is alarming to note that youngsters joining self employment by way of starting enterprise have reduced
drastically. Hence, strategy has to be adopted to encourage more number of women to get engaged in
entrepreneurial activities. This is possible only if entrepreneurial trainings are provided related to
traditional products, thereby, preserving their custom, culture and tradition of Tibet.
SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATION:
50
1. Educational background should be made compulsory among the

younger generation in order to take up entrepreneurship.
2. Promote the younger generation to take up family business,
especially traditional.
3. As majority of women respondents are confident of seeing a better
future in their business, it is suggested that they get training and
support from the government of India and Tibetan Government in
Exile on enhanced skills by grading their skill level or competency.
4. Make in India concept will be successful only if the entire population
of India is considered as one without weighing the refugees out.
5. Traditional skill development centers have to be set up in all the five
camps to encourage more number of women to take up
entrepreneurship confidently.
6. School (exclusively for Tibetan refugees) should have a subject on
traditional art and craft which would compel students to cultivate
basic knowledge and liking for their goods.
7. Cultural fair to be organized by the government to encourage
traditional handicraft produced by the Tibetan entrepreneurs.
8. Gender specific traditional goods production such as Paintings of
Gods and Goddesses, printing of flag and holy cloth involves the
work of men as women are not allowed to enter the premises as it is
viewed as a pious work; such myths should be removed as it hinders
the development of traditional skills.
9. Supportive mechanism should be designed to handhold the
traditional art and craft where by the local associations and
governments (Indian and Tibetan); should make joint plans to
workout strategies to support in production and marketing of
finished produce by providing subsidy and other necessary
assistance.
Conclusion:
There is a need for a paradigm shift in the Skill Development sector,
in favour of innovations, improvements and high quality training
according to the requirement of the market and society. But, this paper is
more oriented towards traditional skill development which can nurture
the tradition of Tibet not only for Tibetans but for the world. It is also
observed, that the concept of training and Skill Development needs to
51
move beyond the conventional goal of imparting technical and managerial

competencies, to play a broader role of even including basic literacy,
critical social and political awareness, awareness about gender, and
enhancing life skills. Such interventions by their nature will encourage
higher self esteem among women, thereby, overall personality
development.
Traditional skill development can definitely improve productivity
which in turn can have economic growth and more employment
opportunities for young Tibetans. All these collectively form a prerequisite
to the Governments pursuit of holistic development of the nation.
Reference:
 Davidsson (2006) “Entrepreneurship and Dynamic Capabilities: A review,
Model and Research Agenda” Journal of Management studies Vol.43,
Issue 4, pp.917-955.
 Jainendra Kumar Verma (2013) “Challenges and opportunities for Rural
women Entrepreneurs” in International Journal of Research In
Commerce, Economics and Management, vol. no. 3(2013) Issue no. 07
(July) ISSN 2231-4245 pg. No. 58-60
 www.visionias.in Vision as Skill Development
Skill Development as a Key to Empowerment of

Women: Issues and Opportunities
52
Sathyanarayana
Introduction
Equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of
today and those of tomorrow is a strategic concern in the national
development outlooks of all the countries. Skills are essential knowledge
forums of any economy to determine the capacity terms of employment,
occupational options, entrepreneurship, opportunities, training new
growth and development parameters at regular intervals. Each effort of
skills development enable us to adopt the essential changes needed in
economies from time to time, to design the new applications and utilities
which design new effective values of social deliveries etc. The social
perceptions evolve different needs for new skills to raise competence and
extend fully functional skill architecture to overcome vulnerabilities.
Female are likely to be more disadvantage than male. This is because of
the illiteracy, low rate of employment, feminization of poverty, growing of
informal sector and so on. Skills development is considered as one of the
effective tool to empowering women.
In this connection, the present paper tries to discuss the need of
investing on skill development for women empowerment and look into
the key issues, challenges and policy implication for empowering women
through skill development. This paper is based on the data collected from
the documents of Census of India - 2011, International Labor Office,
National Commission for Women and relevant literature reviews.
Need of Skill Development for Women Empowerment

The female population has increased substantially both in rural and
urban parts of India (table 1). But they consistently lag behind the men in
terms of access to education, health care, jobs etc. Apart from the economic
and social inequality, women in India are victims of heinous crimes such
as, dowry death, rape, molestation and immoral trafficking. The lacking of
skills, education, more concentration on informal activities, illiteracy,
feminization of poverty, low socio-economic status of female headed
households, higher level of unemployment and inactive participation in
decision process etc are the main reasons for the women under
development and exploitation. The investing and provision of skill
development is the strategic tool for women empowerment. The aim of
53
skill development, particularly in case of women, is not merely to prepare

them for jobs, but also to improve the performance of women workers by
enhancing the quality of work in which they are engaged. With this
background, it is important to ensure women empowerment in the
development programmes and thereby strive to have a conducing
atmosphere for their effective participation.
Table 1: Trends in Female Population (in number)

Census
year Rural Urban Total
2001 360887965 135565591 496453556
2011 405170610 181298564 586469174
Change 44282645 45732973 90015618
Source: Census of India
Skill Status of Women

Skills are essential components of any strategy to improve the status
of women in the society. Learning about business skills, as well as life
skills such as health management, decision-making, self-confidence, or
conflict management among various other things like new products and
markets, can make a big contribution for the overall development of
women. Women often have different training needs than men since they
are more likely to work as contributing family workers, subsistence
farmers, home-based micro entrepreneurs, or low-paid seasonal labourers,
in addition to handling their domestic work and care responsibilities.
Skills development is a key to improving household productivity,
employability and income-earning opportunities for women and also for
enhancing food security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural
development and livelihoods.
Table 2: Distribution of Persons with Marketable Skills (%)

Rural Urban
Skill Status Men Women Men Women
No Skill 89.9 93.7 80.4 88.8
Some skill 10.1 6.3 19.6 11.2
Total 100 100 100 100
Sample size 183464 172835 109067 99283
54
Source: Amit Mitra1
Both, women and men, whether urban or rural, are majorly unskilled
compared to having some skills. There are higher number of unskilled
workers in rural than in urban areas, and more number of women do not
have any skills, compared to men with no skills. The table reflects the
urgent need that prompted the government to take serious note of this
dire situation in training and skill education (table 2).
Women in Informal Sector

‘Mixture’ of both formal and informal economic activities is one of
the vital features of Indian economy. The conditions of workers working
in informal sector are worst than formal one. In our economy, the majority
of the women workers are engaging in informal sector. However, the
condition of women in the informal sector is miserable and lack of skills
among women is one of the main reasons for it. In the social milieu of
patriarchal developing country like India, female enters into the labor
market mostly to ensure survival of household. As females are less
equipped with skills of income generation such as education, they are not
able to take up a better job in labor market, their mobility to search job at
various work place is also restricted, several times they are less preferred
at work place in comparison to their male counterparts and they get lesser
wage or salary for same work. Thus it makes a household vulnerable to
shock of poverty and risk of survival if it depends primarily upon female
earner. Hence, to empower women working in the informal sector, there
is an urgent need to transform them as ‘skilled worker’ through suitable
programmes and policies. Moreover, there is renewed interest in the
informal economy worldwide.
Table 3: Magnitude of female workforce engaged in the

unorganized/informal sector (%)
Year Informal Sector Formal Sector
Region Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total
1999-00 35.58 21.2 32.83 22.8 16.62 19.32
2004-05 37.2 22.4 34.2 24.36 17.69 20.68
Change 1.62 1.2 1.37 1.56 1.07 1.36
1
As cited by, Mr. Chenoy from NSDC, at GEPD forum II, India Habitat Centre, April 2012.
55
Source: Computed from NSSO 55th (1999-2000) and 61st (2004-05) Round
Survey on Employment-Unemployment.
India is an emerging economy with increasing trends in female

labor force. A large chunk of the female workforce was engaged in the
informal sector. The estimated number of informal sector female workers
in 2004-05 was 34.2 % out of labor force engaged in that sector but their
percentage was only around 20.68 in formal sector. In rural areas the
share of informal sector female workers in each population segment
recorded more than 35 percent of the labor force. Contrast to rural areas,
in urban areas around 20 percent of workers worked in the informal sector
but between the study periods the share of informal workers in rural areas
increased (table 3).
Table 4: Average Annual Growth Rate of Female workers in informal

sector between 1999-2000 and 2004-05
Region Male Female Persons
Rural 2.08 3.51 2.6
Urban 3.71 5.18 4.03
Total 2.46 3.73 2.18
Source: Calculated based on Table 1
The average annual growth rate of female workers in informal

sector is higher than the male workers both in the rural and urban. The
growth rate of urban informal sector (5.18) is higher than formal sector
workers in rural areas (3.51). Highest growth rate recorded in the case of
female workers in informal sector when compare to male and aggregated
level. This is shows that female are more entering to the informal sector
where there is more possibility of exploitation and receiving of low wage
rates. So it is need to provide skill development programmes to bring
them into the mainstream of the economy (table 4).
Table 5: Female Workforce in India (Nos. in Million)
Female Workforce in India 148
Female Workforce in Informal Sector 135
Female Workforce in Formal Sector 13
Fresh women workforce added to labour market every year
in informal sector 3.5
Fresh women workforce added to labour market every year 0.2
56
in formal sector
Source: Dilip Chenoy.
In response, the government developed an ambitious scheme “of

increasing the proportion of formal and informal skilled workers in its
total workforce from a mere 2% now to 50% by 2022, thus creating a 500
million strong resource pool.” Women form a significant proportion of
this work force in India; however, they are largely concentrated in the
informal sector, engaged in vocations characterized by low earning, low
productivity, poor working conditions and lack of social protection. One
can clearly observe the huge concentration of female workforce in favor of
the informal sector (table 5).
Literacy status of Female

In most of the cases, the higher barriers in education and skill limit
women participation in more productive and remunerative work. Female
are likely to be more disadvantage than male. It is a process of facilitating
learning - knowledge, skills, values, beliefs etc. So, education determines
the country’s future as it is having all the powers to change everything.
Educational attainment has been identified as an important determinant of
women empowerment. Higher levels of educational attainment lead to a
more skilled and productive workforce, producing more efficiently a
higher standard of goods and services, which in turn forms the basis for
faster economic growth and rising living standards. Good-quality
education for women is a foundation for further skills development in
productive employment, both initially and throughout adult life.
Moreover, a wide distribution of educational attainment across society is a
better indicator of likely future economic growth than a high average
level. A country’s capacity to pick up new technologies and turn them to
economic advantage is greater if its education and training system creates
a broad base of adequately educated individuals able to continue learning
throughout their careers.
Table 6: Status of female literacy rate in India - 2011

Literate Female
State & UT’s persons (%) Male (%) (%) Difference
Jammu & Kashmir 86.61 87.26 86.23 1.03
Himachal Pradesh 83.78 90.83 76.6 14.23
57
Punjab 76.6 81.48 71.34 10.14

Chandigarh 86.43 90.54 81.38 9.16
Uttarakhand 79.63 88.33 70.7 17.63
Haryana 76.64 85.38 66.77 18.61
Delhi 86.34 91.03 80.93 10.1
Rajasthan 67.06 80.51 52.66 27.85
Uttar Pradesh 69.72 79.24 59.26 19.98
Bihar 63.82 73.39 53.33 20.06
Sikkim 82.2 87.29 76.43 10.86
Arunachal Pradesh 66.95 73.69 59.57 14.12
Nagaland 80.11 83.29 76.69 6.6
Manipur 79.85 86.49 73.17 13.32
Mizoram 91.58 93.72 89.4 4.32
Tripura 87.75 92.18 83.15 9.03
Meghalaya 75.48 77.17 73.78 3.39
Assam 73.18 78.81 67.27 11.54
West Bengal 77.08 82.67 71.16 11.51
Jharkhand 67.63 78.45 56.21 22.24
Odisha 72.9 82.4 64.36 18.04
Chhattisgarh 71.04 81.45 60.59 20.86
Madhya Pradesh 70.63 80.53 60.02 20.51
Gujarat 79.31 87.23 70.73 16.5
Daman & Diu 87.07 91.48 79.59 11.89
Dadra & Nagar
Haveli 77.65 86.46 65.93 20.53
Maharashtra 83.2 89.82 75.48 14.34
Andhra Pradesh 67.66 75.56 59.74 15.82
Karnataka 75.6 82.85 68.13 14.72
Goa 87.4 92.81 81.84 10.97
Lakshadweep 92.28 96.11 88.25 7.86
Kerala 93.91 96.02 91.98 4.04
Tamil Nadu 80.33 86.81 73.86 12.95
Puducherry 86.55 92.12 81.22 10.9
Andaman &
Nicobar 86.27 90.11 81.84 8.27
INDIA 74.03 82.14 65.46 16.68
Source: Census of India - 2011
In India, there is much difference between male and female literacy

rate (16.68 %). This difference is crossed even more than 20 % in the states
namely Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya
58
Pradesh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Male are getting more benefits of the
education and enhance their skills for improving their standard of living.
But women are treated discriminately in having education and skills. This
is one of the main hurdles in the process of skill development for women
empowerment (table 6). A low literacy rate of female signals an education
system that is not preparing society as a whole for further learning and
productive work. It is increasingly acknowledged that training and skills
development, whether in schools or elsewhere, is an essential complement
to general education in equipping people to grasp opportunities in the
world of work. “Education for All” Initiative must be strengthened.
Feminization of poverty
Irrespective of the location, there is a strong stream of
argumentation that highlights the twin disadvantages emanating from
gender and poverty highlighting that women are the worst sufferers from
poverty related deprivations. Given the existing gender based
deprivations and inequalities; poverty can be very debilitating and add on
to the vulnerabilities of women. Another significant issue is regarding the
fact that experiences and responses to poverty are dissimilar among men
and women, due to the gendered constraints and variations in the
opportunities (Masika, et al., 1997; Razavi, 2000). Therefore, examination
of gender dimensions of poverty are extremely critical both for a better
understanding of the interlinkages as well as for effective policy
interventions.
Gender dimensions of poverty often gain significance from the
notion that women constitute the poorest of the poor, being the lowest in
social and economic hierarchies. However, gender and poverty are two
distinct forms of disadvantage and therefore, collapsing them into a
‘feminization of poverty’ notion of women as the poorest of the poor is not
adequate (Jackson and Palmer – Jones, 2000). A frequently made link
between gender and poverty is the equation of women headed households
with the poor (Chant, 2003; Gangopadhyay and Wadhwa, 2003; Pearce,
1978; among others).
Women tend to be doubly burdened by poverty thereby enhancing
their vulnerability significantly. The pressure to seek market forms of
employment among poorer women is intensified by the need for the
additional contribution to the household income (Mitra and Pool, 2000).
59
The stereotypical role casting whereby women have the responsibility of

providing for certain basic amenities in fact constrains their availability for
paid work as well. In some households where cultural norms and taboos
prevent public participation of women as wage earners in the labour
market, the burden of reducing costs by deploying their own labour
services to avoid market purchases puts women under tremendous stress.
Studies have shown that the burden of poverty falls more heavily
on urban women than on urban men. National Family Health Survey
(NFHS) studies have revealed that inequalities in income and
consumption levels between women and men have been accentuated in
recent times due to the reduction in social sector spending by the state.
This is shown also in a study on health expenditure (Deosthali and
Madhiwala, 2005) and data on malnutrition by NFHS 1, 2 and 3. In India,
among the urban poor, it is women who experience more poverty than
their male counterparts as most of them are poorly paid and in irregular
jobs (C Rangarajan Committee, 2014). In all the rounds of the National
Sample Survey (NSS), the incidence of poverty among women in urban
India has been marginally higher than among men. The percentage of
women living in poor households was 34% in 1993-94 and 25% in 2013-14,
in urban areas. Of the total number of women in urban areas, 25% fall in
the poverty groups according to the 68th Round of the NSS.
Female Headed Households

Gender is an important dimension to unfold the socio-economic
inequality of any country. Flow of income, assets and income generation
capability of household members are important entitlements of a
household to ensure their healthy survival. Also cultural milieu of any
society has profound impact on deciding the allocation of household
assets between male and female and income generation capacity in their
life course. Female child within a household is always discriminated to get
equality in basic minimum needs for survival such as food, health facility
and increasingly importance educational facilities. Lack of such a
developmentally nonnegotiable component affects in terms of female
being the poor human resource compared to their male counterparts.
Female headed households are necessarily poorer and suffer from
vulnerabilities when compared with those of male headed households
(Gangopadhyay and Wadhwa, 2003). However, it would not be correct to
60
state that all female headed households are poor. Infact, many more
female headed households fall into the relatively higher consumption
expenditure quintiles. It is true that the proportion of female heads
working compared to the overall female work participation rates is higher,
since in most cases the female head is the active earner of the family.
In India, there are 27 million households; constituting 11% of total
households in the country are headed by women (Census of India, 2011).
In other words, these women-headed households are supported totally by
the income of widows, single unmarried women, deserted or divorced
women. They are the poorest of the poor households, socially the most
excluded, and vulnerable. In disaster-prone areas where
caste/communal/ethnic tensions are high, 33% of households are women-
headed. A rise in communal and ethnic conflict and displacement by huge
development projects sends the percentage of women-headed households
up. In India, lack of access to family property and assets, insufficient
micro-credit facilities and lack of skills contribute to the poor economic
condition of female-headed households. Several studies have pointed out
that intra-household discrimination against girls in education, which
leaves them with fewer skills than boys, contributes to fewer economic
opportunities for women, and consequently higher poverty rates among
female-headed households.
The proportion of female headed household is increasing in India. It
is 9.2 per cent, 10.3 per cent, 14.4 per cent for the subsequent data collected
in NFHS I (1992-93), II (1998-99) and III (2005-06) respectively. The states,
where the proportion of female headed household is higher than the
national average, are Goa (25.3%), Bihar (25.0 %), Kerala (24.6 percent),
Meghalaya (22.1 %), Tamil Nadu (20.2 percent), Nagaland (19.9 %),
Himanchal Pradesh (18.6), Manipur (17.3 %), Mizoram (15.9 %), Karnataka
(15.8 %), Uttarakhand (15.7 %), West Bengal (15 %), Andhra Pradesh (14.9
%).
Table 7: Socio- economic status of household by sex of head

Sex of Head of
Educational Attainment of Household
Head Male Female Total
No Education 37.6 32.6 67.1
Primary 19.4 14.1 18.6
Secondary 38.1 15.8 34.9
61
Higher 9.8 2.9 8.8

House type
Kachha 13.5 15.6 13.8
semi-Pucca 39.8 41.7 40.1
Pucca 46.7 42.7 46.1
Standard of Living Index
Low 27.5 43.2 29.8
Medium 33.4 28.4 32.7
High 39 28.4 37.5
Wealth Index
Poorest 19.9 25 20.6
Poorer 19.5 21.7 19.8
Middle 19.9 19.8 19.9
Richer 20 17.5 19.6
Richest 20.8 16 20.1
Source: Census of India
The deprivation of female headed household on selected socio-

economic indicators such as education of head of the household, type of
house, Standard of Living Index (SLI) and Wealth Index is depicted in
table 7. The SLI and wealth index is developed by weighting durable
goods and amenities available in a household. Among female headed
household 67.1 percent head has no education compared to 32.6 percent of
male headed household. Around 15.6 percent of female headed household
is staying in Kachha house as compared to 13.5 per cent of male headed
households. According to the Wealth Index 25 per cent of female headed
households are in poorest category as compared to 19.9 per cent of male
headed households. According to SLI, 43.4% of female headed household
is in lower SLI category compared to 43.2 percent of male headed
household, which shows the difference of 15.7 percent, between male and
female headed households.
Female Unemployment Rate

It is found from the majority of the studies and empirical evidence
that the rate of unemployment is more in female than male. It is clearly
noticed across Indian states and Union territories (table 8). The female
unemployment rate is recorded 34, 108, and 49 in rural, urban and
aggregate level respectively. This is much more than the rate of male and
aggregate unemployment level. Surprisingly, there is higher level of
62
female unemployment in urban side (108), followed by rural (34) and

aggregate level (49). In rural India, majority of the States including UTs
(25) registered highest level of female unemployment level. Rural part of
the Lakshadweep recorded highest level of female unemployment (663)
followed by Daman & Diu (366), Delhi (265). Likewise, in urban India, the
States like, Chandigarh (0) and Gujarat (4) registered low rate of female
unemployment due to because of the introduction of effective skill
development programmes. It is also true in urban and aggregate level
also. In urban India, all the states (including UTs) has higher percentage
of female unemployment compare to male and aggregate level. The urban
parts of Sikkim registered more level of female unemployment rate (568),
followed by Daman & Diu (515) and Tripura (259). At aggregate level
(rural + urban), expect Gujarath, Chandighar, Madhya Pradesh,
Manipura, Pudichery and Rajastana, remaining all Indian states registered
highest level of the female unemployment rate. The state like Daman &
Diu (429), Lakshadweepa (239), Andaman & Nicobar Islands registered
highest level of female unemployment (table 8).
Table 8: State-wise Unemployment Rate (Per 1000) for Persons of Age 15

Years and Above According to Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status
Approach (PS+SS) in Rural and Urban Areas in India (2013-2014).
Rural Urban Rural+Urban
Perso Perso
States/UTs Male Female Person Male Female n Male Female n
A & N Islands 40 198 93 152 289 190 84 228 130

Aru. Pradesh
63 76 69 31 89 52 59 78 67
Assam
18 53 28 15 120 35 18 58 29
Bihar
50 65 53 73 255 91 53 75 56
Chandigarh
31 - 28 32 6 28 32 6 28
Chhattisgarh
17 14 15 46 70 52 22 20 21
D & N.Haveli
- 241 40 24 236 51 13 239 46
Daman and Diu
58 366 82 55 515 61 55 429 66
Delhi 103 265 121 35 91 41 37 96 44

Goa
109 128 113 40 178 83 71 159 96
Gujarat
6 4 5 11 26 13 8 8 8
63
Haryana
24 34 26 32 53 35 26 38 29
Hima. Pradesh
16 11 14 45 159 68 19 16 18
Jam.& Kashmir 70 153 86 45 166 68 64 156 82

Jharkhand
13 10 12 31 66 38 18 17 18
Karnataka
13 20 15 15 31 20 14 23 17
Kerala
39 176 88 30 260 103 36 199 93
Lakshadweep
72 663 189 52 160 83 57 239 105
Ma. Pradesh
20 12 18 35 78 43 23 20 23
Maharashtra 18 11 16 26 59 32 21 23 22
Manipur
27 32 29 54 37 47 35 34 34
Meghalaya
12 14 13 45 181 94 18 38 26
Mizoram
10 25 16 25 26 25 16 25 20
Nagaland
56 61 58 89 129 101 64 75 67
Odisha 35 45 38 61 125 73 39 53 43
Puducherry
155 76 135 48 82 59 91 80 88
Punjab
40 219 61 31 107 41 37 176 54
Rajasthan
29 16 25 47 139 60 33 26 31
Sikkim
44 37 41 67 568 201 49 109 71
Tamil Nadu
25 26 25 27 93 45 26 48 33
Telangana 14 16 15 34 169 70 21 45 31
Tripura
42 86 56 56 259 93 45 102 62
Uttar Pradesh
30 62 33 54 225 72 34 97 40
Uttarakhand
51 61 55 32 159 57 46 76 55
West Bengal
30 51 33 45 151 63 34 77 42
India
27 34 29 35 108 49 29 49 34
Source: Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of India. (ON816).
Women empowerment is said to be strong when more and more

number of women occupied top level categories (post) of public sector
enterprises. For this, there is need to skill development among female. But
in India, the percentage of female employees in terms occupation top level
post in CPSEs employees is low. It shows the lack of skill development
64
programme for women employment. The top level categories like

managerial/executive is not increased at the satisfaction level. But the
supervisor categories registered negative growth rate (table 9).
Table 9: Female Employees in Central Public Sector Enterprises in India

(As % of Total)
2012-13 2013-14 2014-154
Managerial/Executives 9.59 9.69 10.08
Supervisors 7.26 9.43 7.3
Workers 9.42 9.89 9.58
Total 9.24 9.81 9.45
Source: Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt.
of India. (16896)
The growth of the employment opportunity for women both in the

public and private sector has been decreasing during 1995-2012. The
annual growth of the women employment in public sector registered
negative growth rate. Even though in private sector and aggregate level,
the overall employment opportunity for women is increased, but in terms
of annual growth rate it is decreased in nature. The provision of skills to
women can be increase the more inclusiveness of them in the various
economic activities. In this way, the government should look into more on
this direction (table 10).
Table 10: Employment of Women in Different Branches of Public and

Private Sectors in India (1990 to 2012).
Public Private Grand
Year Sector AGR Sector AGR Total AGR
1995 2600.4 1627.5 4227.9
1996 2634.4 1.31 1792 10.11 4426.4 4.70
1997 2727.5 3.53 1909.5 6.56 4637 4.76
1998 2758.7 1.14 2021.7 5.88 4780.4 3.09
1999 2810.9 1.89 2004.2 -0.87 4815.1 0.73
2000 2857 1.64 2065.8 3.07 4922.8 2.24
2001 2850 -0.25 2102.9 1.80 4953 0.61
2002 2886.6 1.28 2050.2 -2.51 4936.8 -0.33
2003 2904.7 0.63 2063.7 0.66 4968.4 0.64
2004 2890 -0.51 2044.4 -0.94 4934.4 -0.68
2005 2921 1.07 2095.2 2.48 5016.2 1.66
65
2006 3002.8 2.80 2117.7 1.07 5120.5 2.08

2007 3017.45 0.49 2294.48 8.35 5311.93 3.74
2008 3040.43 0.76 2472.75 7.77 5512.17 3.77
2009 3041.56 0.04 2485.7 0.52 5527.26 0.27
2010 3138.78 3.20 2701.47 8.68 5840.25 5.66
2011 3170.64 1.02 2783.47 3.04 5954.11 1.95
2012 3151.77 -0.60 2902.58 4.28 6054.35 1.68
Source: Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of India. (ON318)
and (ON857)
AGR: Annual Growth Rate
Conclusion
It is found that the lacking of skills in female tends to leads to them
into poverty, informal sector, illiteracy, unemployment and income
inequality. So it is suggested in this paper that to overcome of all the
above evils and increase the living standard of women, there is much
needed for skill development. It is also noticed that there is low level
status of female headed households than male headed households.
Moreover, women are seriously underrepresented in many occupations.
Despite women’s major role in economic activities, higher barriers in
skills, education and training limit their participation in more productive
and remunerative work, perform managerial and leadership roles and
participate fully in the development of their communities. Targeted action
is needed to dismantle these barriers. Skills development is a key to
improving productivity, employability and income-earning opportunities,
enhancing food security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural
development and livelihoods of female. In this direction, there is need to
empower women through skill development in order to reduce the
poverty, unemployment and income inequality among female.
International experience shows that countries that have succeeded
in linking skills development to gains in productivity, employment and
development have targeted skills development policy towards three main
objectives: (1) matching supply to current demand for skills; (2) helping
workers and enterprises adjust to change; and (3) building and sustaining
competencies for future labour market needs. Skill development
(training) is an important means of pursuing the overall goal of equality of
opportunity and treatment for women and men in employment and
66
occupation in India. Below are some of the main suggestions, clubbed

under the following heads:
Policy level changes: There is a need to further develop HRD and
training policy from a gender perspective, with an understanding of local
customs and traditions. The entire national skill development system
should be put under the umbrella of one ministry, rather than running
them under the leadership of several other Ministries. This will lead to
better focus and coordination between different initiatives. The National
Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a one of its kind, Public Private
Partnership in India, under the Ministry of Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship. It aims to promote skill development by catalyzing
creation of large, quality, for-profit vocational institutions. In this regard,
The NSDC should give more emphasis on the provision of the skill
development for women especially those are working in informal sector.
Along with this, there should be the expansion of training institutes,
provision of basic infrastructure, vocational training in schools and
making the private sector responsible for skill development in the country.
In this direction, the women related schemes namely, Awareness
Generation Projects for Rural and Poor Women, Condensed Course of
Education for Adult Women, CSWB Scheme, Development of Women and
Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), Distance Education for Women’s
Development and Empowerment, Education Work for Prevention of
Atrocities on Women, Family Counselling Centre, Janani Suraksha Yojana,
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY), National Maternity Benefits Scheme (NMBS),
NORAD Scheme, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, Scheme for Working Women
Hostels, Science and Technology for Women, Support to Training and
Employment Programme for Women (STEP), Swa Shakti Project,
Swayamsidha Scheme, Vocational Rehabilitation of Women with
Disabilities, Vocational Training Programme etc should be strengthened.
Societal changes: Identifying and making efforts to change basic and
nuanced socio-cultural values with a view to eliminate existing biases that
women in the country face when seeking employment. Greater efforts are
needed in the form of awareness programmes, counseling of families to
assuage their fears with regards to training of women, and investment in
personality development of women to be able to analyze and challenge
discriminatory practices. It is equally important to recognize the structural
changes in the Indian economy and changing gender norms of our society
67
indicating slowly but steadily changing life-style aspirations of youth,

both men and women.
Gender sensitive training: women face complex ground realities,
including low levels of literacy, discriminatory social customs and
traditions, limited hours available for training and work, and limited
exposure and unfamiliarity with new technology. Hence, the need to
make the skill development process accommodating and flexible to
encourage women to enroll. “The training may have to incorporate
teaching of basic skills such as numeracy, problem solving,
communication, learning to learn, and team work and, other deeply
impacting skill such as behavioural skills, including building self-esteem,
self-organizational and negotiating capacity for employment purpose.
Issues of identity, autonomy, leadership, rights and responsibilities,
entrepreneurial and business management skills, increasing awareness on
gender are to be relevant issues not only for women but also for men.”
One method of encouraging participation in skill development is the
identification of skills that are already known and up gradation of the
same. In case of women, such an approach would increase the
acceptability of the training being offered. It is also equally important to
provide training after identification of changing norms and aspirations of
women. As noted earlier, to make training programmes actually accessible
to women, it would be crucial to provide additional basic services and
facilities such as, safe and secure transport, toilets, etc.
Despite the above options for women empowerment through skill
development, there should be provide the high quality training that
matches the changing needs of the market. Providing employment
opportunities to trainees after the completion of training will go a long
way in assuring sustainable livelihood options and economic
independence, especially in case of women. Enrolment in training and
providing employment opportunities alone would not be sufficient. It is
crucial to evaluate the progress and the quality of training provided in
order to check discrepancies, whether it is between the needs of the
trainees and the nature of training provided, or between the kind of skill
being imparted and the demand from the local industry. A proper
monitoring and evaluation system consistent with gender equality
perspective would help in informing corrections needed in time and
assure quality of training for sustainable skill development.
68
References
 Census of India documents, Government of India.
 Chant, Sylvia (2003). “Female Household Headship and the Feminisation
of Poverty: Facts, Fictions and Forward Strategies”, Gender Institute,
New working Paper Series, Issue 9, LSE Gender Institute, London
School of Economics, London.
 Chenoy, D (2012), “Empowering Women through Skill Development :
Challenges and Opportunities”, Power Point Presentation at the
GEPD forum II, Institute of Social Studies Trust and Heinrich Boll
Foundation, at the India Habitat Centre, 24 April 2012.
 Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis and Wilima Wadhwa (2003). “Are Indian
Female – Headed Households More Vulnerable to Poverty”, India
Development Foundation, Delhi, November.
 Gender and Economic Policy Discussion (GEPD, 2012) Forum, Briefing
Note – 2, Forum II. co-organized by Heinrich Boll Stiftung on 24th April
2012, New Delhi and Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), New Delhi.
Institute for Human Development New Delhi.
 International Labour Office (2013). “Women and Men in the Informal
Economy: A Statistical Picture”, Geneva.
 Jackson, Cecile and Richard Palmer-Jones (2000), “Rethinking Gendered
Poverty and Work”, in Razavi (ed.), Gendered Poverty and Well-
Being, pp.145-170.
 Masika, Rachel with Arjan De Haan and Sally Baden (1997).
“Urbanisation and Urban Poverty: A Gender Analysis”, Gender
Equality Unit, Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency (SIDA), BRIDGE, IDS, Sussex.
 Mitra, Koumari and Gail R. Pool (2000). “Why Women Stay Poor: An
Examination of Indian Poverty in India”, Social Change, Vol. 30, Nos
1& 2.
 NSSO documents, Government of India.
 Pearce, D. (1978). “The Feminization of Poverty: Women, Work and
Welfare”, Urban and Social Change Review, 11, p. 28-36.
 Razavi, Shahra (2000). “Gendered Poverty and Well-Being”, Institute of
Social Studies, Blackwell, The Hague.
 Rustagi, P (2006). “Women and Poverty: Rural-Urban Dimensions”,
Working paper NO. 35
 Tiina Eskola (for ILO) & Lavinia Gasperini (FAO) (2010). “Investing in
Skills in Socio- economic empowerment of rural women”,Gender
and Rural Employment Policy Brief # 2.
69
 Valentine M. Moghadam V M (2005). “The “Feminization of Poverty”

And Women’s Human Rights”, SHS Papers In Women’s Studies/
Gender Research, No. 2.
The Role of Education in Women’s Skill Development

and their Empowerment
Sujatha.J.K.
C. Basavaraju.
Introduction:
“There is no tool for development more effective than the
empowerment of women”- Kofi Annan.
“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world; when
women participate in economy, everyone benefits”- Hillary Clinton
70
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said, “If you educate a man you
educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a
whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered”.
When women who contribute almost half of the population are
empowered it will strengthen the national economy. Education is
considered as a milestone for women empowerment because it enables
them to respond to the challenges, to confront their traditional role and
change their lives. Women’s education is more and more needed in India
to eradicate gender discrimination which still persists in India. Now in
India education is considered as a fundamental right which is guaranteed
under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Education is both input and
input of human development, educational equity will ensure enabling and
entrepreneurial development. Today according to the Literacy Rate 2011
census, female literacy level is 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over
80%. Even beyond literacy there is much that education can do for
women’s rights, dignity and security. Education is the key to unlock the
golden door of freedom for development. Education, health care and
income are the blessed trinity, why this is because these are closely related
to each other.
Education is considered as a basis requirement and a fundamental
right for the citizens of any nation. It is a powerful tool for reducing
inequality as it can give people the ability to become independent.
Women, who come across discrimination in many spheres, have a
particular need for this. Education is regarded as an basic milestone of
women empowerment because it enables them to face the challenges, to
confront their traditional role and change their life. Education of women is
the most powerful tool of change their position in the society. Still large
womenfolk of our country are illiterate, backward, weak, and exploited.
Education also reduces inequalities and functions as a means of improving
their status within the family. Empowerment and capacity building
provides women an avenue to acquire practical information and learning
for their improved livelihoods. India can become a developed nation only
if women contribute to the best of her capacity and ability which is
possible when she is educated and empowered.
Objectives of the study:
71
The purpose of this research paper is to identify the role played by

the education in empowerment of women and their skill development,
and to give various suggestions for the government for the empowerment
of women including skill development.
Methodology:
The present research work is based upon doctrinal method. This
research work is based on the Laws and authoritative Judgment, Reports,
Text Books, Journals, Reports for analysis.
Women empowerment through Education:
Education is an end in itself as well as a means for realizing other
desirable ends. Empowerment is a multi-dimensional process, which
enables the individuals to realize their full identity and powers in all the
spheres of life. Empowerment of women brings equal status to women,
opportunity and freedom to develop her which also means equipping
women to be economically independent and personally self-reliant.
Providing them equal education is the fundamental way to empower
women which makes them scientific, logical, open minded and self
respecting and ensures greater autonomy in making decisions or free
themselves from the shackles imposed on them by custom, belief and
practices in the society.
Education is milestone of women empowerment as only the
educated women can play a very dominant role in the economic
development of our country as well as in becoming informed citizens,
parents and family members. The growth of women’s education in rural
areas is very slow implying that still large women folk of our country are
illiterate, weak, backward and exploited. Education implies not only
gaining knowledge but also transforming the knowledge into application
through vocational training and skill development. Education is the basis
for the full promotion and improvement of the status of women.
Women empowerment is a process of enabling women to have
access and make productive contributions to their economic
independence, political participation and social development.
Empowerment enables the individuals to realize their identity and powers
in all spheres of life. Empowerment enables women to acquire knowledge,
skills and techniques which will help them in their personal and social
growth as well as foster in them sensitivity towards problems in the
72
society. Special efforts are required to be taken for education, health and
employment of women. Economic empowerment is essential for
improvement of female sex ratio but economic empowerment is possible
only when women are educated. Only literacy and education can help
women to understand Indian Constitutional and legislative provisions
that are made to strengthen them. Education is “potential affirming and
performance confirming”. Empowerment of a girl starts even enterprise
makes empowerment operational. When women are educated, they will
be able to contribute in nation building. Gender equity is what women
desire.
Women empowerment calls for critical intervention by
governments too. Interventions need neatly designed approaches with
assigned roles for women and executed systematically. Women
development and women empowerment are correlated conceptually and
methodologically. Promoting education among women is of great
important in empowering them to accomplish their goals in par with men
in different spheres of life, nurturing and sustaining a culture on unity,
equity and dignity.
Following are the obstacles to women empowerment;
1. Violence: physical, emotional, mental torture and agony are deep
rooted in the society from ancient times which are responsible for
decline in female sex ratio.
2. Gender inequality.
3. Family restrictions.
4. Early marriages.
Women’s own perception of themselves and on their empowerment must
be changed. They should also strive to change their images as weak,
dependent, passive and try to become independent, active, strong and
determined human beings.
Empowerment through Skill Development:

Economic empowerment is the capacity of women and men to
participate and contribute to and benefit from growth process in ways
which recognize the value of their contributions, respect their dignity and
make it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth.
Economic empowerment increases women’s access to economic resources
and opportunities including jobs, financial services, property and other
73
productive assets, skill development and market information. Women’s

economic participation and empowerment are fundamental to
strengthening women’s rights and enabling women to have control over
their lives and exert influence in society. It is about creating just and
equitable societies. Women often face discrimination and persistent
gender inequalities, with some women experiencing multiple
discrimination and exclusion because of factors such as ethnicity or caste.
The economic empowerment of women is a prerequisite for sustainable
development and achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals.
Gender equality and empowered women are catalysts for multiplying
development efforts. Women usually invest a higher proportion of their
earnings in their families and communities than men.
Education and training are essential components of any strategy to
improve farm and non-farm productivity and rural incomes. Learning
about business skills, as well as life skill such as health management,
decision-making, self confidence or conflict management among various
other things like new products and markets can make a big difference for
many of the rural poor, particularly the women folk. Women often have
different training needs than men since they are more likely to work as
contributing family workers, subsistence farmers, home based micro-
entrepreneurs or low paid seasonal labourers, in addition to handling
their domestic work and care responsibilities. Skills development is a key
to improving household productivity, employability and income earning
opportunities for women and also for enhancing food security and
promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and
livelihoods.
Women’s are treated as second class citizens, while the men folk are
involved in agriculture or unemployment, women and girls are mostly
involved in household chores, does not have any say in the family affairs.
Excluded from receiving higher education and entirely dependent on their
male counterparts, they have to bear the brunt of most of the evils like
dowry, domestic violence etc. Being masculine society, women and girls
are not allowed to step out of their houses which lead to lower educational
status, low confidence to face the world In view of the financial constraints
that a family faces, empowering them through skill-building programs
qould give them more avenues to earn their living and become in the
process self-reliant. Such programs will also help them to raise their voice
74
against the ill treatment accorded to them within the family or outside. All
these clearly indicate that there is an imperative need to find out some
alternative ways as men to tackle these burning problems. Self
employment through skills- building seems to be one of the effective
ways. It implies that women with inherent talents and having inner urge
to make sources of their livelihood indeed need some encouragement and
help from various agencies working for the very cause.
The Indian Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also
empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favor
or women. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws,
development policies, plans and programmes have aimed at women’s
advancement in different spheres. From the Fifth Five Year Plans (1974-78)
onwards there has been a marked shine in the approach to women’s issues
from welfare to development and them from Eighth Five Year Plan
emphasis was shifted from development to empowerment. Declaring
2001 as the Year of Women’s Empowerment that is Swashakti, the
Government of India passed the National Policy for the Empowerment of
women which has the goal to bring about the advancement, development
and empowerment of women.
The National Mission for Empowerment of Women was launched
by the Government of India with the aim to strengthen over all processes
that promote all round development of women. It has the mandate to
strengthen the inter-sector convergence; facilitate the process o
coordinating all the women’s welfare and socio-economic development
programmes across ministries and departments. One of the key strategies
of National Mission for Empowerment of Women is ‘investment in skill
and entrepreneurship development, microcredit, vocational training and
development for economic empowerment of women’. Women need
vocational training or skills also to be able to stand on their feet and be the
earning members of the family. Women have been taking increasing
interest in recent years in income generating activities, self-employment
and entrepreneurship that also lead to property rights, political
representation, social equality, personal right, family development,
market development, community development and at last the nation
development. The various reasons for preference of self-employment to
wage-employment are as follows;
 It provides opportunities for using one’s own talent.
75
 It is possible without large resources.

 It enables to have independent work and economic gains.
 It makes a person to become a job-creator.
 It gives sovereign status than a subservient role
 It provides on image of prestige and status and gives inner
satisfaction.
Self employment provides an opportunity to make the women
economically empowered and they are in position to face any challenges
in their lives.
Suggestion for the Government:

In India both the government sector and the private sector have
realized the critical role played the education in building skilled
manpower and in turn boosting economic growth. Some of the
recommended steps that the Government can take to make skill training
fully inclusive and achieve the training target. They are;
 The Government provides substantial support to formal education at
the school level. Along with formal education the next reasonable
action, the government can take is to provide financial support to
vocational training.
 Women participation in vocational education and training is
especially low as compared to men. In order to increase enrolment
the combined efforts with local NGO’s and Panchayats and
informing women and their families on the advantages of vocational
education which may lead to employability is very important.
 The current vocational education and training facilities can be
improved tremendously by setting standards, certification and
guidelines on the syllabi being tought, the teaching faculty and
training institutes will lead to a more organized system.
 An option to establish a regional career and counseling window
where professional expertise may be provided to explore its own
potential and deliver to society in the most proficient manner. The
career and counseling window may be developed at a district level
with a pool of professionals from the field of psychology and skill
planning to support the initiative. Need of the hour is to synergize
76
the efforts and resources to provide a feasible platform for vocational

education and skill development. The ideal way forward will be to
seek partnerships that will strengthen the process of quality and
inclusive education.
Conclusions:
Rich knowledge base and the skills, which act as the driving forces
for the economic growth and social development of a country, are
essential for translating a country’s vision of inclusive growth into a
reality, Creation of job opportunities and development of
entrepreneurship in the rural areas is the priority of the country to ensure
development of the rural economy. Looking at the importance of the role
women play in the development of a nation and current progress the
country is witnessing under the said women empowerment process, one
can sense that there is a long way to go in that direction. Everyone needs
to understand the essence of Swami Vivekananda’s words about women-
“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of
women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing”.
Therefore it is the responsibility of every citized of the nation, financial
institutions, the corporate sector, the NGO’s and other stakeholders of the
society to lend their supporting hand in developing gender responsive
strategies for training and entrepreneurship development that respond to
rural youth especially women who are no less than men in many spheres
of life.
References:
 Alva,A. and Hans .V.B (2013) “ Higher Education in India –Opportunites,
changes and challenges”.
 Balve S> (2015) “Women Entrepreneurship towards women
Empowerment in India; plan Initiatives” Southern Economist.
 Suguna, M. (2011) “Education and Women Empowerment in India
“International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research.
 Shivalingappa and Nagaraj (2011) “Women Empowerment and Gender
Equility- A study” Southern Economist.
77
Financial Service Skill in Rural Women through SHG’s

in Karnataka: A Case Study
Huchhe Gowda
Deepa Patil
Introduction
The progress of any nation finds its roots in the rural development.
Introducing efficient financial services in these regions will empower the
rural families to achieve better stability with new ventures that can
enhance their means of livelihood. This will also encourage the rural
families to find various means of funding their business ideas which
78
further implies the fact that it will reduce the number of villagers
migrating to urban places in search of employment. Affordable financial
support will thus build a strong rural development and thereby result in
the overall improvement of the livelihood opportunities in the nation.
In India, women produce 30 percent of all food commodities
consumed but get only 10 percent of the property or wealth of the country.
There is a growing realization that rural women have been
underestimated and discriminated against all walks of life, despite their
substantial contribution to the household economy and in turn, the
national economy as such. As it is clear that the rights and protection of
women from social inequalities in statute books are not good enough,
some practical solutions are to be acknowledged and most importantly,
implemented. Women have been deprived of economic independence.
The empowerment of women and improvement of their status and
economic role needs to be integrated into economic development
programs, as the development of any country is inseparably linked with
the status and development of women.
In India, micro-finance programmes have been promoted both by
the government and by the non-governmental organizations. India joins
hands with other developing countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
Indonesia in this regard. These are small groups of poor women engaging
in activities of savings and lending operations. Such groups are called Self-
Help Groups (SHGs) in India. Poverty and unemployment are the two
major problems of under developed countries, to which India is no
exception. The union government has implemented various schemes to
reduce poverty and promote gainful employment opportunities.
However, the most attractive scheme with less effort is the “Self Help
Groups”. The concept of SHG is wider, and is not the same as the micro-
finance group. In the context of micro-finance, a SHG consists of 10-15
members. SHG members can be both men and women. Self Help Groups
have emerged as an alternative development strategy to promote the
common interest of the weak particularly the rural poor. SHG is a small
voluntary association of poor people, preferable from the same
socioeconomic background. They come together for the purpose of solving
their common problems through self-help and mutual help. The SHG
promotes small savings among its members. The savings are kept with a
79
bank. This common fund is in the name of the SHGs. Usually, the number
of members in one SHGs does not exceed twenty.
The risks of credit provision

Rural financial services are nowadays concerned with a variety of
services including not only agricultural lending but lending to farm
households for non-agricultural production and consumption purposes,
loans made to non-farm rural firms, rural savings deposit services and
other financial services such as insurance. However, this article mainly
focuses on the provision of agricultural credit.
Broadly speaking, the provision of credit in the form of loans allows
uneven income and expenditure streams to be smoothed out. Credit
provision is a private good as it is excludable and rivalries. However, it is
a different type of service to others discussed in this Sourcebook as a loan
involves an exchange of access to resources now for an undertaking to
repay at some future date. In effect, a property right in current
consumption is exchanged for a property right in future consumption.
From the lender’s point of view this involves two risks, namely, that the
borrower will be unable to repay (the use made of the funds is less
productive than anticipated perhaps due to unfavourable weather or
lower market prices or that they will be unwilling to repay (opportunistic
behaviour due to asymmetric information).
In total, the lending activity entails:

a. Exchange of consumption today for consumption in a latter period
b. Protection against default risk
c. Information acquisition regarding characteristics of loan applicants (the
screening problem)
d. Measures to ensure that borrowers take those actions that make
repayment more likely (the incentives problem)
e. Actions to increase the likelihood of repayment by borrowers who are
able to do so (the enforcement problem).
This risk of non-repayment means that the private sector is usually

unwilling to provide credit unless collateral is available or the lender has
particular ties to the borrower. The high transaction costs associated with
imperfect information (search, monitoring and enforcement), and risk,
80
increase the costs of credit transactions and lower the effective demand.
The dispersed nature of rural populations increases the transaction costs
of servicing rural areas compared to urban areas for many credit
providers. In principle, the government should be a more willing lender
than the private sector as it is less risk-averse and has greater powers of
coercion and hence ability to obtain repayment. However, it is generally
disadvantaged relative to the private sector in terms of local knowledge
and loyalty from borrowers, leaving it exposed to an adverse selection
problem and unwillingness by borrowers to repay loans.
The demand for and supply of rural financial services

The effective demand for rural credit
Many of the problems relating to rural financial services have
derived from a misunderstanding of the nature of the effective demand
for these services. The first misconception was that farmers and other rural
dwellers mainly needed credit for agricultural production purposes. In
fact, an effective demand for credit, backed up by a willingness and ability
to pay, can exist to smooth out a variety of situations where income and
consumption streams are poorly phased. Credit for non-agricultural
purposes may be as important as agricultural loans. Indeed, for many
rural dwellers the most important reason for demanding credit is as a
consumption loan to meet the costs of living in the months before the next
harvest is due, not to purchase inputs to raise agricultural productivity.
The second misconception was that the majority of poor farmers were too
poor to pay for credit, that is, there was a need for credit but little effective
demand. The evidence now is that poor households are both willing and
able to service loans if they borrow for their own perceived needs and are
adequately screened and monitored.
The paradigm of directed credit provision

These misconceptions led to agricultural credit policies during the
1960s and 1970s that were based on a paradigm. The policy implications of
the paradigm were that:
It was the function of the central government (normally of the
Ministry of Agriculture, or those acting on delegated authority to
government-owned financial institutions) to decide:
 what farmers should do with credit
81
 what the cost of credit to rural borrowers should be

 who should actually benefit from the loans
 What the total amount of agricultural credit should be.
It was the central government function to provide:
 savings mobilization mechanisms in rural areas
 lending facilities on a subsidized basis.
Responding to farmers’ demand for credit for other purposes than
agricultural production was not a government priority.
The supply of rural financial services

Unique problems of supplying agricultural finance
FAO/GTZ (1998b) discuss a series of special factors that are likely to
influence the supply of agricultural finance. These include:
 The high financial transaction costs of attending dispersed and small
farm households
 The seasonality and the importance of opportune timing of on-farm
finance for cultivation practices, input application, harvesting (and
related output marketing), the heterogeneity in farmers’ lending needs
(seasonal and term lending) and the relative long duration of
agricultural lending contracts
 The dependence on sustainable natural resources management and
the relative low profitability of on-farm investments
 The various weather and other production risks, together with
marketing risks related to agriculture, that require appropriate risk
management techniques, both for producers and financial
intermediaries
 The limited availability of conventional bank collateral that farm
households can offer, that highlights the need to increase the security
of existing loan collateral or develop appropriate collateral substitutes
 The reality that farm households are confronted with emergency
needs and that their loan repayment capacity is highly dependent on
consumption and social security contingencies
 The need for adequate training of both bank staff and farmer clients.
Role of Women’s Groups and Self Help Groups (SHGs): A Case Study
82
A self-help group (SHG) is a village-based financial

intermediary usually composed of 10–20 local women or men. A mixed
group is generally not preferred. A self-help group may be registered or
unregistered. It typically comprises a group of micro
entrepreneurs having homogeneous social and economic backgrounds, all
voluntarily coming together to save regular small sums of money,
mutually agreeing to contribute to a common fund and to meet their
emergency needs on the basis of mutual help. They pool their resources to
become financially stable, taking loans from the money collected by that
group and by making everybody in that group self-employed. The group
members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper end-
use of credit and timely repayment.
Self-help groups are started by non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) that generally have broad anti-poverty agendas. Self-help groups
are seen as instruments for a variety of goals including empowering
women, developing leadership abilities among poor people, increasing
school enrollments, and improving nutrition and the use of birth control.
Financial intermediation is generally seen more as an entry point to these
other goals, rather than as a primary objective. NABARD estimates that
there are 2.2 million SHGs in India, representing 33 million members, that
have taken loans from banks under its linkage program to date. This does
not include SHGs that have not borrowed. "The SHG Banking Linkage
Programme since its beginning has been predominant in certain states,
showing spatial preferences especially for the southern region – Andhra-
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. These states accounted for
57 % of the SHG credits linked during the financial year 2005–2006."
Advantages of financing through SHGs

 An economically poor individual gains strength as part of a group.
 Besides, financing through SHGs reduces transaction costs for both
lenders and borrowers.
 While lenders have to handle only a single SHG account instead of a
large number of small-sized individual accounts, borrowers as part of
an SHG cut down expenses on travel (to & from the branch and other
places) for completing paper work and on the loss of workdays in
canvassing for loans.
83
The number of the SHGs in the district is increasing from the year
2005-06, which is a positive indicator from the gender perspective, because
it demonstrates greater participation of women in the social and economic
activities in the society which is a step towards greater women
empowerment (Table No. 1)
Table No. 1. Number of SHGs in the District

Year Total number of SHGs
2005-06 10394
2006-07 13024
2007-08 14492
2008-09 14492
2009-10 14492
2010-11 14492
2011-12 15228
2012-13 15228
Source: Deputy Director, Dept. of Women and Child Development,
Belagavi.
During the period between 2007-08 and 2010-11 the number of

SHGs was stagnant at 14492 but the same increased to 15228 in 2011-12
and it remained the same in 2012-13 as well.
Total number of SHGs

15228 15228
16000 14492 14492 14492 14492
13024
14000
12000 10394
10000
8000
6000 Total number of SHGs
4000
2000
0
84
The taluka wise distribution of the SHGs in the district for the year 2012-
13 is given in the Table No. 2 .
Table No.2: Taluka wise Distribution of SHGs in Belagavi District 2012-

13
Sl.No Taluka Total number of Active percentage of Active
SHGs SHGs SHGs
1 Athani 1511 1511 100
2 Bailhongal 1326 1250 94.27
3 Belagavi 2614 2481 94.93
4 Chikkodi 2352 2352 100
5 Gokak 1803 1770 98.17
6 Hukkeri 1392 1272 91.45
7 Khanapur 979 979 100
8 Raibag 1209 1061 87.84
9 Ramdurg 881 685 77.75
10 Savadatti 1161 1089 93.88
District 15228 14453 94.91
Source: Deputy Director Dept. of Women and Child Development,
Belagavi
Out of the total 15228 SHGs in the district 14453 i.e. 94.91 per cent
are active. Only in 3 talukas – Athani, Chikodi and Khanapur, all the
SHGs are active. This has helped women to seek common platform to
discuss their issues and problems and seek consultancy in economic
activities. The activities taken by these groups mainly include dairy,
poultry, trading and services. The repayment of loan by these groups is
regular. Women’s knowledge and awareness is increasing and this has
helped to improve their status in family and society.
Stree Shakti Groups

Under the Stree Shakti Programme, 14131 groups were formed till
2011-12. The financial progress under the scheme is summarized in the
Table 3. In the entire district 2,03,499 women are members of these SSGs.
Out of this 32,211 are SC women and 14,803 are ST women. So far they
have saved Rs. 7112.56 lakhs. A total of 10,953 women have received the
bank loans worth of Rs. 6272.55 lakhs so far. These SSGs have received the
government aid of Rs. 669.90 lakhs till now. These Stree Shakti Groups are
very active in all the taluks of the district.
85
Table 3: Taluk-wise distribution of Stree Shakti Groups and their

Financial Progress- 2011-12.
Numb
Total
er of Total
Num Numb loan Total
Number Numbe group Savings Receive
ber of er of received financi
of r of s open Accumu d loan
Taluks Wom Wome from al aid
Women Women in lated from
en n Bank receiv
(Other) (Total) Bank (Rs.in Banks
(SC) (ST) (Rs.in ed
saving Lakhs)
Lakhs)
s
Athani 3711 1710 18926 24347 1511 453.97 1144 509.77 72.40
Bailhongal 1836 2276 18544 22656 1326 756.17 1200 662.26 62.30
Belagavi 2304 2116 18328 22748 1520 732.34 1050 896.01 74.85
Chikkodi 7856 362 9215 17433 2352 1028.17 1710 711.23 99.05
Gokak 3461 2625 21993 28079 1803 836.95 1380 868.17 87.35
Hukkeri 3567 1908 16365 21840 1392 672.93 821 865.32 67.25
Khanapur 1432 713 12922 15067 979 638.47 686 558.33 47.05
Raibag 4615 442 13554 18611 1209 748.06 1192 244.69 59.60
Ramdurg 1727 493 11741 13961 881 496.40 633 552.04 43.10
Savadatti 1702 2158 14897 18757 1161 749.10 1137 404.73 56.95
District 32211 14803 156485 203499 14134 7112.56 10953 6272.55 669.90
Source: DAG, 2011-12, Belagavi Success Story of “ Kudumbashree”
Kudumbashree was conceived as a joint programme of the

Government of Kerala and NABARD implemented through Community
Development Societies (CDSs) of poor women, serving as the community
wing of Local Governments.
Kudumbashree differs from the conventional programmes in that it
perceives poverty not just as the deprivation of money, but also as the
deprivation of basic rights. The poor need to find a collective voice to help
claim these rights. The grass roots of Kudumbashree are Neighbourhood
Groups that send representatives to the ward level Area Development
Societies (ADS). The ADS sends its representatives to the CDS, which
completes the unique three-tier structure of Kudumbashree. Today, there
are 2.58 lakh Neighbourhood groups, over 19,700 ADSs and 1072 CDSs in
Kudumbashree. It is this network that brings women to the Grama Sabhas
and helps them bring the needs of the poor to attention of the local
governments. The CDSs are also very active in government programmes
and play significant roles in development activities ranging from socio-
economic surveys and enterprise development to community
management and social audit. Kudumbashree in association with the local
86
self government of Kerala is charting out new meaning and possibilities

for local economic development and citizen centric governance.
Kudumbashree practices a process approach and not a project approach.
Milestones of the mission, at a glance, are as follows.
 The largest women movement in Asia with a membership of 36 lakhs
representing equal number of families.
 36 lakh poor families brought under the community based
organizations (CBOs) consisting of 1.87 lakh Neighbourhood Groups,
17,000 ADSs and 1,058 CDSs both rural and urban
 Mobilized a sum of Rs. 1,105 crores as thrift and disbursed loans
amounting to Rs. 2.818 crores to the member of Neighbourhood
Groups.
 25,050 individual enterprises and 1,757 group (with minimum 10
members) enterprises of women developed in urban areas.
 1,430 individual enterprises and 4,578 group (with minimum 10
members) enterprises of poor women formed in rural areas, and so
on….
 Winner of several Awards- both national and international
Service Delivery Issues

The functioning of the Local- Self Government structure in the
district is not efficient due to host of factors. The low level of literacy of the
people at the village level has been a major handicap in the utilization of
the powers and functions at the Gram Panchayat levels. As per the 73 rd
Amendment to the Constitution, 29 subjects are transferred to the
panchayat system. The panchayat institutions are directed to prepare the
plans and implement them. Thus the schemes related to Employment,
Agricultural development, Housing, Drinking water and Sanitation are
planned and implemented at the Gram Panchayat level. Recently
computers are also supplied to the GPs for maintenance and processing of
relevant data. The members of the research team interacted with the
public on this issue and their opinions are summarized below.
At the village level, the infrastructure is provided but the efficient
functioning or delivery of services is not looked into. School buildings are
made available but teachers with quality teaching are not ensured.
Though a Primary Health Center is constructed, the availability of doctor
and health staff is not guaranteed. The capacity building of the people
87
through ensuring their participation in gram sabhas, or generating

awareness, initiating action-oriented thinking, provision of knowledge
and information are not on the priority lists of the panchayats.
Public participation, accountability transparency at various levels is
not adequate and effective. This is on account of various factors such as
low levels of literacy and knowledge, lack of awareness, general apathy
and information gaps. Mute endurance on the part of the people has
supported inefficiency in the system.
The level of financial management is very low in the district as
evident from utilization of funds released for various programmes and
policies. Due to various administrative procedures, the release of funds is
not timely and due to poor and inefficient implementing machinery the
utilization of funds is also very slow. In many schemes such as housing,
water supply, construction of buildings etc., funds remain underutilized
and unutilized.
The NGOs and institutions of the civil society like user’s association
and Self-Help Groups are coming up only in recent years. The efforts and
work done by the senior citizen’s forum a voluntary organization in
Belagavi city deserves appreciation in this context.
Concluding Remarks
The requirements of good governance are decentralization of
powers and functions with adequate autonomy to prepare policies and
programmes that impart, life of the people at grass roots levels, active
people’s participation at various levels of policy formulation and
implementation, a good institutional set up involving voluntary agencies
SHG’s and NGOs and institutions of civil society to ensure equity and
social justice in the system of production and distribution. In the absence
of these the system of governance cannot be pro-people and pro-poor and
marginilezed groups.
The paradigm of agricultural credit has changed fundamentally
from a policy that promoted centralized and directed agricultural credit to
one that supports decentralized rural financial services and rural financial
markets and systems development. The new paradigm emphasizes the
distinction between the supply-led finance of new agricultural
technologies and the effective demand by rural households for credit that
can be used for their own perceived needs. It advocates the
88
decentralization of credit provision, the encouragement of competition

between loan services’ providers to lower the costs and risks of lending,
and the use of market rates of interest as a rationing device for credit
allocation. It recognizes also the importance of mobilizing local savings
through offering competitive interest rates and a variety of savings
products and flexible procedures. In the new paradigm the role of the
government is to support institutional development, rather than the
promotion of targeted incremental crop production through involvement
in direct financial intermediation.
The most far-reaching objective of decentralization of rural financial
services is to mobilize the potential of informal rural financial markets and
to rationalize their operations. This may lead to a fast growth of micro-
financial institutions in the rural areas and it is important to find effective
ways of regulating them. Providing appropriate methods are followed,
considerable gains can be expected from decentralization and a
sustainable network of rural financial services providers may emerge.
Reference
 Annual Report (2011-12): Women and Child Development, Government
of India, Bangalore.
 Huchhe Gowda (2013) “Gender Equality through the Women’s Empowerment:
Evidence from Political Participation at the Grassroots” in International
Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, ISSN No. 2277 9302. Vol. II, Issue 1
(III), pp 93-98, April, 2013.
 Hoff and Stiglitz (1993), FAO/GTZ (1998a and 1998b)
 Mangasri, K., 1999, Empowerment of DWCRA groups in Ranga Reddy of
Andhra Pradesh.Ph. D. Thesis, Angarau, Hyderabad.
 Nagaraj Naik, R., 2003, Self-help groups in coffee. Indian Coffee, 67(3) : 4-8.
 Raghuprasad et al (2004), Self-help groups : Strengths and Constraints in
Introducing Agro-based Enterprises. In: National Seminar on
Contemporary Challenges for Indian Agriculture and Rural
Development, January 2004. UAS, Dharwad.
 Sabyasachi Das, (2003), ‘Self Help Groups and Micro Credit Synbergic
Integration”, Kurushetra Vol. 51, No.10, pp. 25-28.
 Sharma, P. K. 2003, Employment and income generation from TRYSEM in
Agra, Kurukshetra, 47 (6) : 23-26.
 http://microfinancehub.com/2010/04/03/8-microfinance-lending-
models-types-of-mfis/
89
Empowering Women through Skill Development in

India: Need, Opportunities and Challenges
J. L. Banashankari
Introduction
India has gradually evolved as a knowledge-based economy due to
the abundance of capable, flexible and qualified human capital with the
constantly rising influence of globalization. India has immense
opportunities to establish its distinctive position in the world. However,
there is a need to further develop and empower the human capital to
ensure the nations global competiveness. Despite the emphatic stress laid
on education and training in this country, there is still a shortage of skilled
man power to address the mounting needs and demands of the economy.
Today, the world and India need a skilled workforce. If we have to
promote the development of our country then our mission has to be “skill
development and skilled India. Millions and millions of Indian youth
should acquire the skills which could contribute towards making India a
modern country.
Women, in a country like India, are just seen as someone to look
after the home and bear children and thus the treatment they get is below
par with their male counterpart. In other words, they are treated as second
class citizens. While the men folk are involved in agriculture or
unemployment, the women and girls are mostly involved in house hold
chores, does not have any say in the family affairs. Excluded from
receiving higher education and entirely dependent on their male
counterparts, they have to bear the brunt of most of the evils like dowry,
domestic violence etc. Being a masculine society, women and girls are not
allowed to step out of their houses which lead to lower educational status,
low confidence to face the world. In view of the financial constraints that a
family faces, empowering them through skill building programs would
give them more avenues to earn their living and become in the process self-
reliant. Such programs will also help them to raise their voice against the ill
90
treatment accorded to them with in the family or outside. All these clearly
indicate that there is an imperative need to find out some alternative ways
as mentioned above to tackle this burning problem; “self employment
through skill-building” seems to be one of the effective ways. It implies
that women, with inherent talents and having inner urge to fine-tune them
to make them sources of their livelihood, indeed need some
encouragement and help from various agencies working for the very
course. In current scenario due to modernization, urbanization,
globalization and upliftment of educational facilities with increasing
awareness are now seeking gainful employment in several fields.
The concept of empowerment of women and skill development

Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest son of India, quoted that,
“there is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of
women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.
“Therefore, inclusion of “women empowerment” as one of the prime goal
for any society. Thus, in order to achieve the status of a developed
country, India needs to transform its colossal women force into an
effective human resource and this is possible only through the
empowerment of women.
Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of
individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into
desired actions and outcomes. Empowerment of women means
developing them as more aware individuals, who are politically active,
economically productive and independent and are able to make intelligent
discussion in matters that affect them. Women empowerment as a concept
was defined as social power and control of resources in favour of women.
In its definition of women empowerment, the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNDFW) includes factors such as (1)
Acquiring knowledge and understanding of gender relations and the way
in which relations may be changed; and (2) Developing a sense of self-
worth, a belief in one’s ability to secure desired changes and the rights to
control one’s life.
Skill and knowledge are the driving forces of economic and social
development for any country. Countries with higher and better levels of
skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and opportunities of world
of work. Skill development is one of the essential ingredients for India’s
91
future economic growth as the country transforms into a diversified and

internationally competitive economy. Skill development is going to be the
defining element in India’s growth story. Firstly, we need to redefine the
relationship of education, employment and skill development. Secondly,
as a very large population, India would never be able to up skill all of its
youth across the country through the conventional education framework.
Skill development acts as an instrument to improve the overall
effectiveness and empowers an individual to work more efficiently. The
economy becomes more productive, innovative and competitive through
the existence of more skilled human potential. India’s transition to one of
the largest and fastest growing global economics during the last decade
has been a remarkable phenomenon. In order to sustain its growth
trajectory, an efficient and continuous system of skill development for its
workforce is critically imperative for India.
The aim of skill development in the country is to support achieving
rapid and inclusive growth through:
(a) Enhancing individual’s employability (wage/self employment) and
ability to adapt to changing technologies and labour market demands.
(b) Improving productivity and living standards of the people.
(c) Strengthening competitiveness of the country.
(d) Attracting investment through skill development.
Objectives
(1) To understand the need for skill development for empowerment of
women.
(2) To discuss the opportunities available in skill development for
women.
(3) To know the various challenges in skill development for women.
Methodology
This paper is mainly based on secondary data and information which is
collected from the concerned sources as per need of the paper. The
relevant books and documents of various departments and organizations,
articles, papers and web-sites are used in this paper.
Need for skill development for empowerment of women

To make India internationally competitive and to boost its economic
growth further, a skilled workforce is essential. Women economic
92
participation and empowerment are fundamental to strengthening

women’s rights and their enabling women to have control over their lives
and exert influence in society. It is about creating just and equitable
societies. Women often face discrimination and persistent gender
inequalities with some women experiencing multiple discrimination and
exclusion because of factors such as ethnicity or caste. Gender equality
and empowered women are catalysts for multiplying development efforts.
Investments in gender equality yield the highest returns of all
development investment. Women usually invest a higher proportion of
their earnings in their families and communities than men. Women are in
some contexts bearing the costs of recovering from the crisis with the loss
of jobs, poor working conditions and increasing precariousness. Increasing
the role of women in the economy is part of the solution to the financial
and economic crises and critical for economic resilience and growth.
improve farm and non-farm productivity and rural incomes. Learning
about business skills, as well as life skills such as health management,
decision-making, self confidence, or conflict management among various
other things like new products and markets, can make a big difference for
many of the rural poor. Particularly the women folk often have different
training needs than men since they are more likely to work as contributing
family workers, subsistence farmers, home-based micro-entrepreneurs or
low paid seasonal labourers in addition to handing their domestic work
and care responsibilities.
With increasing literacy among women in India, their entry into many
types of work, formerly the preserve of men, women can now look upon
the bearing and raising of their children not as a life’s work in itself but as
an episode. It women have started taking men’s work it could be said that
men have taken over women’s. Women are playing bigger and bigger role
in economic field: as workers, consumers, entrepreneurs, managers and
investors, financial services, engineering, medical and IT jobs. They have
also entered service occupations such as a nurse, a beautician, a sales
worker etc.
They are increasingly and gradually seem marching into domains
which were previously reserved (police, drivers, army, pilots, charted
accountants, commandos). In spite of their increasing number in every
field, women still remain perhaps the world’s most underutilized
93
resources. Many are still excluded from paid work and many do not make
best use of their skill.
The urgency for improved skill development is the increasing number
of newly educated youth, especially women, who would like to seek
employment in the service sector. The education and skill development
sector has not adequately responded to this emerging need, making it
imperative to provide skill development and training in marketable skill
and services. It is also observed, that the concept of training and skill
development needs to move beyond the conventional goal of imparting
technical and managerial competencies, to playing a broader role of even
including basic literacy, numeracy, critical social and political awareness,
awareness about gender and enhancing life skills. Such interventions by
their nature will encourage higher self-esteem among women and overall
personality development. For the success of skill development, training
needs to be towards developing the kind of skills women and men already
now.
Globalization, knowledge and competition have intensified the need
for highly skilled workforce in both the developing and developed nations
as it enables them to accelerate the growth rate of their economy towards
higher trajectory. Today all economies need skilled workforce so as to
meet global standards of quality, to increase their foreign trade, to bring
advanced technologies to their domestic industries and to boost their
industrial and economic development. Thus, skill and knowledge
becomes the major driving force of socio-economic growth and
development for any country.
The increasing globalization and digital presence provide India a
unique position to increase its share further in global market from current
share of around 37 % in the global out sourcing market. Hence such a
scenario necessitates skill development for the workforce. But before
going in for any sort of skill development program, it is important to
determine the current skill capacity, the major obstacles in the way of the
skill development programs along with their possible solutions.
A large portion of the workforce would migrate from the primary
sector (agriculture) to the secondary and tertiary sectors. However, the
skill sets that are required in the manufacturing and service sectors are
quite different from those in the agriculture sector. This implies that there
is/will be a large skill gap when such a migration occurs, as evidenced by
94
a shrinking employment in the agriculture sector. This scenario

necessitates skill development in the workforce of about 450 million, only
about 10 % are engaged in the organized/formal sector.The magnitude of
the challenge is further evident from the fact that about 12 million persons
are expected to join the workforce every year. This emerging socio-
economic scenario is poised to drive the demand for skilling India.
Opportunities for empowering women through skill development

An increasing number of women are entering the job market. There has
been tremendous increase in the number of women professionals, while
the number of women engaged in agricultural pursuits is decreasing. The
major asset of a nation on which the hopes of its rapid development rest
are its people. The provision of employment to all able-bodied men and
women, therefore, has to form a dominant theme in the economic
development programmes of a country. The Indian constitution provides
for equal rights and privileges for women and men. On the employment
scene also a number of social legislations have been enacted to raise the
status of women, and eliminate discrimination in remuneration against
them.
The biggest motivation for work for a majority of Indian women is
indeed the sheer economic necessity. With the growing rate of inflation
and soaring prices women are compelled to leave the security of their
homes and help the family by adding something to their meager
resources. Especially, the women of the lower and lower-middle classes
take up work to meet their financial needs and thus case the strain of
feeding their families. Again the prevalence of the dowry system and its
increasing demands are forcing many girls to take up work and help their
parents in meeting the pressures of payment of ever-increasing amounts
by way of dowry. In fact, the value of a working girl, from marriage point
of view, is much higher than that of a non-working girl. Even the demand
for dowry may be less in their cases.
However, in the case of women of upper and upper-middle classes,
especially among the educated women, the reasons for taking up jobs are
more of psychological nature than due to economic and social
compulsions. The greatest majority of job seekers in these social groups
takes up work because it gives them self-expression, personal satisfaction
and escape from the boredom of idling at home. Earning through their
95
own efforts gives them a sense of independence besides providing an

opportunity for leading a little better style of life.
In the case of professional women like teachers, doctors, lawyers,
engineers etc. there are motives such as aptitude for profession, social and
even a desire to counter male domination. Professionalism is no longer an
exclusive preserve of men. In the rural areas female workers mostly act as
helpers to men in agricultural activity. They do such works as harvesting,
weeding, planting, threshing, manuring etc. these are classified as
agricultural labourers. The women cultivators are mostly found in the
hilly or tribal districts. They are engaged in the cultivation of their own
small and uneconomic holdings in the absence of their husbands who
migrate in search of jobs.
Under the category of allied activities plantations also provide job
outlets to a number of female labourers in the organized sector. Women
find it convenient to work in plantations because they provide conditions
of settled labour force to all members of the family. The largest employer
of women in the organized sector, next only to the agriculture and allied
activities, are the traditional occupations in the areas of financial
institutions business and services. The majority of women under these
divisions take up the white-collar jobs and work as clerks, typists, etc.
women workers are preferred in these jobs because of their active part in
strikes and other trade union activities.
In the field of service, occupations like teaching, nursing and domestic
services engage the largest numbers. In fact, it would not be wrong to say
that Indian women are skill channelled in to employment which
reproduces the traditional concept of feminine roles of “caring” and
“serving”. By and large, it is held that the maternal touch of a women
makes her better qualified for such jobs than a men. A further examination
of the operational structure of the service division shows that the
unskilled and uneducated women of lower classes mostly work as
sweepers, cleaners, waiters, cooks, maid servants, ayahs etc. They are
mainly concentrated in jobs involving drudgery while educated women
are increasingly showing interest in non-traditional occupations. Their
rate of participation in the training programmes of engineering, medical
training schools is on the increase. They are getting training and taking
jobs in such fields as library science, journalism, interior designing,
painting, sculpture, etc.
96
Another welcome feature among the modern educated women of India

is that they are showing keen interest in the field entrepreneurship. Not
only are they starting their own teaching institutions, medical clinics, but
in the sphere of law, engineering, retailing, marketing and transporting
etc. They are marching ahead. The small scale enterprises are started by
them on the sole proprietorship or co-operation basis. Workshop for
women entrepreneurs are started at various places in India.
The opportunities for women to develop their skill, and the
constraints that challenge unfostering skills development for women, for
several reasons: the size of the women population, and the hierarchical
and segmented nature of both the labour market and society as a whole.
Indeed, Indian women fall in to two main groups. A tiny fraction from
economically well-off middle classes get good education and training
and well-paid jobs in the organized sector. Meanwhile, the great
majority of women from economically and socially disadvantaged
groups get very limited education and little access to vocational training.
They work in the unorganized sector. The majority of women enter the
labour market without adequate vocational skills leading to unstable
informal, low-wage employment, such as casual labour and various
forms of self-employment.
In recent times with there being a renewed push on existing schemes
by the central and state governments, skill development has become a key
policy issue, and more importantly, the national skill development
mission taking on the ambitious target of skilling and up skilling 500
million people by 2022 in India. To create skill development, the
government announced a national policy on skill development in March
2009 with the framework which it wanted skill-related training to be
conducted and this policy is further succeeded by national policy for skill
development and entrepreneurship 2015.
Rapid technological change demands a greater intensity of knowledge
and skill in producing, applying and diffusing technologies. In turn, all
these have changed the nature, contents, and types of skill that industry
demand. As a result most countries recently moved to reform their
education system, to upgrade the skills of their workforces.
Women participation in vocational education and training is especially
low as compared to men. There are a few reasons constraining
interest/participation may be social and cultural norms and family
97
responsibilities. Women also tend to become discouraged due to such

family and social pressures, especially in rural areas. Therefore in order to
increase enrolments the combined efforts with local NGOs and
panchayats on informing women and their families on the advantages of
vocational education, which may lead to employability, is very important
specifically, women should be targeted by explaining how inculcating
income generating skills and activities within them would subsequently
lead to improving their social and economic status.
Challenges to skill development for empowering women

The country is poised at a moment in history when a much brighter
future for its entire people is within its reach. Skill development will help
actualize this potential. Development and articulation of a national policy
on skill development is a matter of priority. Women in India are mainly
concentrated in the informal sector and are engaged in low paid jobs with
no security benefits. This represents lack of employment opportunities
and skills for women workforce. Currently, a majority of the female
workforce in India is unskilled, i.e., a very low percentage of women have
any kind of formal education. In India, around 65% of women in rural
areas and over 30% of women in urban areas lacked basic primary school
education.
Indian female workers still operate under certain limitations and
hardships. One of the most common problems faced by women is the dual
role she has to play on the domestic front and the shop floor. Particularly,
the married working women with small children find this dual
responsibility a source of great mental and physical strain. For them the
working hours are long eight hours at the place of employment and at
least four hours at home. Usually husband and some time even the in-
laws do not extend any help in the house-hold chores.
Empowerment of women has considerable hurdles: In spite of them
women empowerment in India took a stagnant shape. The women trait
plays a major role on over coming various kinds of obstacles in their
empowerment. The encouragement of women entrepreneurship has been
carried out on various levels as well as from various from plat forms.
Moreover the positive change in traditional mentality of so called Indian
society has been observed. The little skill enhancement efforts as well as
moral boosting attitude of family hikes the performance of women by
98
miles. The skill enhancement through encouraging entrepreneurship

results in empowerment of women which is prime need of our nation.
Despite various consent rated efforts there is still a long way to bring
the skill development mission to completion due to the presence of certain
serious key challenges in the path of the mission.
(1) Women mobilization to get trained has been a major concern due to
the traditional mindset, low willingness to migrate, low salaries at
entry level.
(2) Low educational attainment.
(3) In adequate infrastructure, acute shortage of trained women workers,
poor quality of training.
(4) Lack of mechanisms to judge and certify.
(5) In adequacies in the quality and relevance of TVET (Technical and
Vocational Employment Training in India)
(6) Inequality in access to TVET for women.
(7) Low level of education of potential women trainers that limits training
of women in the formal sector.
(8) Majority of formal institutions are located in urban areas as compared
to rural areas and even private sector institutions are also reluctant to
operate in rural areas. Hence, large proportions of rural population do
not have any formal vocational training institutions.
(9) A major problem of India’s existing skill development system is lack
of linkages between education and placement of that trained
workforce.
(10) The absence of proper labour management information
system impedes the very objective of the skill initiative in India as it
result in poor linkage between skill development and employment.
(11) Job creation for skilled women is also major challenge
before the nation.
Conclusion:
A large number of women around the India have setup and managed
their own business. It was not easy for these women to succeed in
business. They had to face a lot of difficulties and overcome a number of
barriers to become successful in their ventures. They had to deal with
discrimination and withstand the skepticism society, and also put in more
effort than men to prove their credibility to others. Government alone
99
cannot accomplish this task. It calls for a concerted effort of government,

private players and NGOs to address the issue in a comprehensive
manner. If India is to gain its rightful place in the world, reap equal
benefits and opportunities for all and rise from the debris of poverty and
several other pressing issues, skill development will require to be given a
place right on top of national priorities. In India, creation of awareness
among men could enlist greater support for women participation in the
various development programmes. In order to unlock the full potential of
women workforce in India, the need of the hour is to bring about an
employment revolution along with a skill development revolution.
References:
 Laxmi Devi, Women participation in workforce, editor in chief anmol
publications PVT. LTD, New Delhi, pp, 117.
 Dr. Rais Ahmed, Micro-Finance and Women Empowerment, three parts, A
Mittal Publication, pp. 1053-1065.
 Ussav Kumar Singh, Government Vision on Skill Development, Yojana
Archives, June 2016.
 Knowledge paper on skill development in India, Learner first, September
2012, FICCI, www.ey.com
 Prof. Probal Gupta, Recognizing the value of women empowerment in skill
development, Tactful Management Research Journal Mumbai.
 Prof. Neelima prashant warke and Dr. Parag A. Narkhede, Jalgaon Tactful
Management Research Journal.
 Vandana Saini, Skill development in India: Need, Challenges and Ways
forward, research scholar Dept. of Economics, Punjab University,Abhinav
publication,Chandigarh.
 Prof. Krunal K. Punjani, a study on the requirement of skills development
for the success of “Meke in India” project, Tactful Management Research
Journal.
 Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, 2014 Independence speech,Government of
India, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, May 2015.
 Women empowerment through skill development: the role of RUDSETIS.
 www.readglobal.org
 Youth empowerment through skill development, October 28,2014.
 www.mygov.in
 Gender and economic policy discussion forum empowering women
through skill development challenges and opportunities, Forum II,
Institute of social studies trust, NewDelhi.
 www.bopter.gov.in
 Aya Okada, skill development for youth in India: challenges and
opportunities, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya
University.
100
10
An Analysis of Skill Development Programmes of

India
101
Prakasha.N
Introduction
The main goal is to create opportunities, space and scope for the
development of the talents of the Indian youth and to develop more of
those sectors which have already been put under skill development for the
last so many years and also to identify new sectors for skill development.
The new programme aims at providing training and skill development to
500 million youth of our country by 2020, covering each and every village.
Various schemes are also proposed to achieve this objective. The Ministry
is responsible for co-ordination of all skill development efforts across the
country, removal of disconnect between demand and supply of skilled
manpower, building the vocational and technical training framework, skill
up-gradation, building of new skills, and innovative thinking not only for
existing jobs but also jobs that are to be created. The Ministry aims to Skill
on a large Scale with Speed and high Standards in order to achieve its
vision of a 'Skilled India'.
It is aided in these initiatives by its functional arms – National Skill
Development Agency (NSDA), National Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC), National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and 33 Sector Skill
Councils (SSCs) as well as 187 training partners registered with NSDC.
The Ministry also intends to work with the existing network of skill
development centres, universities and other alliances in the field. Further,
collaborations with relevant Central Ministries, State governments,
international organizations, industry and NGOs have been initiated for
multi-level engagement and more impactful implementation of skill
development efforts.
Objectives
The paper has been formulated on basis of certain objectives. The
objectives are:
1. To know the concept of skill development programmes in India.
2. To analyse the different skill development programmes in India.
Methodology
The study is based on purely on secondary data. The information
has been collected by research journals, reference books, thesis, reports
102
and internet sources. The paper is descriptive in nature. The analysis of

skill development programmes of India one by one.
Concept of Skill Development

An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and
sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or
job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills),
and/or people (interpersonal skills).
National Skill Development Corporation

The National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC) was setup
as a one of its kind, Public Private Partnership Company with the primary
mandate of catalysing the skills landscape in India. The main objectives of
the NSDC are to:
 Upgrade skills to international standards through significant
industry involvement and develop necessary frameworks for
standards, curriculum and quality assurance
 Enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives for skill
development through appropriate Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
models; strive for significant operational and financial involvement
from the private sector
 Play the role of a "market-maker" by bringing financing, particularly
in sectors where market mechanisms are ineffective or missing
 Prioritize initiatives that can have a multiplier or catalytic effect as
opposed to one-off impact.
Achievements of NSDC
 Over 5.2 million students trained. 235 private sector partnerships
for training and capacity building, each to train at least 50,000
persons over a 10-year period.
 38 Sector Skill Councils (SSC) approved in services, manufacturing,
agriculture & allied services, and informal sectors. Sectors include
19 of 20 high priority sectors identified by the Government and 25
of the sectors under Make in India initiative.
 1386 Qualification Packs with 6,744 unique National Occupational
Standards (NOS). These have been validated by over 1000
companies.
103
 Vocational training introduced in 10 States, covering 2400+ schools,

2 Boards, benefitting over 2.5 lakh students. Curriculum based on
National Occupational Standards (NOS) and SSC certification.
NSDC is working with 21 universities, Community Colleges under
UGC/AICTE for alignment of education and training to NSQF.
 Designated implementation agency for the largest voucher-based
skill development program, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
 Skill Development Management System (SDMS) with 1400 training
partners, 28179 training centres, 16479 trainers, 20 Job portals, 77
assessment agencies and 4983 empanelled assessors. Hosting
infrastructure certified by ISO 20000/27000 supported by dedicated
personnel.
Central Staff Training & Research Institute (CSTARI)

The Central Staff Training and Research Institute, Kolkata was set up
in 1968 by the Govt. of India, Ministry of Labour, DGE&T in Collaboration
with the Govt. of Federal Republic of Germany to cater multifarious
requirements of Industrial training activities. With these objectives, the
activities of this institute were spelt out under the following three different
wings, through its activities on developing standard instructional material
& training aids, conducting systematic research studies & training of
training executives, it served as a focus to assess training needs, diversify
training programmes, design and develop training contents and improved
the quality and standard of NVTS on a continuous basis.
 To conduct Training Programmes in the field of Training Management
and HRD for Training Executives of the institutes and industry
 To conduct research in the field of Vocational Training to study on
different aspects of Vocational Training and design curriculum for
various trades
 To develop instructional materials and teaching aids for the Vocational
trades
 To conduct the problem oriented Research studies on different aspects
of the Vocational Training to bring qualitative improvements for the
Vocational Training System
National Skill Development Agency (NSDA)
104
The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), an autonomous

body, (registered as a Society under the Society's Registration Act 1860)
was created with the mandate to co-ordinate and harmonise the skill
development activities in the country, is part of the Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Functions: Gazette Notification of NSDA

 Take all possible steps to meet skilling targets as envisaged in the
12th Five Year Plan and beyond.
 Coordinate and harmonize the approach to skill development among
various Central Ministries/Department. State Governments, the
NSDC and the Private sector.
 Anchor and operationalize the NSQF to ensure that quality and
standards meet sector specific requirements
 Be the nodal agency for State Skill Development Missions
 Raise extra-budgetary resources for skill development from various
sources such as international agencies, including multi-lateral
agencies, and the private sector.
 Create and maintain a national data base related to skill development
including development of a dynamic Labour Market Information
System (LMIS).
 Take affirmative action for advocacy.
 Ensure that the skilling needs of the disadvantaged and the
marginalized groups like SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, women and
differently abled persons are taken care of and.
 Discharge any other function as may be assigned to it by the
Activities undertaken by the NSDA

Besides anchoring and implementation, the National Skills
Qualifications Framework (NSQF), some of the other actions taken by the
NSDA are as under:
1. Rationalization of the Skill Development Schemes of the Government
of India
NSDA has worked with the concerned ministries and stakeholders
to achieve convergence of norms across the various central schemes for
skill development, while at the same time recognizing the special needs of
105
the North Eastern States, the hill States, and other geographies that pose
challenging situations for skill development.
2. Creation of an integrated Labour Market Information System
A national database on all major aspects of skill development is
being created in partnership with all other Ministries of the Government
of India and the State Governments. This would be a one-shop stop where
all the relevant information is freely available to citizens. The government
has created a National Steering Committee for setting up the Labour
Market Information System (LMIS). The LMIS would bring in operational
efficiencies, would be transparent and available to all, and would help
reduce considerably the situation of one individual being benefitted under
different schemes.
3. Engagement with States

The NSDA is new actively engaged with the various State
governments to plan out their skill development action plan, help them
develop their skill development policies, and set up suitable
administrative mechanisms. Through Technical Assistance programmes
with the Asian Development bank (ADB), European Union (EU) and
DFID (Department for International Development of the Government of
UK), NSDA is helping the State Skill Development Missions of eleven
states build their respective capacities.
4. Skills Innovation Initiative

A committee has been set up under the Skills Innovation Initiative
housed under the NSDA. The NSDA invites innovative ideas, concepts
and practices on skill development. The Committee reviews all the
proposals of innovations to facilitate their application on a wider scale.
Selected innovative practices will be facilitated and propagated for wider
application. Five innovative approaches and solutions have already been
identified for wider propagation.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship
outcome-based skill training scheme of the new Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objective of this skill
certification and reward scheme is to enable and mobilize a large number
106
of Indian youth to take up outcome based skill training and become

employable and earn their livelihood. Under the scheme, monetary
reward would be provided to trainees who are successfully trained,
assessed and certified in skill courses run by affiliated training providers.
The scheme will be implemented through the National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC).
Key features of the PMKVY are:

a. Standards- Training will be done against standards (National
Occupational Standards - NOS and Qualification Packs - QPs for
specific job roles) formulated by industry-driven bodies, namely the
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). Third party assessments for skill training
will be done based on national (and often) global standards.
b. Direct Fund Transfer- It will have complete transparent funding of
skill training without any intermediaries with monetary rewards
directly transferred to the trainees bank account. It will ensure
financial inclusion with a provision of unique multi-wallet facility
linked to debit card and accidental insurance. Aadhaar number will be
used for unique identification of each candidate.
c. Demand-driven targets: Based on assessment of skill demand and the
Skill Gap Studies, target for skill training would be allocated to
training providers by job-role and by district/city to the extent
possible, by NSDC in consultation with the SSCs, States/UTs and the
Central Ministries/Departments under the oversight of the Steering
Committee of PMKVY.
d. Target aligned to national flagship programmes and regions: Target
for skill training would be aligned to the demand from the Central
Governments flagship programmes, such as - Swachh Bharat, Make in
India, Digital India, and National Solar Mission and so on.
e. Supply side perspective in target fixation: Skill training under
PMKVY would essentially target drop out students after class 10 and
class 12 and hence these numbers will be taken into consideration
while deciding state / district wise targets. There will be special focus
on youth in regions affected by left-wing extremists and from North
Eastern States and J&K.
f. Recognition of prior learning (RPL): Under PMKVY, trainees with
prior experience or skills and competencies will be assessed and they
107
will also be given monetary rewards for undergoing assessments. This

will be an important step towards recognising the skills possessed by
workers working in the informal sector and their inclusion. This will
also facilitate the process of skill upgradation and re-skilling of the
existing workforce. The focus of RPL would be on those job-
roles/sectors in which it is most desired and it will be accompanied
with a strong advocacy campaign to promote a paradigm shift in the
labour market to make skill training to standards aspirational.
g. Variable amount of monetary reward: Monetary reward for various
job roles within a sector would also vary. This amount would be
arrived at after taking various factors like cost of training, willingness
of trainees for pay and other relevant factors into consideration.
Higher incentives will be given to training in manufacturing,
construction and plumbing sectors.
h. Robust regime for registration of training providers: NSDC training
partners undergo due diligence before being registered with NSDC.
Government affiliated training centres and other training partners will
be approved by the SSCs on the basis of guidelines issued by NSDC.
Under PMKVY, even the government affiliated training providers will
undergo due diligence as per the process manual. Each training
partner would be responsible for its entire franchisee network and the
infrastructure of training centers. The same will be part of the
monitoring process.
i. Focused awareness building and mobilisation activities: Awareness
building & mobilization activities would be carried out with the
involvement of local State and district governments as well as involve
Members of Parliament in the activities to ensure greater outreach and
ownership. A camp-based approach by organizing Kaushal Melas to
disseminate information about various skill training options, outline
possible career paths and income generation potential once the
training is imparted would be held in every district. Efforts will be
made to ensure that the coverage of the scheme is across all the 543
constituencies in India.
j. Improved curricula, better pedagogy and trained instructors: While,
the thrust would be on outcomes in terms of third party
assessment/certification, but support for improved curricula, better
technology enabled pedagogy and upgrading the capacity of
108
instructors would enable improving the overall ecosystem for high

quality skill training in the country. All skill training would include
soft skill training, personal grooming, behavioural change for
cleanliness, and good work ethics as a part of the training curricula.
k. Enhanced monitoring: To monitor the training process, SSCs will be
tasked with verifying and recording details of all training centres on
the Skill Development Management System (SDMS), and ascertain
quality of training locations and courses through certified assessors
during the time of assessments. Possibility of putting in place a system
of bio-metric attendance and sample video recording would be
explored. SSCs will also be responsible for certifying the training
curriculum and for ensuring that it is aligned to QPs of job roles. In
addition, SSCs will be tasked with certifying all trainers for the
Scheme. Audit checks and surprise visits to training centres will also
be conducted to ensure enhanced monitoring.
Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS)

The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T) in
the Ministry of Labour, Government of India initiated Craftsmen
Training Scheme (CTS) in 1950 by establishing about 50 Industrial
Training Institutes (ITIs) for imparting skills in various vocational
trades to meet the skilled manpower requirements for technology and
industrial growth of the country. The second major phase of increase
in ITIs came with the oil-boom in West-Asia and export of skilled
manpower to that region from India. Several new private ITIs were
established in 1980’s in southern states mostly in Kerala, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh, etc. from where trained craftsmen found
placement mainly in Gulf countries. In 1980, there were 830 ITIs and
the number rose to 1900 ITIs in 1987. During 1990’s, the growth of ITIs
had been steep and presently there are over 10,750 ITIs (2275 in Govt.
& 8475 in Private Sector) having a total seating capacity of 15.22 lakhs.
109
Salient Features of the Scheme

 Training is imparted in 70 engineering and 63 non-engineering
trades.
 ITIs are functioning under the administrative control of the respective
State Govts./UTs / Private Organisations.
 The period of training for various trades varies from six months to
two years and the entry qualification varies from 8th to12th class
pass, depending on the requirements of training in different trades.
 The period of training for various trades varies from six months to
two years and the entry qualification varies from 8th to12th class
pass, depending on the requirements of training in different trades.
 These institutes are required to conduct training courses as per the
curriculum prescribed by National Council for Vocational Training
(NCVT). The admission to the new courses is made in the month of
August every year.
 The trainees after competition of the training period are required to
appear in the All India Trade Test conducted under the aegis of
National Council for Vocational Training. The successful trainees are
awarded National Trade Certificate which has been recognized by
Govt. of India for the purpose of recruitment to subordinate posts
and services under the Central Govt.
 About 70% of the training period is allotted to practical training and
the rest to theoretical training relating to Trade theory, Workshop
Calculation & Science, Engineering Drawing, Social Studies including
environmental science & family welfare.
 Seats are reserved for SC/ST , OBCs , Differently abled and women
candidates as per norms
Conclusion
Economic growth in India has, in the last few years, picked up
considerable momentum with services and, recently, the manufacturing
sector showing a great deal of buoyancy. While the jury is out on whether
the country can sustain a GDP growth of 9 percent per annum, it is
generally agreed that much greater attention would have to be paid to the
area of skill development. As our economy booms, and as our industry
grows, I hear the pressing complaint about an imminent shortage of
skilled employees. As a country endowed with huge human resources, we
110
can’t let this be a constraint. So our country has implemented various skill
development schemes and programmes to create human capital. Human
capital will makes to India super power in production activities at
international level.
References
 Deidre Elphick-Moore (2015),”Skills Development Defined”,
Entrepreneur Magazine, South Africa.
 FICCI (2010), The Skill Development Landscape In India And
Implementing Quality Skills Training”, ICRA Management Consulting
Services Limited.
 Report Of The Task Force On Skill Development(2007), Planning
Commission Government Of India New Delhi.
 The Editor (2015), “The nuts and bolts of skill development”, The Hindu.
11
111
A study on Progress and Performance of Women’s

Training Programmes in Karnataka
Siddaraju V.G
Introduction
Women constitute about 48.46% of the total population of the
country. But, in employment market, out of the 481.7 million total
workforces in 2011, women are only about 149.9 million. Even of this,
only about 5 million women are in organized sector while remaining is in
un-organized sector. But, the majority of women work in the unorganized
sector for low wages and at low levels of skills. In a developing country
like India, the women workers in the unorganized sectors work in terrible
conditions which not only affect their social status but hamper their
income, health and other aspects.
Realizing that the process of social development has to take into
account the needs, interests and viewpoints of both men & women alike;
and looking at the situation of women, gender inequalities and inequities
that existed, special gender specific programmes were formulated and
organized to mainstream women into economic activities. Women’s
economic participation can be mentioned in the field of production of
goods and services accounted in the national income statistics. However,
female work participation has always been low at 26% compared to 52%
of men. The problem is that women have always been at work; only the
definitions of work and work plan have never been defined or realistic to
include their contribution to the economy and the society.
As the Government of India has launched number of programmes
and schemes for women’s welfare and development over the last two
decades, a need was felt is study the various development programmes
provided by the government. The strategy adopted for the programmes in
the areas of women development involves empowerment of women
through education and awareness generation and greater emphasis
on vocational training and employment so as to enable them to enter the
mainstream of economic development as equal partners. The women and
child department implements programmes in the areas of employment,
training for women, awareness generation and gender sensitization. The
emphasis is on helping women to become self sufficient and economically
independent with the help of training and income generating activities so
as to enhance their earning capacity and to bring up their status in life.
The women training programme play a vital role in the empowerment of
women. This programme will help women to ensure the economic
112
empowerment. It gives training for interested women in establishment of

small scale industries. It gives training through government and non
government institutions.
In this background, the present study has been made an attempt to
study the implementation of women training programme and to study the
progress and performance of worn training programme in Karnataka. The
present study is based on secondary data and data were collected from
various sources like economic survey reports, journals and books.
Women Training Programme

This training programme, various skill-oriented training activities
are organized for needy women, widows, destitute and physically
handicapped women. These programmes are conducted through
Government & Quasi Government Technical Institutions and with NGOs
having good track records. It includes EDP and EAP concepts covering
women empowerment, gender issues, women's rights, women's laws,
health aspects, Government programmes, market assistance, etc. Activities
covered under the training programme are:
 Dress Designing & Making
 Beauty Care
 Geriatric Nursing and House keeping
 Spice Powders manufacture
 DTP
 Advanced welding technology
 Leather goods manufacturing
 Stenography & data entry processing
 Food processing
 Light Vehicle Driving Training
 PC hardware assembly
 Computer Training and several others
Implementation Process:
The duration of training varies from one month to 6 months
depending upon the craft. Women belonging to SC / ST are selected
according to reservation norms giving widows and destitute priority. In
selected courses, a stipend of Rs.300/- per month is paid. Beneficiaries
vary from educated unemployed to degree or diploma holders. The age
limit prescribed is 18-45 years. These programmes are instrumental in
assisting self-employment and wage employment. The scheme guidelines
are;
 To conduct various skill oriented training programmes to the poor
and needy women
113
 Training programmes are conducted through Govt. & Semi Govt.

Technical Institutions & NGOs having infrastructure and good track
records
 Programmes like beauty parlour, dress design & making, PC
hardware assembly, home nursing & house assistance, catering,
new technique welding, etc.
 Includes EDP & EAP concept covering women empowerment,
Gender issues, Women rights, women & law, health aspects, Govt.
programmes, market assistance, etc.
 The duration may vary from one month to 6 months depending
upon the craft
 SC/ST are selected according to reservation norms giving priority
to widows and destitute
 In some selected courses, a stipend of Rs.300 per month will be paid
 The qualification may vary from educated unemployed up to
degree or diploma level
This programme will be helpful to become self employment / wage
employment. Further, the following table depicts the details of the
programme during 2009-10 to 2015-16 physical target and financial target
and also number of beneficiaries and amount spent of this programme are
presented in table 1.
Table - 1: Progress of Women Training Programme

Year Physical (Nos.) Financial (Rs. lakh)
Target Achievement % Target Achievement %
2009-10 4680 4395 93.91 255 235.00 92.16
2010-11 9510 1845 19.40 350 64.76 18.50
2011-12 5430 7192 132.45 300 277.70 92.57
2012-13 6080 3360 55.26 300 139.44 46.48
2013-14 6080 3360 55.26 300 139.44 46.48
2014-15 7200 3000 41.67 360 141.44 39.29
2015-16 5650 2866 50.73 360 71.98 19.99
Total 44630 26018 448.68 2225 1069.76 355.47
Average 6375.71 3716.86 64.10 317.86 152.82 50.78
SD 1579.80 1709.43 37.41 39.78 78.66 30.60
CV 24.78 45.99 58.36 12.51 51.47 60.25
Source: Various Reports of Karnataka Economic Survey
The data in the table 1 clearly indicates the progressive

implementation of the scheme in the state of Karnataka and women
benefited from the scheme. With regard to amount spent under this
programme has also increased during this year. No. of physical
beneficiaries is 26018 out of the target 44630 during the year 2009-10 to
114
2015-16. The maximum beneficiaries is 132 percent during the year 2011-
12 whereas minimum beneficiaries 19 percent for the year 2010-11.
Utilized fund is 1069.76 Lakhs out of allotted funds 2225 lakhs. Maximum
utilized fund is 92.57 percent during 2011-12 whereas minimum utilized
fund is 18.50 percent during the year 2010-11. The data clearly show that
50 percent of achievement both physical and financial target of women
training programmes during the year 2009-10 to 2015-16. The coefficient of
variation is high in the number of trained women and utilized fund is
indication lower consistency. The greater variation in number of trained
women and utilized fund during 2009-10 to 2015-16. According to data all
the trainees are not utilizing the fund it is because women trainees are not
participating in the training programme. Hence, the government should
encourage women in all aspects they are using the women’s training
programme.
Conclusion and Suggestion

The study shows that women’s training programme play a vital role
in the empowerment of women. The data clearly show that an average 50
percent of achievement both physical and financial target of women
training programme from the last eight years. This programme will help
women to ensure the economic empowerment. The Training programme
provides a platform for women who are interested in the home and small
scale industries, they improve themselves to participate in public
functions, seminars and exhibit their production without any hesitation. It
gives training through government and non government institutions. This
programme gives more priority to widows, helpless, handicapped and SC,
ST women. Hence, the government should bring in improvements to the
implementation of the training programmes and should encourage
women in all aspects they are using the women’s training programme.
Reference:
 Economic Surveys 2015-16, Govt. of Karnataka.
 Indiastat.com.
 Reports of Karnataka State Development Corporation, Govt. of
Karnataka.
 Reports of Women and Child Development, Govt. of Karnataka.
115
12
Skill Development and Tribal women: A Study in

HunsurTaluk – Karnataka
Mahadevaiah and Ningaiah
Introduction:
116
India is a country of villages as the majority of its population lives

in villages and far-flung remote areas. The interesting aspect is that every
region of the country though connected with the cities now; however, still
possesses its own peculiar traditional ethos. Also most of the rural
communities/Tribal‟s are still devoid of modern facilities like education,
electricity, proper drinking water, health care, ample transportation, etc.
But the lack of education in many of the rural belts of India is proving fatal
and acting as the breeding ground for social vices, evils and paving the
way to anti-social/national activities. Education enhances ones
competence level to cope up better in physical and social environments,
Bourdieu, an educational sociologist refers it to as cultural capital and
argues that it is the dominant culture known as “cultural capital” because,
via the educational system it can be translated into wealth and power,
which rural community is usually devoid of despite possessing abundant
resources and man power. It can transform the rural/tribal communities
of India by: Ensuring the upward social mobility among people, by
liberating them though slowly from the shackles of casteism, groupism
and superstitious life ways. Further education will ensure opportunities
for functional employment thereby empowering rural folk for more
economic opportunities, growth and development and can thus lead to the
change in the whole map of poor and downtrodden rural landscape.
This paper discusses the empowerment of tribal women in
Karnataka through education and skill development as education, skills
development and training are central to agricultural and rural
employment especially the tribal. It prepares mostly young people for
work in the formal and informal sector in rural areas and thus plays an
important role in poverty alleviation. The better the training and the more
refined the skills in terms of human capital, higher the income and returns
leading toward the better rural life and socio-economic structure. This
goes without saying that India has the second largest tribal population in
the world and its women continue to be under-represented in formal
business training programs thus limiting their employment options,
economic returns and long term career development. Consequently, more
disadvantaged, poorer and discriminated the women in any society, lesser
the development index and poorer the growth and progress of that
society. The fact is despite being unskilled, poor, suppressed or
discriminated; women still try to contribute to family income either
117
directly or indirectly. Poor and vulnerable women are usually more

interested in skills training that meets their immediate „practical gender
needs‟ as opposed to longer term, “strategic gender needs” that directly
tackle the basic underlying causes of female subordination (Moser:1989).
Women are often concentrated in handicrafts, basic food processing and
sale which are traditionally considered to be women domain. Women also
show a propensity to pursue micro-enterprises and homestead farming
activities (The World Bank, FAO, IFAD, 2008).Skills training, increased
growth, productivity and innovation, in particular for the informal sector
are linked with poverty reduction.(Fluitman:2002).
Skills development improves output, quality, diversity and
occupational safety and improves health, thereby increasing incomes and
livelihoods of the poor. It also helps to develop social CapitaLand
strengthens knowledge about informal sector associations, rural
organizations and governance. According to human capital theory, the
better educated the agricultural labor, the higher their productivity
(Atchoarena, et. al. 2003). II. Constitutional1 provisions of Tribal. The
constitution has given more than 20 articles on the redressed and
upliftment of underprivileged with policies on positive discrimination and
affirmative action with reference to S.T.  Article 14 confers equal rights
and opportunities to all  Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any
citizen on the grounds of sex, religion, race, caste etc;  Article 15 (4) States
to make special provisions for advancement of any socially educationally
backward classes;  Article 16 (4) empowers the state to make provisions
for reservation in appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of
citizens, which in the opinion of state, is not adequately represented. 
Article 46 state to promote with special cares the educational and
economic interests of the weaker section, especially the ST and protects the
social injustice and all form of exploitation.  Article 275 grant–in aid for
promoting the welfare of ST and raising the level of administration 
Article 330 - Seats shall be reserved in the House of the People for -Article
332 Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the
Legislative Assemblies of the States 332,335 stipulates the claims that the
members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken
into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of
administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in
connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.  Article 244(1) tribal
118
welfare communities to be setup for the welfare of the tribes.  Article

22(2) 73rd and 74th amendments - to ensure effective participation of
tribal in the process of planning and decision making.  Extension to
scheduled Areas Act 1996. Amendments of Constitution are extended to
the Scheduled Areas through Panchayats. These constitutional provisions
of the Government of India helped in the development of the tribes and
their education.
The Prospect of the Tribal’s of Karnataka & Government’s

Initiatives: The State of Karnataka Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
dominant of total population, the population of scheduled tribes (ST also
called „tribal‟ and „adivasi‟2 ) is 15%, In Karnataka 28 scheduled tribes
are enlisted. Mainly belong to Jenukuruba, Soliga, Hakkipikki,
Kadukuruba Maleyaru, Eravaru, Hasalaru Etc.
To ensure a better quality of life for the tribal population, the
Constitution of India has advocated the policy of positive discrimination
and affirmative action. For this purpose the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) Strategy
has been adopted for all round development of tribal areas since Fifth
Five-Year Plan. Under the TSP approach, almost entire tribal inhabited
area of Karnataka has been covered. Specially empowered Project
Administrators have been appointed to carryout development programs
in these areas. The TSP approach ensures allocation of fund for tribal areas
from State Plan in proportion to the ST population in the State. State of
Karnataka had earmarked 15.85%of its budget for the development of
tribal areas during 2008-09.
The Government of Karnataka has taken steps like launching Joint
Forest management (JFM), Vanbandhu Yojana and such development
programs but its effect is limited in providing employment and better
quality of life. Panchayat Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1998
(PESA) was expected to provide opportunity to tribal’s for local self
governance but it has not been implemented by the government. In this
situation, tribal development has remained centralized and largely
government dependent. Unfortunately, the industrial houses have-not
thought of engaging tribal educated youth meaningfully in respective
units. Towards accomplishment of the said objective and bringing
qualitative change in the lives of tribal people, the State Government is
implementing and further planning to implement several large scale
119
projects with the help of commercial partners like private sector units,
cooperative and public sector undertakings to double the income of ITDP
talukas in next five years with the involvement of BPL families as major
participants. This goal is now feasible due to enhanced funding under
TASP, high economic growth rate of the State, increased opportunities in
dairy, horticulture and service sectors, and involvement of private sector
organizations on PPP model. Government has realized the need and
importance of private sector participation in developmental activities for
qualitative results.
The Skill Development Initiative by the Tribal Development
Department: Government of Karnataka is Ten Point Programs to enable
tribal people to upgrade their skills in order to get sustainable
employment and thus increase their incomes. Skill development initiative
includes various types of training programs, involving both conventional
and non-conventional subjects, varying in duration and cost. These
training programs are implemented through NGOs and institutions
having expertise in their respective fields. With a view to understanding
Training for aged tribal’s especially women is emphasized in order to
help them lead an independent and respectable life. As in any other case,
tribal or not, aged women feel depressed and hence attention is given to
them and are given proper medical aid, diet etc. Tribal Welfare
Association has been giving much importance to equip tribal youth and
women with alternative skills to supplement and augment their income
and employment and to fulfill the community needs with locally
available raw materials and human resources towards optimum use.
Some of the important skill training programs in equipping tribal youth
and women are: Tailoring, embroidery, Toys making, Ladies hair
working painting potteries, etc Women training programs on eco-
environmental issues, socio-economic and cultural aspects have found its
effect in women taking up issues affecting them, through collective
action. The importance of such issues and problems are - women
asserting property rights, free choice of their would be husbands,
organizing women against violence on women etc. Women training
program have been effective to a great extent and now the women
sangams activities are gaining momentum with steady improvements in
small savings and loan schemes with support of TWA. The farm forestry
program helps in empowerment of women; they are benefited by the
120
easy availability of employment during the dry season. As a result

migration of women to nearby industrial towns has come down to some
extent. Nurseries for supplying seedlings to farm forestry and wasteland
development program are managed and run by villagers under the
guidance of village institutions (both men’s and women’s village
institutions) are allotted to poor women of the villages. Women have
gained tremendously from this mini enterprise in the form of economic as
well as social gains. It helps build their confidence and instill the spirit of
entrepreneurial capacity in them. Two women nursery raisers from a
remote tribal village participated actively and earned a lot of appreciation
at a workshop held in this connection at Bengaluru. Their knowledge of
the problems and prospects of nursery rising as a profitable venture for
tribal women was quite a revelation to the experts present in the
workshop. Its aim was that women should involve actively in each and
every stage of the farm forestry program.
Social Structure of Hakkipikki Tribes in Hunsur Taluk

Hakkipikki tribes are a homogeneous group with their own
leadership, laws and customs. They are not original inhabitants of this
area, at one time they were organized under a powerful chief. Under the
system of chiefdom, Hakkipikkies were not subjected to elaborate system
of administration but they were socially economically and politically
autonomous. They led a nomadic life and were dependent on hunting and
agriculture. They worship various spirits which according to their belief
inhabit their villages and forests. Most of them have no land, and whoever
has, manage to get a crop in a year, i.e. the monsoon crop. The vast
majority of the population is made up of landless poor and skilled people
who have few opportunities for full-time employment. As agricultural
activity is seasonal and ceases in the winter months the employees are
underemployed. Hence many of them switch over for a living to
subsistence farming around their homes and are involved in local trade
that is generally not profitable. They belong too many of the lower castes
and tribes that are categorized by the Indian Government as `Scheduled
Tribes (ST). Development of the region is possible if the women were
uplifted and could contribute to the success of their family and
121
community. The effect of empowerment of women creates a powerful

influence on the norms, values and finally the laws that govern these
communities.
Challenges and Winds of Change The first and foremost challenge to the
Hakkipikki (tribe) of Hunsur Taluk is that they are still not much exposed
to the outside world and are confined to their community only. Therefore
living in their cocoon only and thus has witnessed hardly any socio
cultural encounters. Their entire universe hence is their own community,
and by virtue of this scenario, social mobility, occupational diversity,
poverty alleviation, change and development, change in mindset,
education and economic prosperity are still new concepts for them amidst
their own traditional setup that has not altered sufficiently till the recent
past. The changes taking place in the field of science and technology,
development, etc, are laying their impact on the Indian society and the
feeble winds of change have started laying their influences on the Hunsur
tribal’s as well .The educated community leaders of Hakkipikkis are
seriously concerned about the educational and economic development of
their community. If we closely analyze functioning of educated tribal’s, we
notice two traits of transformation. One group of educated tribal argues
that tribal’s should reform themselves with the mainstream society. The
other group of tribes wants to maintain its tribal identity. Recently the
tribe of Hunsur has shown a lot of change in their outlook to cherish
educational development programes carried out in their areas. Their
children definitely get encouraged to join the boarding schools. The girls
are doing much better in the field of education.
Skill Development Initiatives

There is many governmental agencies, non governmental agencies
and the corporate sector that are working for the upliftment of the area.
The goal of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is to embrace
responsibility and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the
environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all
other members of the public sphere. Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses
would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community
growth and development. In this paper we seek to explore how the
Corporate Social Responsibility undertaken by the Snehajivi Rural
Development and Training Organizing has been successful in the
122
empowerment of rural women living in highly patriarchal and traditional

societies. Snehajivi Rural Development and Training Organizing have a
training centre at Hunsur and it offers Training to the tribal’s of this Taluk.
Tribal from different villages come to this training centre at Hunsur and
avail of all the facilities provided by the Training institute.
Furthermore, a special thrust is laid by the this institute in financing

SC/ST under various government sponsored schemes namely
Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), Swarna Jayanti Shahar
RojgarYojana (SJSRY), Prime Minister Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP), etc. Under the guidance Gramina matthu sanna
kaimagga Abhiruddi Nigama, It also plans and conducts need based
production oriented short duration courses for farmers, farm women and
rural youth and imparts vocational training to un-employed rural youths
and school dropouts for the self-employment. It has developed and
maintained instructional farm and demonstration unit (vermin compost)
for training purpose. The bank organizes Extension activities between
scientists and youth which include frontline demonstration, Vocational
training, Krushimela, Handcroft Shibira, Training (on Campus) Field
training (off Campus) Agricultural exhibition etc. A few NGOs in the
taluk are also providing extension services. The agro- climatic conditions
prevailing in the district are suitable for cultivation of fruits like Mango,
Cashew, Banana, Custard Apple (Sitaphal), Sapota (Chikoo), Lime, and
vegetables like Potato, Onion, Brinjal, Ladies finger, Carrots etc. The raw
materials for different medicines are collected at the Govt. centre. So short
duration training is given by the different departments of the government.
Over 1000 women have been trained in the making of hair polish and
other preparations by NGOs and TDO under RSVY program. The activity
is mostly under taken on group basis by Self Help Groups (SHG) Around
100 SHGs are engaged in the activity. The existing SSI units mainly
engaged in activities like garments manufacturing, wood work, bamboo
craft, cane work, paper & paper mash, metal work, maintenance and
repair works of electrical machinery / oil engines / transport vehicles, etc.
All the youth trained under various training programs under Capacity
Building Component of RSVY should be provided guidance and
sponsorship for establishing their own units under various trades / skills
learnt by them. The training given by these institutions is not enough as
123
the population of Hunsur tribes. So there is a need based training and

collaboration with other departments and agencies. Training to youth in
different areas are given based on the availability of where job
opportunities. The training needs are also consulted with the village
community. The trainings are either given at the centre or in their villages
depending upon the program. The programs are fully financed and the
trainees are provided with all the basic facilities. After the training the
feedback also is taken. A helping hand is rendered even after completion
of the programs. The main focus of this paper is on the training received
by the tribal Hakkipikki women in the Hunsur taluk.
Major Effects  Training centre is trained altogether 274 trainees from 100
% tribal Villages of Hunsur taluk. The women representation was 100
percent. It is not very easy for women without explicit family support to
be away from their homes for relatively long periods of time. Also since
women are less exposed than men, travelling to the different villages for
the training workshops were a major hurdle. But still the women were
successful in receiving training.
70% of the trainees are involved in development process: the nature
of involvement depended very much on the motivation and capacity of
the ex-trainees. Some are actively working as volunteers; others are
working in their individual capacity in their own villages. About 10 of
them are absorbed within the government structure as lower level
functionaries
Increased efficiency in literacy levels of all those who went through
the training process. This was evident from the nature of presentations
made when they were called upon to do so during the workshops. This
was also clear from their increased capacity to read materials and write
reports in the local language by the end of the training program.
Facilitation of networking among the tribal women and solidarity
development as they interact with each other on several platforms.
Success Stories CASE-1: Village 2nd Pakshirajapura Empowerment

through Stitching and Toys Making Radhika (name changed), 24, is a
resident of 2nd Pakshirajapura village. She belongs to a tribal family. She
belonged to a very poor family and depends on daily wages for
livelihood. She is now a mother of an illegitimate baby girl born out of her
love affair with a tribal boy, who impregnated her but never married. Her
124
teen age pregnancy dragged the whole family in mud and even villagers
excommunicated with the family. She was abandoned by her family but
she gave birth to her fatherless child, because of her decision her whole
family was asked to go out of the village, somehow the family managed to
stay in the outskirts of the village. Radhika joined the training institute
and learnt sewing and stitching in the training program organized by the
Training center. She underwent a 48 day training where the group of
trainees not only learnt the skill of stitching and tailoring but
communication, marketing and decision making skills also. Focusing on
individual development the institution also offered as a part of the
training module topics like personal hygiene and sanitation, stress
management and interpersonal relationships. The Snehajivi Rural
Development and Training Organizing distributed sewing machines to all
the women who successfully completed their 48 days training to start their
livelihood. Radhika earned her living by stitching blouses and frocks for
the tribal women and children. She also learnt the Toys making from the
locally available products. She with the help of three other friends tried to
convince other women of her village to join the training institute and earn
some money for their living. They were successful in it and today under
their guidance total 10 SHGs are formed. This has brought a change in
lives of these women today there are economically independent. This
comprehensive training increased the confidence of these women and
immediately after completing the course, they started a small tailoring
unit. She shared that villagers from the nearby areas also come to get their
clothes stitched with them. She expressed her happiness and said she feels
empowered and confident. They are now proud to be able to stand on
their feet. As people in the area celebrate Tribal fare in a big way, these
women got good offers for stitching clothes and their skill and adherence
to time pleased the people of the area so their business improved within
no time. In just two months they were able to do a business worth Rs
15,000 which increased their confidence. This is how this poor tribal girl is
now economically independent to educate her girl child.
CASE-2: Village Nagapura 3rd Block Empowerment through Farm

Forestry Veena is also a tribal woman. She had no means of livelihood
before she undergone training in farm forestry. She had been an extension
volunteer where the Farm Forestry advisory Service provided her with
information and advice about growing commercial trees on farms, with an
125
emphasis on integrating trees into farming systems, to maximize total

productivity and enhance sustainability. She was promoted to become a
master extension volunteer and was also successful in mobilizing her
fellow women. Furthermore she has been successful in helping women
realize their urgent needs like those of fire wood and timber for house
construction. Consequently, women have been able to express their need
and have been acting on preventive ways of avoiding the crisis. The
highlights of Veena extension methodology are as follows:
 Mobilizing tribal women for plantation drive
 Sensitizing women folk about the rampant forest degradation
 Preparing women for creating sustainable sources of livelihood and
homemaking be that widespread plantation drive etc and fostering in
them the need for a collective involvement including male folk for the
environmental cause
 Explaining them the correct way of plantation and benefits from
timely completion of all planting operation.
 She is a success story of farm forestry program in her village by virtue
of this training she has received and the confidence she has gained.
Assessment and Impact The monitoring of Skill Training Programmes

is organized mainly by the following means: (a) Quarterly and Annual
reports from the Workshop organizers (b) Periodical visits of officers from
the Training center and their reports (c) Meetings with the training
organizers at regular intervals Evaluation is a process wider than
monitoring and its purpose is not only to improve the process of
implementation, but also to review the very design of the program in
order to achieve its objectives. It should be carried out through an external
agency and all the stakeholders should be associated “Improving the Skills
and Productivity of the tribal women. Thus, assessment of these activities
would help the trainees to improve and work with perfection. It will lead
to better productivity and income of these tribes.
Suggestive rectification
 To consider tribal women not only as employee but as potential
contributors to the growth of
 the region, community and economy of Karnataka
 To engage women in income generating activities in home based or
village based industries.
126
 The trade should be innovative and strategic in promoting activities

where larger share is received by tribal women.
 Emphasis should be given to Women Friendly Special Projects to
promote
 To facilitate participation in productive work that ultimately leads
to increase in social empowerment of woman.
 Farm forestry should be implemented through Mahila Vikas
Yogana
Thus, there is no doubt that the rural women can acquire any
developmental milestones (skills) only through education and thus can
change their own destiny. Their self perception can be elevated by the
knowledge that they are contributing financially and visibly to the
household and that they are in a better negotiating position. They can
avoid dependence on others and escape exploitation in everyday life,
avoid humiliation, gain confidence to work more productively. Thus,
education has played a major role in empowering rural women. They
contribute towards national development by making 36% of the GNP
exclusive of their services as mothers and household managers.
Conclusion
Any developmental process is the expansion of assets and
capabilities of rural women to participate in, negotiate with, influence,
control, and hold the institution accountable that affect their lives. Skill
development among rural women is the need of the hour so as to make
them confident, self reliant and to develop in them the ability to be a part
of decision making at home and outside. Indeed it may not be wrong to
say that still tribal’s and rural women are the most disadvantaged and
neglected section of the society for they are economically backward.
Therefore there is a need on the part of the government and civil society to
enable improvement in the quality of life of such vulnerable sections of the
Indian population. More importantly the developmental process in India
should give priority to welfare schemes and program meant for scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes‟ including women. These are the people who
are economically backward; therefore, there is a need for sincere efforts on
the part of the government to help improve the quality their of life.
127
The Social Assessment for the training and skill development clearly
reflected that rural landless (mostly SC‟s and ST‟s) form an integral part
of poverty-ridden and marginalized groups. By empowering rural woman
through education can thus enable them to live with dignity and self
reliance cutting across the barriers of customary biases and prejudices,
social barrier of caste, class, gender, occupation and institutional barriers
that prevent them from taking actions to improve their state both at the
individual and collective level. Therefore, free education and necessary
and employable skill development program must be launched for tribal
students and women so as to make them self reliant and economically
independent. Furthermore, right to vote is meaningless unless rural
women are made aware, educated and imparted skills to understand the
order of the day and this can bring change in their lives, in the family and
lastly transform the holistic tribal landscape of India, through education,
legal awareness, and socio economic independence.
References
 Atchoarena, D. & Gasperini, L. (2003). Education for rural development:
towards new policy responses. FAO, UNESCO.
 Baumann.P & Sinha.S (2001): Linking Development with Democratic
Processes in India: Political Capital and Sustainable Livelihoods Analysis:
Natural Resource Perspectives, Number 68, June 2001. The Overseas
Development Institute, 111 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JD,
UK.
 Corporate social Responsibility, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Empowering the Scheduled Tribes, Report of The Steering Committee On
For The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007), Planning Commission,
Government of India New Delhi, October -2001
 Eleventh Five Year Plan, Volume I, II, and III, Planning Commission,
Government of India, Yojana Bhawan, SansadMarg, New Delhi
 Edward Freeman, Strategic management: a stakeholder approach in 1984.
 Freeman R, Strategic Management: stakeholder approach (Pitman1984)
ISBN 9780273019138,
 Guidelines on the use of Consultants, (2006) Asian Development Bank.
Guidelines for Skill Training Projects
 Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Management (1952):
Report of Secondary Education Commission (1952-53). New Delhi.
 Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Management (2006):
Selected educational Statistics, 2003-04, New Delhi.
 Page.N & C.E.Czuba (1999) “Empowerment: What is it?” Journal of
Extension,
 ] Potential Linked Credit Plans (PLPs) 2010-2011:
128
 Moser, C. (1989), Gender planning in the third world: Meeting practical

and strategic gender needs, World Development 17 (11), Pages 1799-
1825Ryan, Paul. 2001a. “The School-to Work Transition: A Cross-
National Perspective.” Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XXXIX,
March: 34–92.
 Report of the Working Group on Skill Development and Vocational
Training, Government of India, Planning Commission
 Study conducted by FAO and UNESCO: Education for rural
development: towards new policy responses co-ordinated and edited by
David Atchoarena, Lavinia Gasperini, and UNESCO Publications
 ] The World Bank, FAO, IFAD, (2008) Gender and Rural Micro Finance:
Reaching and empowering Women, Guide for practitioners. Module 3
 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Annual Report (2006-07)
 Vocational Training Centre in Tribal Areas, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India, New Delhi.
 World Bank Group study: 2003 Public Policy for Corporate Social
Responsibility Edited by Djordjija Petkoski World Bank Institute and
Nigel Twose World Bank Group
13
Importance of Skill development for women

empowerment
Chethana M G
Introduction
Women empowerment is a wide-ranging subject. It has different
dimensions. Like Educational, Economical, Political these are all women
development factors. More women are entering into public sector and
increasing participation in numbers. But their performance and progress
129
are not up to the mark. This is due to the lack of quality skills in women.
Lack of skills is pulling them down while progressing. So overall picture
shows, "SKILL" is a major stuff which needs to be improved in every
woman. Opportunities are there in world job market. In India we have
huge of manpower but we should have proper skills and ability to include
update depends on the need than only we can get the benefit of it.
The current Status of women empowerment

Since four decades in India, sincere and serious efforts are being
attempted in the empowerment of women. Many government programs
are introduced exclusively for women developments. Encouragement
programs for girls education,
Increasing reservation in government jobs, providing rural
government political reservations for women etc. Thus variety of
programs and reservations are included and executed by the government
for women. Many aspirants are getting benefitted by these programs.
Reap benefit in girl education. This lead to step forward women into
public sectors, which were strictly bounded to household activities and
limited access to public. There were days long decades ago politics was
full of by masculine prehension. Women reservation concept is slowly
increasing women participation in the politics, which shows the
progressive utilization of reservation by aspired females.
Similar progress is being seen in all the fields including Arts,
science, Business, Literature etc. Women start identifying their talents and
applying them in well suited sectors. These great changes are showing us
foresight about women strength in India’s development. India is in the
prime stage of women development. Women who were strictly bounded
by patriarchy system are now stepping forward and locate themselves in
social sectors. Participants count is noticeably increasing these days. But
there are some snags and holdbacks are restricting to move to the next
stage. Understanding and managing these obstructions is everyone’s
responsibility.
Main challenges of women empowerment through skill development

India is in the topmost place in designing well suited public
oriented programs. Many countries are following and adopting these
programs. Executing, maintain and monitoring these programs for long
130
terms is very important and the major thing. There is an inadequate

system in doing this. Due to this many useful programs are marginalized.
Majorly programs planned for women development are not reaching to
the right destination. Many great plans are disappeared before seen by
public. Another drawback here is, some well programs executed by
government are not understood by women. Lack of skills own by women
is also big drawback in making use of government schemes. Women start
taking help of mediators to understand the government’s benefits. But this
idea is not so successful and in many cases women loses money without
any benefit.
We are seeing difficult plans, procedures and follow ups in
government schemes which also drawback in women developments. Very
simple and women friendly programs which gives complete benefit to
women should be executed. Example: There are few schemes which
provide 50% subsidy loans for women startup enterprises.
Even banks are ready to provide loans. And women are also
interested in enhancing the benefit and grow up. But we could see a major
issue here. That is, every women applicant should show and pledge their
own property and assets to get the loans. Indian statistics shows, very
small percentage which is about 1% of women are registered or own
property in their names. In this bad situation, how many women can get
the benefit and develop?
In health department one of the scheme introduced last year in
according to the scheme every pregnant women should registered under
the scheme department people will entered the pregnant details in the
specific website it is mandatory to get all other benefits like free delivery
immunization and mainly the baby will get the birth certificate through
this online data. Hundreds of pregnant women are wandering to get the
benefits. And because of the complication procurer people are going to
private hospitals. Like these schemes disadvantages more than
advantages.
A study says 40% of families depended on womens income in India.

But most of the women are working in unorganized sector. More numbers
come from rural area. The women are getting very less daily wages. We
need plane programs for them. This is really challenged one because they
already working some one place. But not skilled work. Financial
131
commitments are there. They cannot stop the current job and com for the
training program. It should be different from normal program.
Data of women working in unorganized sector

Indicator Male Female Rural Female
Percentage of Casual Labour in Total 27.5 30.0 32.6
Workforce
Percentage of Unorganized Sector 84.0 91.3 94.5
Workers in Total Workforce
Percentage of Workers in Agriculture and 48.9 72.8 83.34
Allied Activities
Source: Women in Unorganized Sector by - Zoya Khan
Suppose women who involved in the household activities are expertise

in financial management, banking, balanced life, computer, responsibility
distribution, general management work should able to guide whole
family. In the similar way, developing skills for important and interested
work is very important to the women works at outside places. But the
tragedy is, there are no skill development programs for women in the
homely sectors. Elderly women are facing difficulty to guide children of
the family because of their pressure. So it’s our responsibility to organize
the programs to reduce their pressure. Concept of providing skills for jobs
should be changed to improve skills for managing life.
India is a country which achieving unity in diversity. Every village,
every community is having different skills. Generations are living using
these skills. India is a 7th largest country by geography. And having 2nd
highest population in the world. While executing every program, state
government is also having opportunity to modify it according to our
locality and re-execute. But it is not required to bring the same changes to
whole state and people. Because everyone will not get the benefit of the
schemes and develop. There is no much research happening to
understand it. All the policies are centralized. This is also a big challenge.
Policy making is very important aspect. Countries negative and
positive developments are relay on policies. Mentality of policy makers,
policy favors to what kind of people all these matters in policy making.
The real development oriented policies will be achievable through
Involvement of base community women, farmers, labors and the actual
beneficiaries. But many arguments say, policies are favoring to influential
132
community, business classes which influences government indirectly. In

this situation, it is very difficult to create policies which help women
development and get benefit over it. This is also one of the causes for slow
development.
Already many programs are existing for skill development. Some
NGO’s are collaborating with state and central government to plan and
execute skill development programs. But they very limited to provide
trainings. And failed to provide required jobs for them. All these making
us to lose hopes on skill development training organizations. Training and
job should be faces of the same coin. These two should work supplement
to each other.
Picture of the present global job market available skills

Globalization makes international business very easy. India is facing
both pros and cons from it. Utilizing all the facilities of globalization
without affecting civilians and national development is sensitive and
important factor. India is blessed with great human resource. The right
utilization of this can provide every service to the world. World is full of
needs and requirements. Planning accordingly and providing useful
service is very important. Educational trust, organization should think
beyond giving certificates and provide actual skills and facilities. Then
every beneficiary will look forwards to high level jobs. This also applies to
women opportunities in engineering, medical, marketing, science,
nursing, teaching sectors and so on.
If we segregate it to micro levels, nursing is having vast opportunity
in foreign countries. This is service sector. Can we expect professional
growth here? Migrated Indian women are not aware of
criteria’s/standards to grow in their working sectors, salary structures,
values of their positions. All employees including women should
pressurize delegates to get good Foreign policies, there security plans and
facility for developments.
Creating international jobs should not be our main agenda or motto.
Instead of, creating jobs in our locality and encouraging national
production is important. This way we can help in nation development.
Gap between rural and urban places are narrowing. Long ago rural skills,
jobs were playing major role in developing nation. This culture should not
133
be vanished with the name of industrialization. But now we are at the

edge of losing our nativity.
Government shows major concern in large amount of revenue from
the sectors. And very less concern for creating number of jobs. There are
no such opportunities to rural people to learn and improve their skills
which match to industrialization and globalization. Many are not open to
women skill improvements. Few skills are not good in earning good
money. No value in the market. Though women works 16 to 18 hours per
day, value for their output is bad. Well skilled women also holding bad
name because others. No value for the work, skills and efforts. They are
working more for fewer wages. We are at this bad situation now.
The solution for this is to bringing the reality while planning
women oriented policies and gathering right participants to it. Then only
sensible policies will be planned and executed. Example for this, In one of
the skill development program, great fine arts skills were provided for all
students. 9 months duration trainings were held in a place with residential
facility for the past 5 years. Plan was great but not a single girl joined and
gets the benefits because of 9 months campus stay.
Steps for women empowerment through skill development

1. Preparing policies with favor to the women development program.
2. Involving more number of women in planning commission. Who
are in need of the upcoming policies.
3. Analysis of pros and cons of skill development programs directly
involve in women development.
4. Involving common people in women program plans. Encouraging
public participation
5. Increasing importance for local administration through
decentralization.
6. Bringing changes according to local needs.
7. Creating managing committee to follow up the policies.
8. Surveying base line, middle line and end line to take it forward.
9. Along with skill development creating jobs for women interests and
needs.
10. Working time, safety, needs should be considered while making the
policies.
134
11. Women skill development training centers should follow rules and
regulations mentioned in the law.
12. Skill development should be a part of education.
Conclusion:
Skill development is very important for overall women
empowerment. Formal education and skill development should go
together this is the main changes need to apply in our education system.
Skill India program is going to cover most of present issues. But it is not
enough we need to do women perspective based programs. If we do that
women will get valuable jobs, they can start their own entrepreneurships.
Financial status will increase. It will improve women status in the society.
We can go one more step in women empowerment through the skill
development.
Reference:
 Knowledge paper on skill development in India – Learner first –
September 2012
 Enhancing Skills and Faster Generation of Employment - The Planning
Commission Approach to the 12th Plan
 Skill Development in India–present status and recent developments –
swaniti.com
 ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited
 Skill Development In India: Need, Challenges And Ways Forward – by
Vandana Saini
135
14
Placement Linked Skill Development Of Rural BPL

Women – Under Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarozgar
Yojana[SGSY] : A Case Study Of RUDSETI Training
Centre, Mysore
Nagaraju.N, Somashekar C.L and Mahadeva A S
Introduction
This paper present placement linker sill development of rural BPL
women under the Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojanawith a view to
ensure inclusion of the rural poor women’s in the growth process, the
ministry of rural development, government of India had formulated
several schemes specifically targeted at rural BPL women. Among these,
the swarna jayanthi gram swrozgar yojana launched on 1st April 1999, aim
to bring the assisted families above the poverty line by ensuring
appreciable sustained develop income over a period of time. This
objective is to be achieved by inter alia organizing the rural poor into self
help group [SHGs] through the process of social mobilization training and
136
capacity building and provision of income generating assets. The SHG

approaches helps the poor women build their self confidence through
community action. This process would ultimately live to the strengthening
and social economic empowerment of rural poor women as well as their
collective bargaining power.
Following the recommendation of an inter ministerial group [IMG]
constituted to address the issue of capacity building and training, the
special projects for skill development of rural women under Swarna
Jayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana was design to equip the un employ rural
women from the BPL households with marketable skills, which would
enable them to either secure placement in the industry or persue
sustainable self employment opportunities through micro enterprise.
These programmes were aimed at delivering of training largely
through government machinery, supported by some civil society
participants. Under special projects component of SGSY, placement
linked skill development programme was taken up on pilot basis through
Public Private Partnership [PPP]. In view of success of the pilot projects,
efforts have been made to up scale the skill development programme as it
was felt that regular wage employment to at one member of rural BPL
family will enable it to come out of poverty. In this perspectives, MoRD
has made concrete efforts in bringing about paradigms shifts in the
delivery mechanism and in involving industry stakeholders, besides
strengthen the process to output linked support. MoRD has so far assisted
several PPP or private sector led initiates emanating from industry, civil
society, organization etc.,
In total population half of the women population is situated in the
country, this huge population is deprived from the employment,
education, and economic activities politics particularly in rural area. Due
to this reason the government has tray to bring up the women to the
mainstream of the society and it has formulated many women
empowerment scheme placement linked skill development programme,
these programmes are enhance employment opportunities and strengthen
their economic condition. Present employment market influenced with
skill oriented, without skill no one cannot get the job that is the situation
prevail in the globe. Hence impact of the globalization many government
across the globe including India initiated to develop skill in organized and
unorganized sectors viz., information technology, computer skill,
137
communication skill and market skills etc., In impact of technology many

rural women deprived from the employment due to lack of skill in specific
job for these reason union government planned to develop job oriented
skill development training, particularly to rural women under the SGSY.
Objective of the Study:

 To study the women empowerment through the skill development
 To study the income generating activities of the women
 To study the financial assistance from the banks and other finance
institutions for the women empowerment
 To study the self employment of women through skill development
Review of Literature:
Skill development is core of the socio – economic empowerment of
women it has proved by solid evidence, development thinker are
becoming increasingly advocated that efficient, well suited skill
development for the present employment condition. Skill development is
crucial in channelizing opportunities, it is a productive, thus boosting
economic growth, and improving opportunities generate employment and
reduce poverty. There is a limited empirical studies on skill development
programme for women. The evidence are strongly indicated that, the
effective skill based training increase economic development reduce
unemployment, it helps to lift households out of poverty [world bank
2008] our lack of knowledge about the skill development it will denial of
job opportunities, centre for enterprise and economic development
research, India [2008].
According to (Dr.Chakrabharthy 2009) Deputy Governor, Reserve
Bank of India “Economic Growth in India has not been inclusive,
unemployment and poverty remains high and vast majority of the
population excluded from the health, education and employment”. In
order to women sustainable growth skill development is must, not only
for creation of opportunities, but also equal access to women. Skill
development can contribute to reduce the unemployment, poverty and it
helps to create productive economic opportunities for poor and vulnerable
women (Rangarajan Committee 2008).
The skill development ensuring access to financial assistance and
timely and adequate credit from the bank, this kind of skill develop
138
enhance the livelihood opportunities poor women. Specially educated

rural women. Ponds, Anu: Women Entrepreneurship.
At the national level, evidence suggest that skill development for
women can lead to greater efficiency in economic it has promote their
saving and investment this process prevents poor and bring up the
women to the mainstream (Prasad 2006). The benefits work not only
through direct use of skills service, but also effect that positive
development of Nation.
Strategy and Approaches to the Placement Linked Development.

Placement linked: government assured to the placement linked skill
development, this is a demand drives programmes and one of the main
pre-requisites of the programme which the commitment of the
Programme Implanting Agency [PIA] to employ the trained women.
Physical infrastructure: No new infrastructures creation is supported by
MoRD under the programme leverage and utilizations of existing
infrastructures and facilities for operation of training centers in the
fundamental principles. This enables appropriate use of underutilized
infrastructures and helps immediate start of the training programme in
decentralized locations.
Machinery and Equipment: The Project Implanting Agency has to
arrange for requisite machinery and equipment on its own or from the
respective employers to the extent possible on lease or rent as contribution
of employers. Skill Development Training: The Project Implanting
Agency has to ensure employability as per current industry practice.
Course should preferable design for women training and course content
into local language has to be ensured to enable better absorption by BPL
women.
Skill Set: The objectives of the programme are to import skill
necessary for regular employment, so that the initial wages are not less
than prescribed minimum wages. In addition to technical skills, soft skills
are also to be important to beneficiaries to face transition challenges of
moving from agrarian backdrop to the industrial environment.
In this skill training partnership agency and employers have aptitude
and capability to conduct training and placement of rural BPL women
after their training.
139
The skill development programme preferable sort terms duration of up

to three months to one year, so that the opportunities is productive during
the training period.
Selections of Trainees:
All the trainees in the age group of 18 – 35 years with requisite
aptitude depending upon the trade or job requirement are to be selected
from rural BPL women, as per the list maintained by the district rural
development agencies state government, this selection specially focus on
SCs – STs and Minority section in rural areas for selection of trainees.
Priority is given to SC / ST and Minority women of rural BPL. The
implementing agency will ensure that out of the total beneficiaries
covered a minimum of 50% SC – ST women and Minority categories.
Funding for Training: MoRD provides funding supports upto 75% of
the training cost with a maximum total cost of 15 crores per projects,
remaining amount mobilized from the implanting agency state
government, industry and other sources.
Role of RUDSET Training Centre in Women’s Skill Development:

This paper study the skill development programme conducted by the
RUDSET with the Programme Implanting Agency [PIA]. RUDSET
Institute, Mysore was started in the year 1992 with the motto of rural
development and self employment. This centers having a command area
of three districts of Karnataka viz., Mysore, Mandya and Chamarajnagara.
It has good net work with different organizations such as various
government departments NGO, Individuals from all walks of life and
general public at large.
This study reveal the women’s skill development programmes
conducted by RUDSET under the sponsorship of three major department
such as Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Development Corporation, State Women and
Child development corporation and NABARD sponsored programmes.
Skill Development Programme for Women in Assistance of

Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Development Corporation:
RUDSET has conducted many skill development programme for
women including rural women, in assistance of Dr. Ambedkar
Development Corporation i.c Computer Basic, Computer DTP, Computer
140
Hardware Networking, Fashion Design and Tailoring Etc., The skill

development training period is three months, six months and one year, the
required training cost is beard by the corporation, during the training
period corporation is giving the Rs.1000/- stipand to the trainees per
month.
The skill development programme specially meant for Schedule Caste
unemployed youth, more priority is given to the women. Who are get the
training most of them get the job.
For the study purpose we take the data from 2012-13 to 2015-16. In
the year 2012-13 the corporation has selected100 women’s, out of 100
women’s 68 women’s are engage in working. In 2013-14 the corporation
has selected 100 women’s trainee, out of 100 women’s 62 are engage in
working , like was in 2013 -14 the corporation has selected 100 women’s
out of 100’s women’s 65 are get the employment and in 2015-16 the
Corporation has selected 100 women’s for skill development training, out
of 100 women’s get employment.
The below table show the details of women training:

sl. Training programme No. of No. of
No. period Name women Women
participated engage in
work
1 2012-13 SC women’s 100 68 – 68%
2 2013-14 Skill 100 66 – 66%
3 2014-15 Development 100 62- 62%
4 2015-16 Programme 100 40- 40%
Skill Development Programme for Women in Assistance of State

Women and Child Development Corporation
RUDSET as conducted Udyogini training prorgramme for women in
assistance of state women and Child Development Corporation the skill
development programmes are incense sticks making, Tailoring, Fashion
Design, Candle Making and Computer Basic etc.,
This is a four week training programme, during this training period
women and child development is corporation is given staipend to the
trainee. The aim of the programme is to develop work skill and to
promote women to be self employee. For the study purpose we reveal the
data from 2013-14 to 2015-16. In the year 2013-14 the Corporation has
141
selected 265 women’s for skill development, out of 265, 182 are get
employment, in the year 2014-15 the Corporation has selected 278 women
for training, out of 278, 183 are engage in work and in the year 2015-16 the
Corporation has selected 299 women’s for training out of 299 more than
40% women are engage in work.
The below cable show the details of women training in assistance of
women and child department table
Sl. Training Skill No. Of No. Of

No. period development women’s women’s
programme participated engage in
name work
1 2013-14 265 182 – 68%
2 2014-15 Udyogini 278 183 – 66%
3 2015-16 299 119 – 40%
Skill Development Programme For Women In Assistance of NABARD

RUDSET has provide training under financial assistance of NABARD,
this is a agriculture based skill development programme for rural women,
such as dairy forming, goat and ship raring, poultry farming and
earthworm raring etc., this is a three months training programme, the
programme focused on rural landless women, the aim of the programme
is empower and self employment of rural women. For the study point of
view we taken the data from 2012-13 to 2015-16. In the year 2012-13
RUDSET selected 180 women’s for training, out of 1809 women’s 12% are
engage in work, in the year 2013-14 Institution has selected 180 women
trainee, out of 180, 28 are engage in work, like wise in 2014-15 also 180
women’s were selected, out of 180, 14% are engage in work. In the year
2015-16 also 180 women’s are selected for training out of 180 only 8%
women’s engage in work.
Sl. Training programme No. Of No. Of

No. period name women’s women’s
participated engage in
work
1 2012-13 180 20 – 12%
Agriculture
2 2013-14 180 28 – 16%
Based Skill
3 2014-15 180 25 – 14%
Development
4 2015-16 180 19 - 11%
142
Basically this is a sister part of agriculture but its mainly required

land and space the poor women’s are not having the land and space, due
to lack of space they were not able to implement their skill, but more than
50% of women were train up are engage in cow cat ling and dairy forming
it could helps many women’s for their livelihood and strengthen their
family conditions.
Conclusion:
Women’s to lead good life and economic self reliance, employment is
essential but present world influenced with technology and skill oriented
job. If women having technological skills then only they may be able to
get suitable job. Due to this reasons union government, state government
including Karnataka and many training institute across the nation render
the skill development for women’s for ex: the union government initiated
many skill development programmes like, make in India, Start up India
and skill development, in the same manner various state government
including Karnataka has launched skill development programme for
women. Through skill development, it generate the employment
opportunities and improve their socio economic conditions hence
women’s skill development is a significance aspect.
Bibliography:
 Bansil. P.C [1977] “Agricultural Problems of India” oxford and IBH pub.
Co., New Delhi.
 Maheswari.S.R [1985] “Rural Development in India : A Public Policy
Approach, Sage Pub., New Delhi.
 United Nation – The World Women Trends and Strategic”
 Pandey. Anu – Women Entrepreneurship : A Global Prespective”
 Annual Report of RUDSET
143
15
Tribal Women and Skill Development
R.Valarmathi and Ramesh
Introduction
Women are said to be the backbone of the family and they equal have
potential when compared to men. But they are the most vulnerable section
of the society who is subjected to various kinds of exploitation,
discrimination, deprivation of their basic human rights. The magnitude of
exploitation may vary from urban areas to rural areas. The situation is
pathetic when it comes to tribal women who are treated as animals with
no status in the family or in the society. Women face various kinds of
obstacles for their economic, social, political and cultural empowerment.
Women are not given equal opportunities to raise themselves to face the
competition in the world. This has paved way for the
exploiters/traffickers to take undue advantage of their position and traffic
them to other parts of the country.
Status of Tribal Women

Tribal women do have skills and are interested in being trained but
due to the rigid customs and practices they are confined into four walls of
the house. In has been in practice that women are meant only to do
household works and they should not be allowed to take up any other
144
responsibilities. This has resulted in women being weaker in education,

health condition and in economic conditions. The anxiety of tribal women
to earn money to improve the financial status of her family is one of the
main causes for them being trafficked under false promise of higher
education and lucrative jobs. Need of the hour is the inherent skills of the
tribal women should be recognized and should be encouraged on basis of
talents and interest.
Magnitude of human trafficking

Human trafficking generates $ 15.5 billion per year. Every country
has become either a source, transit or a destination for human trafficking.
India is said to be situated in a golden triangle as it is a source, transit and
destination for human trafficking. In Asia, profit generated per year is $
11.2 billion. Countries in transition generate a $ 3.5 billion profit, followed
by Latin America with $ 2.1 billion and Middle East and North Africa with
$ 1.1billion. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where these criminal annual
profits are lowest, with an amount of $ 0.5 billon.1
India stands in the fifth position in the world in the seriously
affected list of top 10 human trafficking countries in the world. Human
trafficking is a major problem in India. Although it is illegal in India these
laws are not implemented properly. Humans are trafficked in, out and
across India for various purposes such as forced labour, forced
prostitution, forced organ implantation etc. Girls are forced to become
surrogate mothers against their will. “Ninety percent of India’s trafficking
problem is internal, and those from the most disadvantaged social strata-
lowest caste Dalits, members of tribal communities, religious minorities,
and women and girls from excluded groups are most vulnerable.2
India is home to more than 14 million victims of human
trafficking.3. Human Trafficking affects every country around the world,
regardless of socio-economic status, history, or political structure. Human
traffickers have created an international market for the trade in human
being based on the high profits and demand for commercial sex and cheap
labor. Trafficking has affected 161 countries worldwide. It is a very risky
job but the traffickers have established such a strong network throughout
the world that the global police are finding it very difficult to curb these
activities. Human trafficking is driven by demand and supply, if there is a
demand for forced sexual services or forced labour, traffickers use all
145
means to meet those demands by targeting vulnerable people who are

unaware of the harm and false pretences under which they are recruited
The government of India does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking: however, it is making
significant efforts to do so, particularly with regard to the law enforcement
response to sex trafficking. Despite these efforts, the Indian government
has not demonstrated sufficient progress in its law enforcement,
protection, or prevention efforts to address labor trafficking, particularly
bonded labour; therefore India is placed on Tier 2 Watch list for the
seventh consecutive year. Now India has moved to Tier 2 as per present
report.4
Trafficking of minor girls – the second-most prevalent trafficking
crime – surged 14 times over the last decade and increased 65% in 2014,
according to new data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Girls and women are the main targets of immoral trafficking in India,
making up 76% of human trafficking cases nationwide over a decade,
reveal NCRB data. Other cases registered under human trafficking over
the last decade include selling girls for prostitution, importing girls from a
foreign country and buying girls for prostitution. As many as 8,099 people
were reported to be trafficked across India in 2014.
Human Rights Violation against victims

Crimes perpetuated against the victims of trafficking are a human
rights violation at every stage of the process. During the trafficking
process, crimes perpetuated against the victims include sexual assault,
forced prostitution, rape or even death. Labour violations occur as well
and include the non-payment of wages, violation of safety measures and
failure to respect the maximum number of working hours. Offences
committed against the State include document forgery, violation of
immigration and labour laws, corruption of government officials
smuggling of migrants, money laundering and tax evasion. Trafficked
victims can be found working in beauty parlour, begging, restaurants,
factories, they are made to work for long hours with minimum or
negligible wages.
146
Kidnapping Rackets and Denotified Tribes

Police investigations have in Delhi, Agra, Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan found that the denotified tribes like the Bedia, Nat, Kanjar,
Banjara etc. practicing prostitution as a tradition in the family have been
found to be involved in kidnapping of minor girls from across North
India. They kidnap minor girls and rear them as their own children. They
use hormones like oxytocin on the minor girls to make them look older.
The victims are then supplied as dancers in the bars of Mumbai and also
for further supply to Middle East countries including Dubai for
prostitution rackets. Police investigations in a village in Alwar district of
Rajasthan have found that women from these villages have a large
number of passports. Madhya Pradesh police investigations in Mandsaur
district have also found similar activity in prevalence.5
Indo-Nepal Trafficking
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with per capita
income of about US $ 210. About 90 percent of its twenty million people
live in rural areas and depend on subsistence agriculture. Nepal is one of
the only three countries in the world where the life expectancy at birth for
females is 53.52 years as compared to 54.88 years for males and the infant
mortality rate is 92 per 1000. Sixty percent of the population is illiterate.
Economic stress and the oppression of the Nepalese girl child,
combined with the immense profits that accrue to the successful traffickers
of Nepalese girls, all contribute to the rapidity of the flow of Nepalese
girls to India. Nepali girls who are fair skinned, delicate features and
complexity are most demanded category of prostitutes in the Indian and
Gulf brothels. Traffickers are, of course, well aware of the huge profits that
Nepalese girls can bring to them, so they are particularly eager to lure
these girls from their homes.31NGOs estimate that at least 7,000 girls are
trafficked into India from Nepal every year. They mostly end up in
brothels in metros, condemned to a life of deprivation and torture.
Children who are trafficked end up either in the flesh trade or become
child labor.6
Need for Empowerment of tribal women

Empowerment of tribal women should be compared with the status of the
women in urban and rural area in order to know actual position of them.
147
Legal status in succession, marriage, decision making dissolution of

marriage, education, job etc, will show that tribal women are completely
denied all rights in these matters are concerned. Empowerment of women
is achieved when women are in a position to decide her way of life and
free to achieve her goals in life, posses’ property and dispose it according
to her will.
Tribal women are the main victims of trafficking. These women
who are illiterate, poor and where child marriage is in practice there is
possibility a girl becoming widow at a very young age, and women
deserted by their husbands and girls who are interested in leading
luxurious life may become easy prey to the human traffickers. Traffickers
who very well known the problems of the tribal girls and women lure
them under the false promise of job, marriage etc.
International provisions
Right to equality and equal protection and right to life is an inherent
right of women. It is the basic human rights which have been enshrined in
UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Women have be
suppressed, discriminated and denied of their basic rights for a long time.
They are unaware of their rights and unless they are enlightened through
education and awareness programmes it is difficult to bring women
empowerment.
At the Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1993 and the International
Conference on Population and Development in Cairo 1994 Governments
committed themselves to the empowerment of women. This commitment
was operationalised and formulated into a clear action plan at the Fourth
World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995 where Governments
committed themselves to the “empowerment and advancement of
women, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion
and belief, thus contributing to the moral, ethical, spiritual and intellectual
needs of women and men, individually or in community with others and
thereby guaranteeing them the possibility of realizing their full potential
in society and shaping their lives in accordance with their own aspiration.
Legal protection in India

Constitution of India has guaranteed equality to all. Article 46
directs the state to promote with special care with respect to educational
and economic interests of the weaker section, especially the ST and to
protect them from any social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Article
148
275 directs the state to provide grant –in aid for promoting the welfare of
ST and raising the level of administration. Article 23states about
Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour, special laws are
enacted to protect the weaker sections of the society but still women are
subjected to various kinds of exploitation like domestic violence, sexual
harassment, rape, female infanticide, illegal trafficking and prostitution
.Government has enacted various law and policies and programmes but
the benefits has not completely reached them.
To uphold the mandate of the constitution the parliament has
enacted number of legislation to remove the obstacle for the
empowerment of women. The main intention is to uplift the weaker
sections of the society who have been subjected to discrimination for a
long period by the society. Major legislations in this area are Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1961, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act-1971,
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act-1956, Equal Remuneration Act, 1976,
Domestic Violence Against Women, 2005, Prohibition of Child Marriage
Act, 2006, Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention and
Protection) Act-2013.
Obstacles for the empowerment of tribal women

1. Educational status
There is customary practice among the tribal’s to get the girls
married in very young age. This has prevented the girls from
attending the schools even though the government provides for it.
Tribals believe that women are meant to do the household works in
parent’s house and also in the in-laws place. As result education for
girls are not given any importance. Awareness should be created
among the tribal communities about the importance of education to
girls and this is possible only when the evil practice of child
marriage is eradicated. It is only through education. When women
are educated it will lead to her economic development, dignity,
status in society, responsibilities and rights are attained. Education
is considered to a powerful tool in the hands of women and girls’. It
can change not only her financial status but she will have potential
to elevate the environment and status of the family. Illiteracy is the
root cause for women being subjected to exploitation .They can not
only shape their future but also family members and their
149
surrounding people. Girl should never be considered as burden but

as an asset. Education is an important means by which a woman can
be empowered as it would develop a self confidence in her when
she realizes her skill, knowledge and potential. She will be
competent to meet the challenges of life and choose between right
and wrong. Women empowerment is possible and all the polices,
legislations, programmes enacted by the government can become
fruitful only when complete literacy is achieved.
2. Proprietary Rights
Women are not allowed to posses any property among the tribal as
it is male dominated community. As women are ignorant about
laws enacted to protect the rights they are unable to claim this
rights. An awareness to be created among the tribal women about
their property rights and the availability of free legal assistance. If a
woman is given financial freedom she will be in a better position to
maintain herself and her family.
3. Missing of girls not reported
Tribal people hesitate to report to the police authorities regarding
the missing of their daughter as they are afraid that the traffickers
may cause harm to them or to their daughters. As a result it is very
difficult to get the exact number of trafficked girls who have become
victims in the hands of the traffickers. In many cases the parents get
their daughter married to the traffickers when they offer to marry
without any dowry, in some cases they are lured by the trafficker by
promising the girl’s parents lucrative job in the city or abroad. In
these situations the consent of the parents and the girl is obtained.
The victims and the parents are unaware of the fact that the person
giving the offer is a trafficker. This is the main reason the actual
magnitude of the trafficking of tribal women goes unreported.
Since the magnitude of the offence cannot be clearly ascertained this
offence is not considered as a serious offence. This is main reason
for the traffickers to escape from the clutches of the law.
4. Placement Agency
Placement Agency plays a major role in trafficking. There is
mushrooming of private and illegal placement agencies which is
active in many part of the country. They are main suppliers of
victims to various parts of the country and outside the country.
150
Thousands of girls are trafficked as they offer lucrative income in

foreign countries and once they reach the destination their passports
are confiscated and they are sold to other trafficker. As they are new
to the place and do not know the language of that country they find
it difficult to complain to any one of being trafficked and seek for
any help. Jharkhand is one of the sources for trafficking where
women are trafficked for domestic servants but they are subjected to
various kinds of exploitation physical and mental. They are forced
into bonded labour, debt bondage, prostitution; organs are removed
and sold by the traffickers. As there is lot of demand for sale of baby
from India and abroad they are used as surrogate mother and they
make a lot of profit out of the trade.
5. Frequent Displacement
Displacement of adivasis is from their place of inhabitation by the
government for development programmme has resulted in
insecurity, poverty and being subject to various types of abuse and
exploitation. Tribal women to overcome the extreme poverty
become easy prey to the false promises made by the traffickers. In
order to lead their livelihood they are carried away by the false
assurance made by the traffickers and they land up as domestic
servants, prostitutes, their organs are taken away. As they are
illiterate and poor they have no knowledge about neither their
rights nor they have courage to escape from the vulnerable
situation. These violations or exploitation goes unreported.
Skill Development Measures

Mahatma Gandhi states “Train a man and you train an individual, Train a
woman and you build a nation.”
Tribal women should be encouraged to equip themselves with alternative
skills to improve their financial status by getting an employment and to
fulfill their needs and their family. Women should be trained to make use
of the available raw materials and the human resources.
1. Education
It is only through education. When women are educated it will lead
to her economic development, dignity, status in society,
responsibilities and rights are attained. Education is considered to a
powerful tool in the hands of women and girls’. It can change not
151
only her financial status but she will have potential to elevate the
environment and status of the family. Illiteracy is the root cause for
women being subjected to exploitation .They can not only shape
their future but also family members and their surrounding people.
Girl should never be considered as burden but as an asset.
Education is an important means by which a woman can be
empowered as it would develop a self confidence in her when she
realizes her skill, knowledge and potential. She will be competent to
meet the challenges of life and choose between right and wrong.
Women empowerment is possible and all polices, legislations,
programmes enacted by the government can become fruitful only
when complete literacy is achieved.
If the victims has dropped out of the school help them to complete
it. Victims should be given training depending on their age, skills
abilities and also the employment opportunity in that location.
2. Vocational Training
Women has inherent quality of skill and efficiency but as they are
not provided with an
Opportunity and encouragement they continue to be suppressed
and considered as vulnerable sections of society. Victims of
trafficking should be equipped in any of the following skill
development like tailoring, embroidery cooking snacks, painting,
making potteries Jewellery and candle making.
Train them with art of designer garments making an initiative
should be taken by the government to buy these goods. It provides
an opportunity to the trafficking victims to earn their income from
home by supplying to the orders received
Beautician course from hair cutting to bridal make up can be taught
to them.
Education and vocational training should be offered on the basis of
necessity from case to case. Victims of trafficking should be
encouraged to take up a job or start small ventures in their village.
3. Farm Forestry
Tribal people have knowledge about the medicinal plants and plant
varieties they can be trained in maintenance of nurseries and help
them in selling them to farm forestry. Encouraging them to cultivate
152
herbs and medicinal plants which can be sold or training to be given

to them to manufacture medicines and sell.
4. Business Skills
Tribal women should be trained in business skills to help them
identify the customers and shop owners who could receive their
finished goods. This would help them to develop business and also
help them to provide job for other tribal women and improve the
financial status.
5. Training in Nursing
Women are known for their patience and caring nature. They can be
given nursing training and get them placed in the hospital to do
basic works like giving first aid etc. which does not require
efficiency or educational qualification.
Suggestions
1. R T E should be strictly implemented and ratio of tribal children
and teacher should be strictly scrutinized in government schools.
2. Tribal women representation should also be provided in the policy
making process of the government.
3. Effecting monitoring machinery to be constituted to supervise the
functioning of various agencies constituted by the government to
uplift the tribal’s.
4. Prevent tribal women from migrating to urban areas for job
opportunities by providing job as per their skills and reasonable
wages to be paid.
5. Registration of placement agencies to be made mandatory and
government should maintain regular supervision as to their
placements.
6. By eradicating poverty and unemployment among tribal women by
providing education to them and providing suitable job as per their
skill will sure check the rate trafficking among tribal women.
7. Immigration of tribal women to be checked properly as to its
legality of the documents and the person seeking for immigration.
Conclusion
153
Human Trafficking has become so deep rooted and serious issue

which has today become a global concern and the entire world has seen its
citizens have been subject to one or other forms of human trafficking and
their country has been used by the traffickers as origin, transit or
destination country. Trafficking continues to exist and flourish in the
world like any other trade and the reason for this is till recently no country
considered this offence as serious violation of human rights. But on the
basis of the Trafficking in Person Report prepared every year which gives
the statistic of the offence of each country shows the magnitude of the
crime and also the failure of the various country in implementation of the
trafficking laws in the their country to curb the offence. India having
ratified the CEDAW has implement many of the provision in the domestic
laws but still there is a wide gap as far as the protection of tribal women is
concerned. Unless each country take a serious concern on the violation of
human rights of the tribal women in their land and impose stringent
punishment to the violators and follow the guidelines of the court and
supervise the functioning of the various authorities working for the
prevention of human trafficking any number of international conventions,
national laws or authorities constituted for the same will be futile. Status
of tribal women can be improved with the help of NGOs who are efficient
in the field of training them and depending on their skill they should be
provided with the job opportunities. If the skill development programmes
are undertaken seriously and effective sure the tribal women will never
have to be considered as vulnerable sections of society.
End Notes
1. 1. United Nations Office Drugs and Crimes
2. Trafficking in Persons Report 2015
3. Global Survey Report 2014
4. Ibid pg no.1
5. Ibid page no.1
6. The Times of India, Mar 28, 2005
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/VIEW-This-will-
force-us-to-clean-up-our-act/articleshow/1063699.cms visited on 21-4-
2015 at 3-15 p,m.
154
16
Issues in Skill Development for Women
R Nagabhushan
Introduction
Skills and knowledge are driving forces of economic growth and
social development for any country. Countries with higher levels and
better standards of skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and
opportunities in domestic and international job markets. India has among
the lowest proportion of trained youth in the world. The quantitative
dimension of India’s skill development challenge is that 80 percent of new
entrants to the workforce have no opportunity for skill training. As India
moves progressively towards becoming a ‘knowledge economy’, it
becomes increasingly important that the country focus on advancement of
skills and these skills have to be relevant to the emerging economic
environment. In order to achieve the twin targets of economic growth and
inclusive development, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has to
grow consistently at 8% to 9% per annum. This requires significant
progress in several areas, including infrastructure development,
agricultural growth coupled with productivity improvements, financial
sector growth, a healthy business environment, ably supported by a
skilled workforce (FICCI, 2010).
Report of the sub-group of Chief Ministers on skill development
(2015), says that India enjoys the demographic advantage of having the
youngest workforce with average age of 29 years in comparison with the
advanced economies. It can become the Human Resource capital of the
155
world by appropriately skilling its youth bulge and convert its advantage
into a dividend. However, skilling this huge labour force is a challenge
given the low levels of vocational training in India, high proportion of
school-dropouts, huge informal workforce, poor quality of training etc.
The problem is not only of fresh skilling but also up-skilling/re-skilling of
the existing workers to make them compatible with the changing needs of
the industry and market requiring a Mission mode approach. As India
moves progressively towards becoming a global knowledge economy, it
must meet the rising aspirations of its youth. This can be partially
achieved through focus on advancement of skills that are relevant to the
emerging economic environment. The challenge pertains not only to a
huge quantitative expansion of the facilities for skill training, but also to
the equally important task of raising their quality.
Objectives of the study

The study is an attempt
 to understand the role and importance of skill development in
women empowerment;
 to look at the global challenges to skill development of women;
 to give an overview of the issues pertaining to women skill
development in India.
Methodology
The study is based on the secondary data collected from international and
national sources such as ILO, World Bank, UN, and Report of the Sub
Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development 2015 and the National
Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. The paper is
mainly descriptive in nature with an analytical overview.
Skill Development of Women: Global Scenario

Across most countries in all regions, women work more than men.
Women are estimated to contribute 52 percent of global work, men 48
percent. But even if women carry more than half of the burden, they are
disadvantaged in both realms of work- paid as well as unpaid work-in
patterns that reinforce each other (UNDP, 2015).
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Global Employment
trends for women identifies a number of key gender gaps in the labour
156
market at the global level (ILO, 2012a). First, women suffer from higher
unemployment rates than men, and this gap has widened over the past
one decade. Second, employment-to-population ratios continue to show
gender gaps, although these gaps are narrowing over time. Large
differences between regions point to persistent social and cultural factors
that hinder women’s employment in certain regions of the world. The
same regional disparities can be observed for labour force participation
rates. Third, more women are in vulnerable employment, particularly as
contributing unpaid family workers.
Despite the progress that has been achieved in girls’ and women’s
education, occupational segregation remains a predominant feature of
training and labour markets, limiting women’s choices and confining
them to lower-paid and lower-status jobs than men. Not only are women
over-represented in some occupations (and under-represented in others);
segregation often also occurs within occupations, with men holding the
more responsible jobs (UNDAW, 2009). Skills development undoubtedly
offers a means of broadening occupational choices, but higher shares of
women in training for certain occupations do not automatically translate
into higher shares of female employment in those fields (European
Commission, 2009). Women still face more barriers to education, and
training, especially in rural, informal and traditional economies (ILO,
2014).
Women in rural areas face the challenge of combining education
and training with farming, household, community and care
responsibilities. Educational disadvantage accumulates throughout
women’s lives as basic education is often a prerequisite for further skills
development. Women are also more often confined to informal
employment than men, and to unpaid care work, which also limits their
chances of accessing education and training (ILO, 2013).
Higher levels of education generally lead to a lower proportion of
people “neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET). Yet
even where girls and women are able to acquire skills for the work, they
often face social, cultural, economic and practical constraints that pose
barriers to their making full use of those skills in gaining appropriate
work Thus, in low-income countries, there are likely to be more women
than men among the NEET (OECD, 2012).
157
Women also face more barriers than men to becoming

entrepreneurs and to starting their own business. The main reasons
include time constraints owing to care responsibilities, lack of access to
productive assets such as land and credit, and lack of access to
information or relevant networks (World Bank, 2012).
Women Skill Development in India

One of the biggest challenges of skill development in our country is
that 93% of the workforce is in informal/unorganized sector.
Consequently it is difficult to map existing skills in the unorganized sector
and gauge the skilling requirement in the sector. On the other hand, the
rate of job growth in informal sector is estimated to be twice than that in
formal sector. Women have the capability to further drive the economy of
the country if their participation in the workforce is increased. With the
help of skilling, women can have viable incomes, decent work and be
major players who can contribute equally to the economic growth of the
country.
Women constitute about 48.5 per cent of the population and have
important role to play in the growth of the economy. However the worker
participation rate of females is only 25.5 percent in 2011. Women continue
to be underrepresented in training programmes thus limiting their
employment options, economic returns and longer-term career
development. Thus the gender profile indicates that women who are in
rural areas and among the disabled face multiple disadvantages to jobs
and skilling. It is of the opinion of many economists that one of the most
under-utilized resources in India is the women. Female labour force
participation rates are extremely low in India and have remained more or
less constant in recent decades. In order to bring more women into
workforce, it is necessary to understand the constraints that they face in
balancing their family and work responsibilities.
India’s labour market is highly dualistic in nature with small
minority of formal workers of 7% of the total workforce (Mehrotra et al,
2013) and a vast majority in unorganized informal sector including those
engaged in agriculture as low paying subsistence workers. Female
workers largely belong to latter group which is more susceptible to
economic shocks.
158
Out of 131 countries, India is placed 11th from the bottom in female
labour force participation (ILO, 2012). The Global gender Gap data on 135
countries shows that women’s economic participation and opportunity is
worse in India than in 95 per cent of all countries studied. India is ranked
below many sub-Saharan African countries in the UN Gender Inequality
Index. India has a long way to go in order to enhance women
empowerment, and achieve gender equality.
Women form a significant proportion of workforce in India.
However, they are largely concentrated in the informal sector, engaged in
vocations characterized by low earning, low productivity poor working
conditions and lack of social protection (Chenoy D, 2012). It is to be noted
that the wages of workers with qualification beyond primary schools have
grown far more rapidly than those of workers with primary school or less;
the greatest increases being for workers with tertiary qualifications. This
movement in wages shows that education and skill acquisition are
important determinants of job prospects (Abrahart, A et al, 2009).
The aim of skill development, particularly in case of women, is not
merely to prepare them for jobs, but also to improve the performance of
women workers by enhancing the quality of work in which they are
engaged. The National Skill Development Corporation has identified a
few of the major challenges, which need to be addressed for building a
conducive ecosystem of skill development for the women workforce:
i) The large number of women who need to be trained, since
currently only 2% of the female workforce is formally trained.
ii) Inadequacies in the quality and relevance of technical and
vocational employment training in India.
iii) Inadequate infrastructure, acute shortage of trained women
workers, poor quality of training.
iv) Lack of mechanisms to judge and certify quality.
v) Inequity in access to technical and vocational employment training
for women.
vi) Low level of education of potential women trainees that limits
training of women in the formal sector.
vii) Lack of recognition of prior learning of potential women trainees.
viii) Relatively high opportunity cost of learning involved for training
women.
159
The major challenges noted here are few in number but represent a
complexity of issues involved.
Policy Actions
a) Devising appropriate and targeted responses
Women are a heterogeneous group, differing in many and various
ways, including, for example, age and cultural background as well as
level of education and the type of work they currently do. Any
intervention aimed at redressing gender bias in skill development
should be based on a good understanding of how different groups of
women are affected by socio-economic and political power relations,
and thus by gender inequalities in institutions, the market, the
community and the household. Efforts to encourage women to
participate in education, training and productive employment need to
be
 targeted to the specific context and group selected for intervention;
 designed to overcome the range of existing barriers such as training
fees, timing, and facilities and respond flexibly to different needs;
 designed to address questions of status associated with different jobs
and to open up these social perceptions to challenge.
b) Including a gender focus in skills development policies and

strategies
Policies need to identify barriers to equal access for men and women,
particularly for disadvantaged groups such as women from rural
areas. Ways to give practical effect to gender-specific policies include
identifying indicators and setting specific targets with regard to, for
example,
 equal participation of women and men in training programmes;
 equal participation of women and men in the management of skills
development systems and institutions;
 lowering gender segregation both within and between occupations;
and
 enhancing the uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) subjects by women.
160
c) Improving outreach of skills development systems to those still

excluded
As a basic requirement, girls’ participation in free, good quality basic
education on an equal basis with boys needs to be ensured. Flexible
hours for all types of both formal and informal skills development
allow for better integration of training with household or childcare
duties, or seasonal agricultural work. Safe and female-friendly
transport to schools or training providers near underserved areas,
incentives for teachers and trainers to work in remote areas, and
expansion of infrastructure and facilities, including accommodation
for women from underserved areas, all have great potential for
increasing outreach. Mobile training facilities and community-based
training targeting local labour market needs are effective in reaching
large numbers of women.
d) Creating gender-sensitive training environments

Teachers and trainers should receive gender awareness training to
raise and address gender issues and avoid, or where necessary
challenge, stereotypes. They can help to sensitize employers to these
issues and encourage them to offer on-the job training, including
apprenticeships, or internships, to both women and men. Training
materials should display images of both women and men performing
jobs. Safe school facilities, separate sanitation facilities, and childcare
services have all been proved effective in supporting female
participation in training and acceptance of facilities by trainees’
parents. Rules against sexual harassment also help foster an
environment based on mutual respect and gender equality.
Conclusion
Close to 90 per cent workers in India engage in informal work
associated with low productivity. Provision of modern skill training
programmes may substantially help in increasing the productivity of this
workforce. It is to be noted that the initiatives required to skill the
workforce, cannot be assumed to be the same for both men and women, as
they face very different social and economic circumstances in India.
Gender differences can be found right from the access to and availability
of education and training, to the conduct of training programmes. Low
161
social value is attached to girls’ education, and as they are considered

secondary income earners, lower importance is given to training of girls
for employment. The gender roles defined for women, expect them to
primarily devote their time to household chores and child rearing, while
time devoted to skill training and economic activities is conditional and
limited (Comyn, P 2012). Hence a sustainable skill development
programme would aim to take on board, both women’s as well as men’s
concerns and experiences. These should form an integral part of the
design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes on skill training and development. The key strategy for
women’s empowerment and gender equality is to combine policy and
institutions at the local level.
References:
 Abrahart, A et al. (2009). Reforms in the Indian vocational education and
training system. In Vocal, Vol 7, 107-116.
 Chenoy, D. (2012). Empowering women through skill development:
Challenges and opportunities. Power Point Presentation at the GEPD
forum II, Institute of Social Studies Trust and Heinrich Boll Foundation, at
the India Habitat Centre, 24 April 2012.
 Comyn, P. (2012). Skills Development & Gender. Power Point
Presentation at the GEPD forum II, Institute of Social Studies Trust and
Heinrich Boll Foundation, at the India Habitat Centre, 24 April 2012.
 European Commission. (2009). Gender segregation in the labour market: Root
causes, implications and policy responses in the EU. Luxemburg.
 FICCI. (2010). The Skill Development Landscape in India and Implementing
Quality Skills Training. ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited,
August, 2010.
 Government of India. (2010). Report to the people on education 2009-10.
Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi.
 Government of India. (2013). Low female employment in India in a period of
high growth: Insights from primary survey in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Report No 9/2013, Planning Commission, Institute of Applied Manpower
Research.
 Government of India. (2015). National policy for skill development and
entrepreneurship 2015. Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship.
 Government of India. (2016). National policy for women (Draft). Ministry of
Women and Child Development. May 2016.
 International Labour Organization. (2013). Measuring the informal
economy: Statistical challenges. Sara Elder, in: ILO: The informal economy
and decent work: A policy resource guide, supporting transitions to formality.
Geneva.
162
 International Labour Organization. (2014). The gender divide in skills

development: progress challenges and policy options for empowering women.
Geneva.
 NITI Aayog. (2015). Report of the Sub-Group of Ministers on Skill
Development, September 2015.
 OECD. (2012). Closing the gender gap: Act now. Paris.
 United Nations Divisions for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW).
(2009). World survey on the role of women in development: Women’s control
over economic resources and access to financial resources including microfinance.
New York.
 UNDP. (2015). Human Development Report 2015: Work for Human
Development. United Nations Development Programme. New York.
 World Bank. (2012). World Development Report 2012: Gender equality and
development. Washington, DC.
163
17
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and Skill India

Program
Rashmi.C
1. Introduction
Pradhana Mantri Kushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), is a unique
scheme initiated by the Government of India on 15th July 2015 with the
view of offering the 24lakhs Indian youth with meaningful, industry
relevant skill based certified trainings and job opportunities.
2. Need for Study

India, being the 2nd highest populated country in the world, about
5.9% of the total population is unemployed, which is not a good sign of
the economic development. There were some schemes introduced for
providing jobs and self-employment opportunities for the youths’ for
their better life. Some of the schemes were, Sabla or Rajiv Gandhi Scheme
for empowerment of Adolescent Girls, 2011 and Saksham or Rajiv
Gandhi Scheme for empowerment of Adolescent Girls, 2014 which
aimed for the all-round development of adolescent boys and girls to
make them self-reliant, aware citizens, etc. The need for the skill
development is very important to achieve these goals. People in rural
areas are more unskilled, unemployed and uneducated than the urban
area people. The skill development programs must be carried out to
make men and women and youths’ aware of this, by providing trainings
and making them eligible for good jobs. The skill development programs
must be organized in such a way that, it should reach the people in rural
areas too, in an easy and understandable manner.
The needs for the women skill development is very essential for
enhancing their skills and making them independent and prepare them
164
for jobs, as women have been treated very much unfairly in the society.
Pradhana Mantri Kushal Vikas Yojana, is ones such scheme which is
aiming at providing training and job opportunities for the unskilled
youth by providing certified trainings and other requirements and
preparing them to become successful in their life.
3. Methodology
At first, the authority/stakeholders should make a clear blueprint
as to what all should be done and how much money should be spent on
the same. Then, they should start surveying to find young men and
women who are unskilled, unemployed or uneducated and who will be
eligible for this program. Next, the stakeholders like NSDC (National
Skill Development Corporation), which is an implementing agency of the
scheme, AA (Assessment Agencies) and others will bifurcate people who
comes under different categories like people who should be trained,
people who are ready for job etc. Then, the people who are eligible for
the same can enroll themselves by providing training fees and their
Aadhar Card, ID proof etc.
4. Techniques of Data Analysis

This analysis contains objectives, key features, eligibility needs, eligibility
beneficiaries, and PMKVYs’ outlay etc
4.1 Objectives of PMKVY
PMKVY objectives are:
 Encouraging youths’ for the certified trainings and job
opportunities
 Encourage and mobilize large number of unskilled and
unemployed youths’ to take skill development trainings and earn
their livelihood
 To provide monetary awards to have better productivity and for
the better participation of the youths’
 To benefit the 24lakh youths by providing trainings and job with
investing for about 1,500 crores on this project
4.2 Key Features

 Eligible sectors
 Job rolls
 Target allocation
165
 Eligible beneficiaries
 Monetary awards
4.3 Monetary Awards

Monetary awards differ for different jobs and trainings. This
amount is from the training costs, and the trainees who are willing to pay
the amount for other relevant factors. Higher payments are made on the
training sectors like plumbing sectors, construction sectors and
manufacturing sectors
Eg:
Skill Development Amount spent Amount spent
Training Sectors on these sectors on other sectors
Plumbing Rs 8000 Rs 5000
Construction Rs 10,000 Rs 7,500
Manufacturing Rs 12,000 Rs 10,000
4.4 Appointment of Mentors

Mentors will be appointed for the trainees who have completed the
training programs and who are looking for job opportunities. The
training providers or the authority is responsible for appointing the
mentors to guide the trainees. Mentorship program will be conducted
where mentors will help their trainees to find appropriate jobs.
4.5 Awareness and Mobilization of Candidates

Awareness building and mobilization will be done with the local states
and district governments and also the members of the parliament. The
camp based trainings will be conducted in every district. Efforts will be
done to make sure that the scheme covers all the states and districts. It
aims at providing the opportunity at the widest possibility and to create
an environment for training and developing the economy.
4.6 PMKVY’s Outlay

PMKVY has its scheme outlay. The approximate budget of this scheme is
about rs 1,500crs. The following table has the scheme’s approximately
estimated budget
Average reward Number of Financial
amount (rs.) trainees (in target (rs
lakhs) i.e. in crs)
physical target
166
Fresh trainings 8000 14 1120

RPL( 2200 10 220
recognition of
prior learning)
Sub total 1340
Awareness and 67
mobilization
(5%)
Incentives for 67
supplementary
mentorship
placement
service (5%)
Administrative 26
expenses (2%)
Total 24 1500
4.7 Steering Committees

Steering committee is responsible for the implementation of the
schemes for PMKVY. It has the authority to prepare the frame work for
the scheme and this committee can make changes as and when required.
This committee fixes the targets for skilling, monetary rewards,
appointment of mentors etc.
4.8 Eligibility
People who are eligible for this scheme are:
1. First time job entrants
2. Class 10- 12 dropouts
3. People with aadhar card, PAN card and election card
Who will provide training?

Trainings will be provided by the stakeholders such as, National
Skill Development Corporation with 187 training partners, Central and
State affiliated training providers etc.
Note:
1. The third party assessment for skill trainings will be based on the
National Global Standards.
167
2. Some of the other trainings other than skills required are also
provided. some are:
 Soft skills
 Work ethics
 Personality development
 Behavioral development’
 Cleanliness and others
4.9 Procedure for enrolment:

Eligible candidate can visit the website of the PMKVY and can search for
the locations where trainings are conducted. They can also search for the
sector in which they want training in. Applicants, who have no computer
knowledge, can contact the respected authority directly and enrol.
Candidates/applicants are eligible for applying for more than one
course.
5. Findings/Results
People are coming out with positive comments with regard to PMKVY.
People are very much happy. The achievements of this scheme so far are:
 The number of skill sector councils have been raised up to 32
 Number of job roles upto 416
 Number of people enrolled has raised upto 1974413
 The total number of training completed so far are, 1971935
 Certified 1109959
6. Conclusion
PMKVY, which was initiated by the Government of India , with the
view of providing skill development trainings, and job opportunities for
the young youths’ who are unskilled is a very good opportunity lying
before the young people who are unemployed or underemployed. This
scheme helps in the economic growth as well as development. Which are
the two essential factors needed for the developing countries. This
scheme or PMKVY program cannot become successful only by the hard
work or the large investment of money by the government; the very
important factor for the success of this program should be public support
and public participation by making the better use of this wonderful
opportunity. As our PM, Mr. Narendra Modi quotes, “If We Have to
Move India towards Development, Then, Skill Development Should Be
Our Mission” Which means people should join their hands together and
168
work together for the betterment of our country. Skill development can
achieve its goals and help India to become a Developed Country from a
Developing Country.
Reference
 www.sscnasscom.com/pmkvy/#
 www.allonmoney.com/information/pradhan-mantri-kushal-vikas-scheme/
 Pmkvyofficial.org/index.aspx
 Vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/skilldevelopment/pradhan-mantri-kushal-
viaks-yojana#section1
 PMKVY Scheme booklet.pdf
 PMKVY_proceess manual
18
Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women

Workers with Special Reference to Coffee Plantations
in Karnataka
169
C.P.Chaya and A.R Viswanatha
Introduction:
Agricultural sector still dominates the Indian economic scene by
providing livelihood to majority of the population. Agricultural sector is
unorganized sector, means part of informal economy. Plantation labourers
are a part of the informal agricultural economy of India. The conditions of
plantation labourers are similar to those of informal agricultural workers
and they face a high degree of agony. As per the International Labour
Organization (ILO), the term ‘informal economy’ refers to all the economic
activities by workers and economic units that are in law or in practice not
covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements. In other words,
it includes ‘employment in the informal sector’ as well as ‘informal
employment’.
The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector
(NCEUS) 2007 has separated the informal/unorganised sector from
informal/unorganised employment using the following two key
definitions:
 The ‘informal sector’ consists of all unincorporated private
enterprises owned by individuals or households engaged in the sale
and production of goods and services, operated on a proprietary or
partnership basis and with less than ten total workers.
 The ‘informal workers’ consist of those working in the unorganised
enterprises or households, excluding regular workers with social
security benefits, and the workers in the formal sector without any
employment/ social security benefits provided by the employers.
The employees with informal jobs generally do not enjoy employment
security, work security, and social security and therefore, any one or more
of these characteristics can be used for identifying informal workers.
Coffee cultivation in India assumes importance not only because it
provides foreign exchange through exports but also from the perspective
of livelihoods of large number of small growers and plantation workers.
According to Coffee Board of India 616725 labourers are employed in
2014-15.Labour bureau estimated that the equivalent of some 12916
workers are employed on daily basis in 2010 in which the share of women
is7855that is 60.82percent in India. The total estimated labour
170
requirements for a hectare of yielding plantation of Arabica and Robusta

respectively are 495 man days and 330 man days per year. About 98
percent of the coffee plantations which are in the hands of small planters
have less than 10 hectares of land area.
Women provide about 33 percent workforce to agricultural
development. There is feminization in rural development. The proportion
of men is decreased in plantations. The proportion of women increases in
coffee plantations. It is called feminization of plantations. Feminization is
basis of migration of men towards cities. After the expansion of health
and education facilities there are changes in environment, demand for
women labour increases in rural areas.
Coffee plantations are sources of rural employment for labourers.
Coffee plantations heavily depend on labour force. Women labourers have
caring nature and nimble fingers suitable for picking coffee beans required
for coffee plantations due to this they dominate the employment in these
plantations. There is limited scope for using tools and machineries. Hence
there is more demand for women labourers in coffee plantations. Women
are playing crucial role not only in plantation but also in the development
of Indian economy.
Coffee plays crucial role in Karnataka’s economy. Karnataka
produces 71 percent of the total coffee in India. Coffee contributes between
3 to 4 percent of the GDP of Karnataka, the largest producing state. In
Karnataka, Coorg, Chickmagalur and Hassan are the major districts which
produce both Arabica and Robusta in almost equal proportion. Karnataka
is one such state in India where lots of land under plantation crops.
Karnataka produces both the varieties of coffee namely Robusta and
Arabica. Coffee is one of the cash crops of agriculture. Now it is included
in horticulture. Coffee is not only providing work for labourers but also
support to improve their economic status. Most of the rural women
depend on coffee plantation to get work through this they support their
family. The total labourers employed in coffee plantations are 475688 in
2007-08 and 487048 in 2014-15. The daily employment of labourers was
6821 in 2004 in that 3983 were women and the share of women is 6926 out
of 11304 daily employments of labourers in 2010 in Karnataka.
Women perform all most all the work such as weeding, preparing
soil for plantation of saplings, plucking, pruning, digging and other works
which men do. Women’s burden increases when men move towards city
171
in search of salaried work. Women labourers have low literacy and more
social responsibilities, due to this they are forced to work at a lower wages
in coffee plantations.
Statement of the Problem:

Many women labourers are working in informal sector that too in
agriculture and plantation sector in rural areas. Women productivity and
efficiency is low due to lack of skill and improper legislation. The socio-
economic conditions of rural women are very poor. Hence there is a need
to study about the skill development programs which are meant only for
women labourers.
Objectives of the Paper;
 To know the working conditions and constraints of women
labourers in rural areas, especially in coffee plantation.
 To examine the need to improve skill and productivity of women
labourers in coffee plantation.
Hypotheses;
 There are bad working conditions of women labourers in coffee
plantation.
 There is lack of skill and productivity of women labourers in
informal sector that too in coffee plantation sector.
Methodology
This paper studies about socio-economic status, working conditions
and constraints of women labour in informal sector, that too in coffee
plantation. The study is based on secondary data collected from standard
books, journals and reports of coffee board, etc.
Constraints of Women Labour;

The women labourers have more constraints in work working
hours; working conditions are not good, the distance of traveling,
transport facilities, social security measures, low wages, wage
discrimination, gender inequality, low bargaining power, poor
infrastructure and harassment in plantations. The limits on their access to
education and employment opportunities, curtails their economic self-
sufficiency and weakens their bargaining position in the family. Their
weakened bargaining position translates into little or no voice in
172
household decisions, food and nutrition insecurity, and lower health and
nutrition outcomes. Women face exposure to material deprivation, it also
makes it more difficult for them to fulfil their vital roles in household and
plantation activities.
The Plantation workforce, however, has been among the most
exploited workforce in the organized sector. Their wages are amongst the
lowest when compared to other workers and working and living
conditions most dismal. Most of the plantations are located in remote and
'isolated areas. Workers are illiterate and migrants with no awareness
about their rights. Therefore, empowering women by creating awareness
about gender issues and providing them with greater opportunities in all
social programmes is essential for enabling them to realize their full
potential. Women labourers in the plantation sector especially lack a voice,
whether for pursuing their employment interests through collective
bargaining and access to infrastructure, property rights, and social
security.
The extent of women employment is also determined by the
availability and willingness of women family and women hired labourers.
In India, agricultural development is a precondition for economic
development. As an agro based rural enterprise, it provides primary
employment in crop cultivation for about 5.87 lakh people apart from
providing indirect employment to processing and trade sectors. On an
average 4.67 lakh persons are employed in Coffee plantations in
Karnataka.
Women’s contribution is vital in many coffee-producing areas
around the world. However, they tend to have little control over the
harvest proceeds, and coffee industry structures do not tend to make
many provisions for women’s interests. There are few international
associations working to ensure their access to equal ownership and
employment conditions. Women have limited opportunity to contribute to
the decision-making processes that affect them.
Working conditions of women labourers is ruthless in some
plantations. Women work for long hours than men. Migrant women
labourers, many labourers sleep in temporary shelters with rows of bunk
beds. Many times they cook, wash and bathe from the same water source.
Most coffee labourers, like many agricultural labourers are not guaranteed
their basic labour rights including the right to organize. The rural nature
173
of formwork makes them weak as plantation owners can take advantage

of their control over the labour force to keep them from organizing into
unions to demand their rights. India have labour laws such as minimum
wage, Plantation Labour Act, health and safety requirements, and
freedom to form a union, but these rights are not enforced.
Plantations over 5 hectares are governed by the Plantation Labour
Act, Labour employed in large plantations are provided with amenities
like living quarters, electricity, medical facilities, maternity benefits,
benefits of winter and rain clothing wages are much higher than other
agricultural operations, and these wages are constantly revised through
negations. But workers in smaller estates are by and large unorganized
and their levels of employment are relatively lower than their
counterparts in large plantations. Also they do not adequately get the
benefit of minimum wages, bonus and other facilities such as housing,
medical care, maternity benefit etc. Particularly women workers do not
have access to maternity benefit in smaller estates.
Given the inaccessible areas, public provisioning of social
infrastructure is also limited. Hence several of the coffee worker’s colonies
and villages are backward in terms of social and economic development,.
Temporary workers live in everything from large, open-aired one-room
long-house-type structures holding up to 70 people to lean-tos of plastic
and wooden sticks. Permanent workers live primarily in small, dirt-
floored homes of wood or cinder blocks for which they pay rent. None is
provided education for children of temporary workers; a primary school is
available on the plantation. An inadequate number of latrines are
provided for temporary workers. No protective equipment provided to
workers. Safety precautions were usually ignored.
Need for Improving Skill and Productivity of Women Labourers

A labourer’s organization is essential not only for promoting their well-
being but also for facilitating the efficient use of the plantation labour
force itself. Education and training are the most important components
within the human resource development programmes. A low level of
education and skills is the basic barrier to productivity and growth in the
plantation sector. Hence, improving the infrastructure for education, skill
up gradation, and training is the most important requirement. This is
particularly important for women who form a majority of the plantation
174
workforce. Also, adult literacy and training programmes, especially for

women, would enable and empower them to participate in trade union
activities.
The proper formalization process can help in improving the conditions
of the women labourers and mainstreaming them into the overall social
and economic development process of a nation. The production and
productivity of plantations depend heavily on the performance of the
labourers employed therein. Hence, the welfare, spirits, and encourage of
these labourers must important by the planners and promoters of the
plantation industry.
The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 of India seeks to raise the living
standards of plantation workers. It contains several provisions related to
housing conditions, health and hygiene, education and social welfare. Act
has a great deal of potential for improving the working and living
conditions of plantation labour. The conditions of women are more
miserable than those of their male counterparts because of the multiple
roles and responsibilities Hence, organizing the plantation labourers,
particularly women labourers is a must, so that they can strengthen their
status and attain the power of collective bargaining.
Skill development programmes: In 1951, the Parliament passed the

Plantations Labour Act [PLA] which sought to provide for the welfare of
labour and to regulate the conditions of workers in plantations. Under this
law, the State Governments have been empowered to take all feasible
steps to improve the lot of the plantation workers. The passing of PLA
brought some improvements in the plantations sector. It also helped in
creating conditions for organizing the workers and the rise of trade
unions.
To provide updated skills and new knowledge to poor and asset
less women in traditional sectors The Self-Employed Women’s
Association (SEWA) was formed in 1972 in Ahmedabad. Initially with a
small membership organization for poor women working in the informal
sector, today with 1.2 million members. Swayamsidha, the scheme
was launched during 2000-01 with an objective to empower rural
women and make them self reliant by inculcating the habit of savings and
proper utilization of financial resources. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog
Yojana (IGMSY), Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB) is a scheme
175
sponsored by the national government for pregnant and lactating women

age 19 and over for their first two live births. The programme, which
began in October 2010, provides money to help ensure the good health
and nutrition of the recipients.[3] As of March 2013 the programme is being
offered in 53 districts around the country.
The National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) was
launched by the Government of India (GoI) on International Women’s
Day in 2010 with the aim to strengthen overall processes that promote all-
round Development of Women. It has the mandate to strengthen the inter-
sector convergence; facilitate the process of coordinating all the women’s
welfare and socio-economic development programmes across ministries
and departments. Skill development programmes have been implemented
to increase the efficiency of the plantation labourers to increase the
productivity and production of plantations. One of the recent skill
development programmes is Skill India launched effectively by Narendra
Modiji,(2015) to Training and Employment Programme for Women
(STEP).
Findings:
 Informal labourers face numerous problems in plantation like low
wages, poor working conditions, low literacy etc. Feminization is
basis of migration of men towards cities. The proportion of women
increases in coffee plantations due to more demand for labourers to
timely operation women has skill to take care of plants.
 Labour shortage in plantations has put the industry in a challenging
situation. To overcome shortage of labourers increased demand for
women labour and used machinery to plantation operations.
 Working conditions of women labourers are low. This Bad Working
and housing conditions of the temporary as well as permanent
workers reduces capability of women
 Availability of skilled labour is a major issue. It is one of the major
constraints affecting coffee production
 Skill development facilities are many but they are not effectively
implemented in Karnataka. Women are not sill aware about these.
176
Skill development programs are insufficient for plantation

labourers.
 Plantation labourers are from socially and economically neglected
sections of society.
 Weakened bargaining position of the women labourers within the
family.
Suggestions:
 Literacy of women should be increased qualitatively, schools for
children and vocational education to women should be provided by
planters and government. Technical training should be provided to
women in such a way that women can understand and use it easily
and also extending training in rural communities through
community-based training initiatives. The right kind of training is
highly important in supporting women to adopt forward-looking,
responsive attitudes and actions.
 The working condition in plantations can be improved by effective
enforcement of Minimum Wages Act, legal legislation. Hence
conditions of work such as work load, duration of work, rest
intervals, weekly rest days, leave facilities, provision of implements
and safety equipments influence quality of work and life in the
plantation sector.
 Developing and upgrading skills in the informal economy
especially in coffee plantation in Karnataka is important. The
development programs and policy should be women oriented.
More and more women friendly tools should be invented.
Prohibition on use of banned pesticides. The bill also proposes to
regulate employment of women and children below 14 years for
handling hazardous chemicals in plantations. Workers must be
provided with safe and healthy working environment.
 Women oriented employment programs should provide to women
Balancing the demand and supply of skilled labourers in coffee
plantations. Women organization is effective tool to protect them
from all exploitation. Opportunities must be provided for informal
labourers
 The responsibility of women should be decreased. Women perform
multiple roles in the society. It restricts her potential for
177
productivity women forced to work in low wages at bad working

condition. Health facility should be provided to women in
plantations. Appointment of qualified female doctor in the
dispensaries to women is required.. Social security sickness and
maternity benefits should be made available to women.
 All facilities should be provided to labourers who work in small
coffee estate and create several provisions for their housing, health
and education are necessary. The small planters must treat the
temporary workers as permanent workers, to solve the shortage of
labourers .
 All these can effectively help women Labourers to increase their
productivity and socio-economic conditions and they can contribute
more for economic development.
 skills to improve production and manage change is therefore an
important step towards securing livelihoods and reducing poverty
*Recently, Skill India is launched in March 2015 by Sri. Narendra
Modi, the prime minister of our country, to skill development for
youths with the objective to covers each and every village by 2020
and to identify new sectors for skill development
References:
 Kathleen Collette and Chris Gale, “Training for Rural Development:
Agricultural & Enterprise Skills for Women Smallholders” A report from
Center for skill development, London, December 2009.
 Mrs. Nirmala K.D[a] Dr. D. Anand [b] “Factors Associated With Quality
Of Work Life Of Plantation Workers-A Study Of Coffee Plantations In
Karnataka” Acme Intellects International Journal of Research in
Management, Social Sciences & Technology” ISSN 2320 – 2939 (Print)
2320-2793 (Online) Let your Research be Global search– An Ultimate
search of Truth- Reforms through Research Vol- 13 No. 13 , Jan 2016.
 Neelam Choudhary and Deeksha Tayal,” A Comparative Study Of The
Informal Conditions Of The Plantation Labourers Of India And Sri
Lanka” The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2010
 S. Sumitha 2012 “Bringing In, Living In, Falling Out: Labour Market
Transitions Of Indian plantation Sector, A Survey”. discussion paper No
14, www.cds.edu.
 C.Upendranadh, C.A. Subbaiah (Nanda) 2013 “Labour Shortage In Coffee
Plantation Areas – Coping strategies Of Small Growers In Kodagu
District”, discussion paper No30 , www.cds.edu.
178
 C. Upendranadh, C. A. Subbaiah and P. Rajesh 2014 “Issues in

Certification and Mechanisation in Coffee cultivation: Perspectives from
Small Growers of Kodagu district.” ”, discussion paper No 39,
www.cds.edu.
 Saleel Patkar 2015 “Gender And The Plantation Sector: Explorations Into
The World Of Women’s Work in Coffee Plantations Of Kodagu District.”
discussion paper No 49, www.cds.edu.
 Market Research & Intelligence Unit Coffee Board ‘Database On Coffee’
2015 December. Website-ww.indiacoffee.org. email-
ddmr.coffeeboard@nic.in.
19
Skill Development through Community College-

A Case Study
Sr.Prafula Jessy .C.A

Sr.Sajitha
Introduction
Education is very vital for the all-round development of any person
in the world. It not only brings change in the society as a whole. it is a
unique investment in the present as well as for the future. Every country
179
develops its own system of education to express and promote its unique
socio-cultural-economic identity, besides meeting the challenges of time to
leverage the existing potential opportunities.
India is one of the youngest nations in the world with over 50% of the
population under the age of 30 years. It is estimated that by about 2025,
India will have 25% of the world’s total workforce. In order to provide
good future for the younger generations in India, India needs an
educational system which is of high quality, affordable and relevant to the
individuals and economy as a whole. Education plays a catalytic role in
this complex and dynamic growth process and hence it needs to be
planned meticulously and executed with great sensitivity.
In this global economy, to compete with the market we need skill
and knowledge. Thus skills and knowledge are the driving forces of
economic growth and social development for any country. Today, the
world and India need a skilled force. To promote the development of our
country Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi has taken initiative to skill India
by providing millions and millions of Indian youth suitable jobs and
making them self-sufficient and to face their counterparts in any corner of
the world with confidence by virtue of the hard work and their dexterity
of their hands and win the hearts of people around the world through
their skills.
Keeping in view of this “skill development” and “skilled India” the
government of India through the Ministry of Skill development and
entrepreneurship had taken various schemes to create skills for the youth
in India. The government of India has launched the National Skills
Qualification (NSQF) on 27th December 2013. It is a nationally integrated
education and competency –based skill framework which provides for
multiple pathways , both within vocational education and between
general and vocational education , to link one level of learning to another
higher level and enables learners to progress to higher levels from any
starting point of their educational level or skill system. Special focus is
given to those youth who do not continue with their school or higher
education so that they are provided skills for other sustainable livelihood
options.
The National Skill Development Mission was approved by the
Union Cabinet on 1st July 2015 and officially launched by the Hon’ble
Prime Minister on 15th July 2015 on the occasion of World Youth Skills
180
Day. This Mission has been developed to create convergence across

sectors and states in terms of Skill training activities, develop India by
educating the youth with suitable jobs, thus empowering youth for a
better tomorrow.
One of the biggest challenges of skill development of our country is
that 93% of the workforce is in the informal/unorganized sector. The key
challenge is to increase suitable job for everyone thus contributing to the
economic growth of the country. The Prime Ministers Skill Development
Scheme is to tap talented young individuals who will work with the State
and District administration to spread awareness about skill development,
identify the local needs and steer skill development in the region.
The 12th Five year plan Document of the planning commission has also
laid a special emphasis on the expansion of skill –based programmes in
higher education. It recommends setting of community colleges (CC) to
serve multiple needs that caters
 career oriented education and skills to students interested in
directly entering the workforce;
 training and education programmes for local employers
 high-touch remedial education for secondary school graduates not
ready to enroll in traditional colleges, giving them a path to transfer
to three or four year institutions;
 General courses of interest to the community related to personal
development and interest.
The Plan Document also states that Community Colleges will be

located to facilitate easy access to underprivileged students and such
colleges could either be established as affiliated colleges of universities or
as entirely autonomous institutions. In India , 98 community colleges are
recognized by the University Grants commission . The courses offered by
these colleges are diploma, advance diplomas and certificate courses. The
duration of these courses ussally ranges from six months to two years.
Community Colleges in general offer low cost and high quality education
locally that encompasses both skill development as well as traditional
coursework, thereby providing opportunities to the learners to move
directly to the employment sector or move into higher education. It
provides a flexible and open education system which caters to community
– based life-long learning needs. The idea of establishing Community
181
Colleges in the country was unanimously endorsed in the Conference of

State Education Ministers held on 22nd February, 2012 and a committee
of Education Ministers of nine States was constituted to finalize the
concept and framework of the Community College scheme. The
government of India decided to introduce this scheme during the 12th Five
year Plan.
Teresian Community College

The main motto of Teresian Community College’s is “Education
with a difference Evolve, Emerge and Empower” to empower the rural
youth to contribute their might for the economic development of the
country and to raise their standard of living. Under the XII plan allocation
General Development Assistance to Colleges, Teresian College was given
grant-in aid for the year 2014-15, under the scheme of Community
Colleges a grant of 13, 07500 for the expenses of the course in Diploma in
health Care was sanctioned. On 5th November 2014, Diploma in Health
Care was commenced to enhance skill of youth and for the economic
growth in general. The course consisted of 50 students inclusive of both
boys and girls. The curriculum was designed according to the Industrial
Participation and NSDC standard.
The main objectives of the study

 To evaluate how far the diploma in Heath care has achieved skill
development for the rural youth.
 To analyze the available employment opportunities for those who
are studying in Health care.
 To evaluate the problems faced by the Teresian Community
College.
Methodology of the study

A detail regarding the ‘Skill development through Community College-A
case study’ is based on the information collected through secondary data
and also through a face to face interview through the coordinator, nodal
officer and the Principal of Teresian Community College Mysuru. Details
regarding the student’s background and how the Community College
helped the students remarkably in their all-round personality
development was in view of the skill development for better future. The
182
secondary information was collected through the Ministry of Skill

development and UGC website along with other related articles.
Teresian Community College empowers school/college drop outs with
life coping and work skills. It imparts job oriented quality education to the
least, lost and the last. It stands as a center for alternative education. This
article tries to explore the skills, the rural youth acquire through diploma
in health care and how their standard of living has changed as soon as
they get placed in Hospitals and other related areas.
Diploma in Health care and skill development

Skill development has been an integral part of education system.
Community colleges provide education with appropriate s kills keeping in
view the needs of the local industry and community there by leading to
gainful employment. Community College has been a ray of hope to people
in need of education and employability. Diploma in Health care is a UGC
sponsored Certificate course for 2 years completely free of cost.50 students
from rural Mysuru have been enrolled into the course. Out of 50 of
students who are enrolled in the Health care sector only 4 are male and 46
students are female which shows that the taking care of the patients is
wholly a women’s job.
Empowerment through education, make the students self-
sufficient financially by providing skill development through the Diploma
Course Health care which is completely free that is sponsored by the UGC
which caters to the all round development of the student. Teresian
Community College provides quality education through life coping skills,
Basic computer knowledge and spoken English classes and to give the
right skill component through practical and theory classes.
Industry needs to be closely involved in providing job opportunities
to the skilled workforce. The students who are enrolled are carefully
placed in K.R Hospital for internship programme which will be useful for
the students to get placement after the completion of the course. The
Colleges is tagged with St.Joseph Hospital for internship programmes.
Clinical posting in various hospitals, Industrial visit and exposure
programs and, one month intensive internship in KR Hospital was on par
with the curriculum and equipped the students for a better career.
Employment opportunities in Health care.
183
Diploma in health care is a skilled based job which the student can avail to
get employment in Hospital sector and also home care. The students who
are studying are given a Certificate from the College affiliated to the
Mysore University. The skill training programme shall include basic
modules of computer literacy, language and soft skills like etiquettes,
building positive attitudes, and social and life skills to enable the youth to
be employable and market ready.
Problems faced by the Teresian Community College

Teresian Community College was launched in the year 2003 with a
purpose of giving the best education to the least, the lost and the last. It
aims at empowering the school/College dropouts through life coping
Skills and work skills giving solution to the problems of the economically
backward youth. Community College functions as a centre for an
alternative system of ‘education for livelihood’. Community College has
been conducting courses like Diploma in Health care, Secretarial course,
Fashion Designing, Tailoring, Computer Courses (Basic, DTP and Tally),
and Bakery Confectionary. 90% of the trained students have been
employed in their respective fields.
In 2014, the UGC has sanctioned grant for the community college in
conducting diploma course in health care with the intake of 50 students.
50 students from local and nearby villages who are economically poor and
who are unable to go to the regular colleges have been enrolled. Students
are provided with free hostel facilities. Students can avail facilities like e-
campus, digitalized library, Smart cards, ICT facility, Yoga class etc. The
curriculum for Community College includes, Life skill, Basic Computer
and communicative English that is mandatory
The problem faced by the Teresian community Colleges was that
there was no provision for registration with the Karnataka State Nursing
council. No adequate information regarding possibility of vertical mobility
into GNM and B.Sc Nursing, Restriction in qualifying PUC as basic
qualification keeps the majority of students out of enrollment. Community
College students are denied of benefit like concessional public transport
facility, Government scholarships loans etc. they are not treated on par
with other students
Findings and suggestions
184
 Frequent Industry visit and internship programme has helped

students for proper placement after the Diploma in health care.
 Few students were misguided by others regarding authenticity of
this certificate course that is after II PUC to continue the course or
join the regular Degree course.
 Skill development is a shared responsibility of both government as
well as industry. Industry is one of the major stakeholders; it needs
to actively contribute to the cause of skill development. The study
found that lack of cooperation from the hospital sector and the
industry to place the students for internship programme. The staff
had to face lot of obstacle to place the students in different
industries. Though it is a free course the Community Colleges had
to pay a certain amount to place the students for the internship
programme at K.R Hospital. The internship certificate was very
useful for further recommendation during placement.
 The study also found that the students who are enrolled are mainly
from financially and academically poor background. 50% of the
students are from Hundur and others from periyapattana,
T.Narasipura , Pollebetta and while still others from rural areas in
Mysuru.
 Conveyance and Hostel facility was another problem that the
students faced in order to skill themselves. About 15 students have
been freely accommodated in the hostel and others struggled to get
bus facility.
 The programme was sponsored by UGC only for six months rest of
the financial burden was on to the management . Thus it was
difficult for the management to complete the course.
 Another problem that the College faced was getting recognition.
Since the diploma in health care is not handled by any of the
affiliated Colleges in Mysore under Mysore University it was
difficult to get recognition.
 As this course was part of the Skill development and the main aim
was to provide skill to the youth, the colleges did not get proper
guidance regarding the programme .
 To generate skill for youth through diploma in Health care was a
constant dilemma as the students who enrolled were not positively
185
motivated, as everything was given to them free and they took it for
granted.
 The study also found that there are some students who felt the real
need and they have benefited and also developed a holistic
personality.
 The study found that through community colleges the rural youth
were able to tap the potential and thus developed skill through the
inner energy which was latent in them.
Conclusion
Community College is a boon to the underprivileged section in the
society where education was made relevant for a better future.
Community College has to be in constant dialogue with the industry and
skill councils so that they remain updated on the requirements of the local
economy. The community College also tries to preserve and promote the
cultural heritage of the region. Through soft skills and life coping skills
and other extracurricular activities inculcate confidence and motivation to
those students who are under the care of the community Colleges. Proper
guidance and timely counseling is given so that they can contribute
generously to the development of the economy. The training that they
receive may also inspire the youth for entrepreneurship development.
Today, more than 20 Ministries/Departments run 70 plus schemes for skill
development in the country. However, there are gaps in the capacity and
quality of training infrastructure as well as outputs, insufficient focus on
workforce aspirations, lack of certification and common standards and a
pointed lack of focus on the unorganized sector. These gaps can be
rectified by giving a holistic personality development through
Community Colleges which totally dedicate to skill youth and make India
a better tomorrow by providing full employment and job opportunity for
all.
In India, the informal sector cannot afford employing highly
educated and professionally trained manpower which usually aspires for
high challenging, rewarding and satisfying career. Indian youth who are
unemployed depend on the relatively low paid manpower trained
through non-formal system of skill development. Indian government has
taken initiative to network with non-formal skill development and attract
the beneficiary through Community Colleges.
186
Case study
Kanayakumari, a widow aged 31, with a child also a partially visual
handicap. The loss of her husband created doubt regarding her future as
she was not educated enough and educational opportunities provided to
her were insufficient. She then completed her Pre -University examination
and joined the 2 year course of the UGC sponsored Diploma Health Care.
The course which provides lots of motivation and life coping skills
empowered her to be confident and motivated.
Kumar is a B.A graduate, searched for a job in vain as his
qualification combined with his inferior complex had hindered him to be
capable to fetch a job and so he joined Diploma in Health Care. The life
coping skills motivated him to open up and participate in the class. He
feels more inspired and confident.
Reference
 http://www.skilldevelopment.gov.in/nationalskillmission.html
 www.skilldevelopment.gov.in
 http://www.skilldevelopment.gov.in/National-Policy-2015.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_college
 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---abstracts
 http://mhrd.gov.in/community-colleges
 http://www.aicte-india.org/communitycolleges.php
187
20
Impact of Skill Development Training Programme on

Sri Lankan Youth (Case Study of National Youth Corps
Tanning Center in Sri Lanka)
Wijitha K, S.A., Nayana Suraweera and Pamodi Edirisinghe
Introduction
Sri Lanka’s workforce is the most educated in South Asia. About 96
percent of its citizens complete primary school and 87 percent secondary
school, and there is gender parity in school completion. Despite a large
number of educated young workers, Sri Lanka’s labor market is
characterized by high youth unemployment, high underemployment, and
considerable informality. According to Sri Lankan tradition, teenagers
who finish school continue to live with and depend on their parents -- an
arrangement that is often a financial hardship for struggling families.
Compounding the problem is the fact that so few Sri Lankan teenagers are
eligible to attend university. Of the 160,000 or so students who sit for
entrance exams annually, only 12,000 are admitted. Nationally, some
300,000 youth leave school every year with no clearly-defined plans for
their future. Although the overall unemployment rate declined from 9
188
percent in 2000 to 4 percent in 2012, about 20 percent of 15–24 year-olds

was still unemployed in 2012.
Though the dropout rates are high, the provisions taken to cater this
segment through initiatives such as vocational training, is a major
challenge in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka has introduced many
training programmers with the objective of reducing the number of
dropouts. To enhance their personality, with skill development vocational
training programmers have been implemented under the Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Skills Development.
One of the main development targets that many think will uplift
people out of poverty is vocational or skill training. The idea is to raise
confidence, improve productivity and give direction through proper skill
development. Skill development will enable the youths to get blue-collar
jobs. Development of skills, at a young age, right at the school level, is
very essential to channelize them for proper job opportunities. There
should be a balanced growth in all the sectors and all jobs should be given
equal importance. Every job aspirant would be given training in soft skills
to lead a proper and decent life. Skill development would reach the rural
and remote areas also. Corporate educational institutions, non-
government organizations, Government, academic institutions, and
society would help in the development of skills of the youths so that better
results are achieved in the shortest time possible.
‘A person’s ability to do something ‘can define as a skill.
Furthermore ‘skills’ means the ability to apply knowledge and use it to
complete tasks and solve problems. Skills are classified into two parts, soft
skill and hard skill. Hard skill is technical or administrative procedures
that can be defined, measured and easy to train and it is related to one's
personality, for example machine operation, computer protocols, safety
standards, financial procedures and sales administration are some
example for hard skill.
Soft skill is less tangible, and can be observed and measured. Soft
skills are related to personality and tend to be transferable, such as
communication, leadership, time management, stress management,
decision making, adaptability, ability to deal with adversity, and
networking. Especially employers who give an equal weight age for both
hard skills and soft skills always give preference to those who strike a
189
balance between the two and, those who strike the balance will be able to
cut an edge among the rest.
A Person can acquire these skills cognitively or practically. The
Cognitive and Practical Skills domain involves acquiring and analyzing
knowledge and skills and integrating them in a way that allows for
effectively managing one’s daily affairs and meeting personal and social
responsibilities. For example cognitive skills involving the use of logical,
intuitive and creative thinking and practical skills are involving manual
dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments.
However for a person wants to improve his skills in a constantly
changing environment, having proper skills is an essential part of being
able to meet the challenges of everyday life. The dramatic changes in
global economies over the past recent years have been matched with the
transformation in technology and these are all impacting on education, the
workplace and our home life. To cope with the increasing pace and
change of modern life, youth need new skills such as the ability to deal
with stress and frustration. Today’s youths will have many new jobs over
the course of their lives, with associated pressures and the need for
flexibility.
There for one of the key areas that need emphasis is the importance
of Skills Based Education and Training on Skills. This has become
extremely essential with the growing competitive environment and peer
pressure. Therefore, the use of skills have been given due weight with
respect to addressing these issues.
Sri Lanka scenario of skill development

In Sri Lanka since 1989, many policy initiatives have been taken by
the different governments targeting development of youth in the country.
Successive governments have initiated many productive programs to
empower and develop youth with the establishment of the first ever
Ministry of Youth and Employment, during year 1978.Under the Ministry
the subjects of Youth Affairs were changed as follow,
1989 - Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
1994 - Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and Rural Development
1998 - Ministry of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports
2000 - Ministry of Youth Affairs
2010 - Ministry of Youth Affairs
190
2010 - Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development

Until 2010, the subjects of youth development and vocational
training development were under two different ministerial portfolios.
However, the government’s initiative on amalgamating both subject areas
of youth development and vocational training as the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Skills Development and taking all the public training
providers under one umbrella started making very positive impact on
youth development of the country as a whole. Accordingly,
responsibilities of the development sector of the Ministry were divided in
to two areas namely; Youth Development and Vocational Training.
Altogether, 18 institutions are functioning under the Ministry. However
2014 The World Bank approved a $101.5 million International
Development Association (IDA) credit to expand the availability of
employable workers by increasing access to high quality, labor market
relevant skills development programs. The project will open new career
prospects for skilled employment that is critical to sustain growth in a
middle income country.
National Youth Corps Training Center

The National Youth Corps Training Center (NYC), one of the largest
government youth training institutions of that era, ushered a different
orientation, by focusing on training discipline, personality development
and job oriented vocational training. especially who dropouts by the two
main exams and that training center strive to enhance their personality,
with skill development vocational training programmers. Established by
Parliament Act No.21 of 2002, the National Youth Corps, under the
purview of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Skills Development, today is
the main training institution of the state, for Personality Development and
Vocational Training of Youth.
With an island wide network of 38 centers and a Training Centre
established especially for Outbound Activities, the annual training target
supports 15,000 youth. Further, there are 540 Graduate Counselors and
Squad Drill Instructors actively supporting the programme.
Those between ages 18 -28, who although having completed school
education and have no possibility for higher education, but yet in need of
productively shaping their young lives for the benefit of the country, are
been selected as trainees to follow the basic course designed for them at
191
the National Youth Corps Centers. They will be recipients of a Rs 3000

allowance from the government. Further, while they are also eligible to
receive the Personality Development Training Certificate at the
completion of the Basic Course, in parallel the National Vocational
Qualification(NVQ) 1 Certificate is also available.
With the aim of boosting discipline, leadership and personality of the
youth spread out throughout the country, the annual training of the
National Youth Corps comprises 02 six month sessions, and is effectively
implemented with the annual education plan well linked with the relevant
syllabuses. Subjects such as,
- Squad Drill & Physical Education
- Vocational Guidance & Management of Life Skills
- Personal Leadership & Enhancement of Psycho-Social skills
- English and Tamil Languages
- Information Technology
- Aesthetic Appreciation
1.2 Significance of the study
Need of skill development have become a fundamental part of
every aspects of our life as well as employment sector. The dramatic
changes are taking place in the world of work according to impact on
global economy and revolution of technology. Therefore people are
required to be updated and improve according to this global technology.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of skill
development training programmers in empowering youth of Sri Lanka.
One way or the other, this training does have an impact on the trainers
either positively or negatively. The present study there for seeks to
discover the link between skill development programmers and trainees
skills.
Statement of the Problem
There is no doubt regarding the skill development is a main part of
world of work in the present time we live in. Therefore research studies
“How does skill development programme impact on Sri Lankan youth.

 To observe how skill development training programme impact on
youth trainees
192
 To observe the how youth corps training center programme involve

improving trainees skills.
 To evaluate and compare impact on training programme when
they are at the begging and end of the programmers
1.7 Limitation of the study
With an island wide network of 38 centers and the network covers almost
all the provinces in Sri Lanka. But this study aims to study only three
training centers namely Nittambuwa, Kadugnnwa and Galigamuwa.
The questionnaire sample was selected randomly from the three centers’
trainees and comprised 100 trainees. The scores of this sample were
limited to insure the validity of the tools of the current study.
Sample size and sample techniques

The sample was selected on the basis of non-probability technique.
Since the study was based on training programme and student’s skill
development, a purposive sample was applied. The researchers have
selected 100 respondents as a representative sample of people with grater
knowledge of the problem at hand. The smaller sample also reduces the
margin of error for the study. The survey research required research tools
and most significantly the questionnaire. In this study required research
tools and most significantly the questionnaire. In this study, 25 questions
were assembled based on the objectives and categorized in four parts.
First part (part A) containing to socio-demographic economic profile of
respondents. Second part of the questionnaire designed to measure the
impact of training programme on students’ skill development.
A questionnaire normally consists of open – ended questions. This
is allow for answers that researcher did not originally foresee in the
construction of the questionnaire and that may suggest possible
relationship with other answers.
Data presentation
Data were presented in from of chart and table and this data was
converted in to percentage in order to show the ranking of various
elements in wrap around advertisements. Both explanatory and the
descriptive statistical analysis was implied to analyze data by the
researchers, the descriptive statistical analysis paves a way to give a
general overview of the finding of the study, and it describe the situation.
193
The researchers used Microsoft excel and Microsoft word to draw tables,
chart and graphs. Statistical tools such as tables and bar graph were used
in the presentation of results.
Data presentation and interpretation

The analysis of the data was done using percentage, frequency
analysis and graphical representation. It was found out that the existing
literature was supporting the findings of the study to a greater extent
Figure No 1: Gender of the respondents

The total number of the
respondents was 100. Out of which
57 were males and 43 females
represented three centers, the
percentage of male respondents
highly than the female
respondents. According to this
research they are in age group of 16 to 24years. Minimum age in 16 years
and maximum is 24 years old.
Table No 1: Education level of respondents
Ordinary Advance Level Total

Exam
pass Fail pass fail
Male 3 52 0 2 57
Female 6 32 2 3 43
Total 9 84 2 5 100
According to the research a majority of respondents who fail

ordinary exam in Sri Lanka, There for When the researchers have
conducted this research, respondents were in first part of the training
course. Therefore most of trainees have entered this course after their
ordinary exam, this is a main reason for more respondents belonging in
ordinary level.
According to the research a majority of respondents 84% who failed
ordinary exam, out of which 52% are male and 32% are female. Only 9% of
them have passed the Ordinary Level exam and out of them 3% are male
194
and 6% are female.5 % of them claimed that they have failed the
Advanced Level exam out of which 2% were male and 3% were female.
While another 2% of female claimed that they have passed Advance Level.
When they were compared before and after entering the course
according to the following statements, it was found that majority of the
respondents have a positive attitude about the skill development, and
there for most of trainees choose the option of “strongly agree” and
“agree”, for the following skills development statements
- Improved presentation skills than before
- Improved Leadership qualities
- Help to free fear (stage fear, presentation fear etc.)
- To take risk and faced them without any fear
- Work with others as a group
- Planning and Organizing work
- Time management
- Increased creative skills
- Develop Self-Discipline
- Increasing social contacts
- Make the person more active
- Improved self-management
- Improving decision making skills
- Helped in personality development
According to this research that data revealed that a majority of the
respondents (95%) have stated that the training programme initiated
under the youth corps is more helpful in improving trainees skills and
personality in a positive way.
There for the study was able to find out, that the Skills Based
Education and Training has become extremely essential with the growing
competitive environment and peer pressure. As well as skill development
is a main part of world of work in the present time. Without educational
qualification youths have to face more difficulties to survive in the world
of work. There for they have to improve their qualities and increasing self-
demand through an alternative path. The youth corps training centers
contribute in providing this path to the youth by improving their
personality and skills in positive way through the Skills Development
Training Programme initiative.
References:
195
 Chen, M.A.(2005). Rethinking the informal economy: Linkages with the formal
economy and the formal regulatory environment (No. 2005/10). Research Paper,
UNU-WIDER, United Nations University (UNU).
 FICCI (2014): Reaping India’s promised demographic dividend — industry in
driving seat, Ernst & Young LLP, New Delhi.
 GoI (2012): Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics,
National Statistical Commission Government of India, Government of India.
 Institute of Social Studies Trust (2012): Empowering Women through Skill
Development - Challenges and Opportunities1, Gender and Economic Policy
Discussion Forum, Forum II, Briefing Note 2.
21
Indian Women in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics Education and
Jobs: A Gender Gap Analysis
S. Mahendrakumar and Yogesh.U
Introduction
In the context of growing gender inequalities and the consequential
adverse impacts on the well-being of the society, gender issues have
emerged at the Centre stage of development planning in most countries
including India. The formulation of specific policies and programs to
address such issues effectively has to be, however, based on reliable and
timely statistics on various aspects of gender inequalities. A major data
gap in this regard is non-availability of reliable measurement of the
economic contribution of women. Several social scientists even consider
that the very definition and instruments used for collecting data on
economic activities in India are inadequate to identify and measure the
real contribution of women. Though these issues are of considerable
significance to the statistical system of the country, the focus of this paper
196
is on estimating the gender gap in STEM undergraduate education and

STEM jobs based on available data sets.
Indian Women In STEM Jobs and Education

Our science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce
is crucial to India’s innovative capacity and global competitiveness. Yet
women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM
degree holders. That leaves an untapped opportunity to expand STEM
employment in the India, even as there is wide agreement that the nation
must do more to improve its competitiveness.
In 2009-2010, in total Indian women workforce, fill close to seventy
percent (70%) workforce in the agriculture sector in the Indian economy
they hold less than 32 percent of STEM -related sectors like manufacturing
and service sectors. This has been the case throughout the past decade,
even as college educated women have increased their share of the overall
workforce.
Women with STEM jobs earned 33 percent more than comparable women
in non-STEM jobs –considerably higher than the STEM premium for men.
As a result, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-
STEM jobs.
Women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate
degrees, particularly in engineering.
Indian Women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male
counterparts to work in a STEM occupation; they are more likely to work
in education or healthcare.
There are many possible factors contributing to the discrepancy of women
and men in STEM jobs, including; / a lack of female role models, gender
conventionalized, and less family-friendly flexibility in the STEM fields.
Regardless of the causes, the findings of this paper provide evidence of a
need to encourage and support women in STEM.
Figure 1.Trend In Sector Wise Composition Of Women In The

Workforce By Sector In Percentage (2009-2010)
197
figure 1
agriculture+mining -68.8%
manufacturing+construction -
15.4%
services-15.8%
Women Workforce In India In 2011-2012

Some of the key results at the all-India level for the period July 2011 - June
2012 as obtained from the employment and unemployment survey of NSS
68th round are stated below.
Among workers in the usual status in rural India, about 59 percent of the
males and 75 per cent of the females were engaged in the agriculture
sector. The proportion of workers engaged in the agricultural activities
gradually fell from 81 percent in 1977-78 to 59 percent in 2011-12 for rural
males and from 88 percent in 1977-78 to 75 percent in 2011-12 for rural
females. In urban India, among male workers in usual status the ‘trade,
hotel and restaurant' sector registered the highest proportion of workers
(about 26 percent) while ‘manufacturing’ and ‘other services’ sectors
accounted for about 22 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Among
female workers in the urban areas, ‘other services’ sector registered the
highest proportion of workers (40 per cent), followed by ‘manufacturing’
(29 percent), ‘trade, hotel and restaurant' (13 percent) and ‘agriculture’ (11
percent). Over the years, there has been the considerable increase in the
proportion of workers engaged in ‘construction’. Between 1977-78 and
2011-12, the increase in the proportion of workers in ‘construction’ was
about 11 percentage points for rural males, 6 percentage points for rural
females, 7 percentage points for urban males and 2 percentage points for
urban females. During this period, in the urban areas, proportion of male
workers engaged in ‘trade, hotel and restaurant' increased by about 4
percentage points and proportion of female workers engaged in ‘other
services’ sector increased by 14 percentage points. Among the workers in
the rural areas, the occupation ‘skilled agricultural and fishery workers’
registered the highest the proportion of workers for both males (39 per
cent) and females (48 percent). In the urban areas, the occupation ‘craft
198
and related trades workers’ registered the highest proportion of workers

for males (19 percent) and the occupation ‘elementary occupations’ for
females (about 23 percent). The daily wage/salary earnings of a regular
wage/salaried employee of age 15-59 years’ was Rs. 298.96 in the rural
areas and Rs. 449.65 in the urban areas. This was Rs. 322.28 for rural
males, Rs. 201.56 for rural females, Rs. 469.87 for urban males and Rs.
366.15 for urban females.
STEM worker earnings and gender

There are two notable findings in examining the relationship
between STEM, gender and earnings. First, “STEM: Good Jobs Now and
for the Future,” STEM workers earn considerably more than their non-
STEM counterparts (what we call in this paper the “STEM earnings
premium”). Second is the gender wage gap – a robust finding that women
earn considerably less than men. Year-round workers in private sector
STEM and non-STEM jobs, on average, men and women earn Rs1500 and
Rs1000 per day, respectively, in STEM jobs – higher than the Rs. 322.28
that men earn and Rs. 201.56 that women earn, on average, in other
occupations. For every rupee earned by a man in STEM, a woman earns
14percent less, smaller than the 21 percent gender wage gap in non-STEM
occupations, but a clear gender disparity nonetheless. While illustrative,
these simple comparisons do not take into account the many factors that
can help explain why STEM workers tend to earn more than non-STEM
workers, or why women earn less than men. I found that STEM workers
earn significantly more than their non-STEM counterparts in the private
sector.
I would expect women in STEM to face a smaller gender earnings gap
than women in other occupations interestingly, the most male- dominated
STEM occupational group—engineers. Physical and life sciences
occupations, the most gender balanced STEM group.
What Is Stem?
The acronym STEM is fairly specific in nature— referring to science,
technology, engineering and mathematics—however, there is no standard
definition of what constitutes a STEM job. Science, technology,
engineering and mathematics positions consistently make the lists of
199
STEM occupations, but there is less agreement about whether to include

other positions such as educators, managers, technicians, healthcare
professionals and social scientists. In this paper, the Economics and
Statistics Administration (ESA) USA, defines STEM jobs to include
professional and technical support occupations in the fields of computer
science and mathematics, engineering, and life and physical sciences.
Three management occupations are also included because of their clear
ties to STEM.
In STEM list contains 50 specific occupation codes (see Appendix
Table 2). To better put these jobs into context, we divide STEM
occupations into four categories: computer and mathematics, engineering
and surveying, physical and life sciences, and STEM managerial
occupations. Across all levels of educational attainment, the largest group
of STEM jobs is within the computer and mathematics fields, which
account for close to half (47 percent) of all STEM employment. Seconds are
engineering and surveying occupations, representing approximately one-
third of all STEM employment, while 12 percent are in the physical and
life sciences, and 8 percent in STEM management jobs. Parallel to our list
of STEM occupations, we also identify a set of STEM undergraduate
degree fields that span computer science and mathematics, engineering,
and life and physical sciences (see Appendix Table 1). We define STEM
degree holders as persons whose primary or secondary undergraduate
major was in a STEM field. Consistent with the occupations selected for
this paper, we exclude business, healthcare, and social science majors.
Stem Degrees And Fields Of Study By Gender

Table 1.Enrolment At Undergraduate Level In Major Discipline /
Subject
2011-12 2012-2013 2013-14
% of Female
% of Female
% of Female
Discipline
Female
Female
Female
SI.no:
Total
Total
Total
Male
Male
Male
1 Enginee
ring and
1983863
2774828
2472514
3471488
2910029
1153447
4063476
28.50%
28.77%
28.38%
790965
998974
Technol
ogy
200
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
s
1 SI.no:
er
ural
Total
Home
Grand
Marine
Science
Fisherie
Medical
Sciences
Sciences
Sciences
Sciences
Sciences
Comput
Agricult
Social Discipl IT and
sciences, ine 37575 1013 1332 278 57046 191586 473907 1046019
commerce, 55 6
education 24517 2 1720 281 18642 297715 318790 995810
5364138
and others Male 48 04
62093 1015 3052 308 75688 489301 792697 2041829
total Female
2011-2012
5146749 00 90
39.48 0.19 56.35% 90.9 24.63% 60.84% 40.12% 48.77%
10510890 Total % % 8%
44647 734 1277 510 85548 235074 354847 1309675
75 6
48.96% % of
29028 15 1917 339 28047 361943 254501 1223488
Female 41 56
201
73774 749 3194 390 113595 597017 609348 2533163
6359800 Male
78 62
39.34 2.0% 60.01% 86.9 24.69% 60.62% 41.76% 48.29%
6369724 Female
% 2%
12719673 Total 53396 777 2087 625 97189 276752 353162 1693407
61 8
2012-2013
50.07% % of 34803 230 2278 423 36679 435796 282716 1526911
Female 64 07
88200 1007 4365 485 133868 712578 635878 3220318

5486456 Male 25 65
7345753 Female
39.45 22.84 52.18% 87.1 27.39% 61.16% 44.46% 47.41%
TABLE 2.Enrolment At Undergraduate Level In Disciplines / Subjects
12832209 Total % % 1%
has a similar trend with around 55% males and 45% females. PG Diploma
sciences and fisheries sciences which are almost more than 50% of female
Taking a look at the Male-Female ratio at each level, the trend is higher
2012, student enrolment at both Under Graduate and Post Graduate levels
males than females in almost every level, except home sciences, medical
enrolment than male. As per data published by AISHE REPORT-2011-

2013-2014
57.24% % Of
Female
has an unbalanced distribution with 65% males and 35% females.

Similarly, Ph.D. and Integrated levels both have an unequal distribution of
around 62% males and 38% females. Diploma student enrollment projects
the most lopsided picture with 71% male students and 29% female
students.
Objectives
1. To compare the men and women STEM higher education in Indian
level
2. To analyse the women job opportunity in STEM field.
Methodology
The study based on the secondary data collected from the Central
Statistical Organization (CSO). I have used other
various secondary data sources also. Data were gathered through the
variety of modes such as internet /websites, officials working in governm
ent organisation, different stakeholders, through field study have help to
make this paper.
Conclusion
This paper finds that women are underrepresented both in STEM
jobs and STEM undergraduate degrees and have been consistently over
the last decade. The relatively few women who receive STEM degrees are
concentrated in physical and life sciences, in contrast to men, who are
concentrated primarily in engineering. Women who do receive STEM
degrees are less likely to work in STEM jobs than their male counterparts.
And while women working in STEM jobs earn less than their male
counterparts, they experience a smaller gender wage gap compared to
others in non-STEM occupations.
The underrepresentation of women in STEM majors and jobs may
be attributable to a variety of factors. These may include different choices
men and women typically make in response to incentives in STEM
education and STEM employment – for example, STEM career paths may
be less accommodating to people cycling in and out of the workforce to
raise a family – or it may be because there are relatively few female STEM
role models. Perhaps strong gender stereotypes discourage women from
pursuing STEM education and STEM jobs.
202
While this paper does not –explain why gender differences in STEM
exist, it does aim to provide data and insight that will enable more
informed policymaking. The findings provide definitive evidence of a
need to encourage and support women in STEM with a goal of gender
parity. Given the high-quality, well-paying jobs in the fields of science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, there is great opportunity for
growth in STEM in support of indian competitiveness, innovation and
jobs of the future.
STEM managerial occupations

1. Computer and information systems managers
2. Engineering managers
3. Natural sciences managers
References
 Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) 2011-2012. (New Delhi).
 Statement containing estimates of workforce and gross value added based
on the revised base of 2009-2010. (New Delhi).
 Raveendran,G. 2005. “Estimating employment in the informal economy
through labour force surveys”, Paper presented in the eighth meeting of
the Expert Group on Informal Sector Statistics, Fiji
 All India survey on higher education (2012-2013), government of India
ministry of human resource development department of higher education
New Delhi 2015.
 Rahul Lahoti Researcher june -2013. “Economic Growth and Female
Labour Force Participation in India”. Indian institute of Bangalore.
 U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration -
2010. “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation”
203
22
Empowering Women through Skill Development in

India
Sridevi Krishna and Chandralekha.V
“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world; when women participate in the
economy, everyone benefits”
Hillary Clinton
Introduction
For the economic growth and social development of a country skills
and knowledge are the driving forces. The economy of a country becomes
more productive, innovative and competitive through the existence of
more skilled human potential. In this regard, women are the most vibrant
and dynamic segment as well as potentially most valuable human
resources. Today, all economies need skilled workforce so as to meet
global standards of quality, to increase their foreign trade, to bring
advanced technologies to their domestic industries and to boost their
industrial and economic development. As it has been observed that
countries with highly skilled human capital tend to have higher GDP and
per capita income levels and they adjust more effectively to the challenges
and opportunities of the world of work.2
For India, skill development is also critical from both socio-
economic and demographic point of view. For the economy to grow at 8%
to 9%, with the targeted growth rate of 10% for secondary, 11% for tertiary
2
Nikita Diwakar & Tauffiq ahamed, “Skill development of Women through Vocational Training”,
available @www.allresearchjounal.com,pg 1
204
and 4% for agriculture sectors, a multi-faceted and highly efficient skill

development system is imperative. Further, India is destined to be a
contributor to the global workforce pool on account of demographic
bonus, with the growth rate of higher working age population as
compared to its total population and home to the second largest
population in the world with distinct advantage of having the youngest
population with an average age of 29 years3 as against the average age of
37 years in China and the US and 45 years in Western Europe. The
increasing globalization and digital presence provide India a unique
position to increase its share further in global market from current share of
around 37% in the global outsourcing market. Hence such a scenario
necessitates skill development for the workforce especially women. 4
Skill Capacity of India

India is one of the youngest nations in the world with more than
54% of the total population below 25 years of age. India’s workforce is the
second largest in the world after China’s. While China’s demographic
dividend is expected to start tapering off by 2015, India will continue to
enjoy it till 2040. However, India’s formally skilled workforce is
approximately 2% - which is dismally low compared to China (47%),
Japan (80%) or South Korea (96%).5 In order to capitalize the demographic
dividend, India will need to empower its workers with the right type of
skills. The present skill levels of the Indian workforce in the age group of
15-59 years in the form of their general educational levels and vocational
training levels are-
 The drop-out rates of educational institution was estimated to be
50% in the age group of 5-14 years and 86% after 15 years of age and
in contrast to this the participation rate of the workforce rises
rapidly after 14 years of age and it results in a semi-literate
workforce which finds it difficult to absorb higher form of skills.
 38% of Indian workforce is illiterate, 25% has education below
primary or up to primary level and remaining 36%has an education
level of middle and higher level.
 80% of Indian workforce does not possess any marketable skills.
3
Available @www.ficciskillforum.org, 2014 (with a headcount of around 1.4 billion by 2025)
4
Ibid
5
“Skill Development in India- Present status and recent developments”, Available @ www.swaniti.com,
pg 1
205
 Only about 2% have received formal vocational training and 8%

non-formal vocational training, thereby implying that very few new
entrants to the work force have any marketable skills as compared
to developed economies such as Korea (96%), Germany (75%), Japan
(80%) and United Kingdom (68%).6
Skill Development and Women

The 11th Five year Plan has recognized India’s massive need of skill
in both formal and informal sector in next ten years. In response, the
government developed an ambitious scheme “of increasing the proportion
of formal and informal skilled workers in its total workforce from a mere
2% now to 50% by 2022, thus creating a 500 million strong resource pool.” 7
Women form a significant proportion of this work force in India; however,
they are largely concentrated in the informal sector, engaged in vocations
characterized by low earning, low productivity, poor working conditions
and lack of social protection. Both, women and men, whether urban or
rural, are majorly unskilled compared to having some skills. There are
higher number of unskilled workers in rural than in urban areas, and
more number of women do not have any skills, compared to men with no
skills.
The National Skill Development Mission, headed by the Prime
Minister, was launched in 2010, and a Co-ordinate an action Plan for Skill
Development was formulated with a three tier structure that includes, (a)
the Prime Minister´s National Council on Skill Development, as the apex
body for advice on policy and interventions, (b) the Skill Development
Coordination Board to device detailed strategies, guidelines and
instructions based on the advice of the council, and (c) the National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC), a non-profit company registered
under the Companies Act of 1956. The role of the corporation is to identify
the full range of skill development needs, develop processes with special
emphasis on excellent standards and certifications, training of trainers,
and proper delivery of training. Historically, vocational training has been
primarily coordinated by Directorate General of Employment and
Training (DGET) under Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE),
Government of India; while technical training falls under the Ministry of
6
Vandana Saini, “Skill Development in India: Need, Challenges and way forward”, Abhinav Pub, Vol 4
Issue 4(2015), pg 2
7
National Skill Development Policy,2009
206
Human Resource Development. “The main objective of vocational

education and training (VET) is to furnish the technical and management
skills and help develop appropriate attitudes for specific occupations and
jobs.” However, this traditional objective is being widened now to include
approaches and interventions that promote capacity building and
empowerment, and not just training p. The present focus is to develop and
achieve sustainable improvements in the livelihoods of the poor.8
The 12th Five year Plan observes that skill development programmes
in the past have been run mainly by the government, with insufficient
connection with market demand. It has called for an enabling framework
that would attract investment in Vocational Training through Public
Private Partnership (PPP). The NDA Government created a Ministry of
Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to address the Skill Development
needs.9
Issues and Challenges

As noted earlier, the aim of skill development, particularly in case of
women, is not merely to prepare them for jobs, but also to improve the
performance of women workers by enhancing the quality of work in
which they are engaged. The NSDC has identified a few of the major
challenges, which need to be addressed for building a conducive
ecosystem, of skill development for the women workforce. These are –
(i) the large number of women who need to be trained since
currently only 2% of the female workforce is formally trained,
(ii) inadequacies in the quality and relevance of TVET (technical
and vocational employment training in India),
(iii) inadequate Infrastructure, acute shortage of trained women
workers, poor quality of training,
(iv) lack of mechanisms to judge and certify quality,
(v) inequity in access to TVET for women
(vi) low level of education of potential women trainees that limits
training of women in the formal sector,
(vii) lack of recognition of prior learning of potential women trainees
(viii) Relatively high opportunity cost of learning involved for
training women.
8
Ibid
9
Available @ www.swaniti.com, pg 2
207
The major challenges noted above are few in number but represent a
complexity of issues involved. Additionally, it is argued that the
empowerment practice has to go beyond its focus on women to gender. A
focus on gender would imply an emphasis on strategic needs such as
leadership and advocacy, rather than a simple focus on basic needs. The
concept of gender will also, encourage an understanding and an analysis
of power relations, and enforces the idea of developing capabilities rather
than simply skills. 10
Another important point that cannot be left out is the potential
advantage of “demographic dividend” that India has over many other
countries. The demographic dividend arises as an asset for India due to
expected decline in dependency ratio in the country. The dependency
ratio of India has declined from 0.8 in 1991 to 0.73 in 2001, 11 and is
expected to further decline to 0.59 by 2011. Low dependency ratio gives
India a cost advantage and helps in improving India’s competitiveness.
This demographic dividend is expected to last until around 2035. Hence,
India has to act now and get the training and skill development right to
benefit from this demographic dividend, to create a global pool of skilled
persons. 12
However, if the demographic dividend is not turned into an
opportunity now, and if India fails to deliver, this demographic dividend
in about 25 years may actually become a handicap. Besides the
demographic dividend, another factor that adds to the urgency for
improved skill development is the increasing number of newly educated
youth, especially women, who would like to seek employment in the
service sector. The education and skill development sector has not
adequately responded to this emerging need, making it imperative to
provide skill development and training in marketable skills and services.
It is therefore clear, that there is a dire and urgent need for a paradigm
shift in the skill development sector, in favor of innovations,
improvements and high quality training. It is also observed, that the
concept of training and skill development needs to move beyond the
conventional goal of imparting technical and managerial competencies, to
playing a broader role of even including basic literacy, numeracy, critical
10
Ibid, pg 4
11
ratio of dependent to working age population,
12
Ibid, pg 4
208
social and political awareness, awareness about gender, and enhancing

life skills. Such interventions by their nature will encourage higher self-
esteem among women and overall personality development. It is also
urged that for skill development to be more effective, training needs to
bend towards developing the kind of skills women and men already know
or in other words, the need is to enhance or adapt traditional skills to
aspirational skills. However, focus on up gradation need not be at the cost
of developing new skills, especially in the case of women who otherwise
may get further entrenched in traditional skills and roles.
Government Initiatives
In order to meet the challenges of skilling at scale with speed,
standard and sustainability, a draft National Policy for Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship, 2015 was introduced. It aims to provide an
umbrella frame work to all skilling activities being carried out within the
country, to align them to common standards and link skilling with
demand centers. The Policy also lists out ten major directions for the Skill
Development Framework, including increasing the capacity, synergy
among existing schemes, global partnerships and inclusivity. It seeks to
address the lacunae in Entrepreneurship by steps like streamlining
entrepreneurship in education system, inventing business through
mentorship, fostering social entrepreneurship, promoting inclusivity,
improving the ease of doing business and providing access to finance.
The policy encourages companies to spend at least 25% of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds on skill development, seeks
to introduce fee paying model along with Skill Vouchers, and set up a
Credit Guarantee fund for Skill Development. A ‘Project Implementation
Unit’ (PIU) is also proposed to be set up to review the implementation and
progress of the various initiatives under this policy. For Example: Under
Corporate Responsibility, Jindal Steel and Power Limited believes that
gender inclusive leadership helps create a new bench mark in women
development. The company organizes skill development training
programs regularly to upgrade their existing traditional skills. The
company feels it is important to empower women. Women have right
determined their own choice in life. Several women empowerment
initiatives have been under taken across the area of their operation. These
initiatives aim at improving literacy as well as providing training to
enhance livelihood generation opportunities among women. Further the
209
company provides women with primary help in order to start with the
production facility, which would in turn help in supplementary family
income through micro, based micro enterprises. Awareness programme
on gender purity, sexual harassment, domestic violence, legal rights are
being conducted to increase awareness on such issues. Also, different skill
development training programme are regularly organized to upgrade
their traditional skills and simultaneously promote new skills for
women.13
There are certain other schemes which are also concerned with skill
development. Deen DayalUpadhyaya AntyodayaYojana (DAY) scheme,
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation will undertake skill
development of 5 lakh urban poor per year. The first phase of DAY in
urban areas is to be implemented from 2016-17. The Ministry has signed a
Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with NSDC to assist in training.
Other new programmes include Nai Manzil for education and skill
development of dropouts; USTTAD (Upgrading Skills and Training in
Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) to conserve traditional
arts/crafts and build capacity of traditional artisans and craftsmen
belonging to minority communities; Nai Roshni, a leadership training
programme for minority women; and MANAS for upgrading
entrepreneurial skills of minority youth.14
Conclusion
Thus challenges to skill development of women in India are
multifold. There is a large proportion of existing workforce among
women, which needs skill training support at varying levels. Empowering
women is also a concern of smart economics and vital to end poverty and
boost shared prosperity. Gender equality can be achieved in this regard by
educating girls, increase literacy rate, encourage women’s participation
and strengthen labour policies affecting women, improving access to
credit, promoting women’s political right and participation and
expanding reproductive health programme and family policies. It is also
the concern of every State Government which plays a key role and
responsibility in realizing the objective of ‘Skill India.’
13
Available @ www.jindalstellpower.com
14
Ibid, pg3
210
References
 Dahlman, C., &Anuja, U. “India and the Knowledge Economy: Leveraging
Strengths and Opportunities”, Washington, D.C: World Bank. (2005).
 Malshe Anuradha, “Education of Women, an Indian Story” Hyderabad, The
Icafai University press, First Edition: 2008
 Nikita Diwakar & Tauffiq ahamed, “Skill development of Women through
Vocational training”, available @www.allresearchjounal.com
 Vandana Saini, “Skill Development in India: Need, Challenges and way
forward”, Abhinav Pub, Vol 4 Issue 4(2015),
 Empowering Women through Skill Development Challenges and
Opportunities: Forum II, 24 April 2014
 http://www.jindalstellpower.com
 http://planningcommission.gov.in
 http://nsdcindia.org
 http://www.ficciskillforum.org
211
23
Role of Education in Women Skill Development
Vijay.A.N and Prof.C.Basavaraju
Introduction
Education plays an important role for women empowerment in
India. Education or the transmission, acquisition, creation and adaptation
of information, knowledge, skills and values, is a key towards sustainable
development. This is based on a vision of inclusive societies in which all
citizens have equitable opportunities to access effective and relevant
learning throughout life delivered through multiple, formal, non-formal
and informal settings. As such, education is essential to individuals’
development as it is to the development of their families, of the local and
national communities to which they belong, and to the world at large. As a
fundamental human right enshrined in a number of international
normative frameworks.
Meaning of Women Education

Women education refers to every form of education that aims at
improving the knowledge, and skill of women and girls. It includes
general education at schools and colleges, vocational and technical
education, professional education, health education, etc. Women
education encompasses both literary and non-literary education. Educated
women are capable of bringing socio-economic changes. The constitution
of almost all democratic countries, including India, guarantees equal
rights to both men and women.
Importance of Women Education

The importance of women education is briefly summarized below:
212
1. Economic development and prosperity: Education will empower

women to come forward and contribute towards the development and
prosperity of the country.
2. Economic empowerment: So long as women remain backward and
economically dependent on men, the helpless condition of them cannot be
changed. Economic empowerment and independence will only come
through proper education and employment of women.
3. Improved life: Education helps a woman to live a good life. Her
identity as an individual would never get lost. She can read and learn
about her rights. Her rights would not get trodden down. The life or
condition of women would improve a lot, if we take a broad outlook in
the field of female education.
4. Improved health: Educated girls and women are aware of the
importance of health and hygiene. Through health education, they are
empowered to lead a healthy life-style. Educated mothers can take better
care of both herself and her baby.
5. Dignity and honour: Educated women are now looked upon with
dignity and honour. They become a source of inspiration for millions of
young girls who make them their role-models.
6. Justice: Educated women are more informed of their rights for justice. It
would eventually lead to decline in instances of violence
and injustice against women such as dowry, forced-prostitution, child-
marriage, female feticides, etc.
7. Choice to choose a profession of her choice: Educated women can
prove be highly successful in the fields of life. A girl-child should get
equal opportunity for education, so that, she can plan to become a
successful doctors, engineers, nurses, air-hostesses, cook, or choose a
profession of her choice.
8. Alleviate poverty: Women education is a pre-requisite to alleviate
poverty. Women need to take equal burden of the massive task of
eliminating poverty. This would demand massive contribution from
educated women. There cannot be many social and economic changes
unless girls and women are given their rights for education.
Present Educational System in India

The Indian educational system is producing more graduates every
year. But the graduates have lack of basic communication and problem
solving skills. Those are essential for even the elementary level jobs.
213
Today’s education is seen only in earning money. Education is offered to

earn good money and also the educational institutions have become more
commercialized. When we talk about present curriculum in India, it is out
dated nearly 30 years old. Some institution sticks on an old curriculum.
Few want the change and fight a long futile battle trying to change it. So
there is a need of massive change in present and development of new
curriculum along with administering the planned one. Vocational training
should be mandatory alongside lots of practical work, as more importance
has been given to theoretical classes rather than practical classes due to
many issues like lack of facilities, lack of trainers etc.
The present day education system in India comprises of about
600,000primary, 150,000 upper primary, 70,000 secondary school and
higher secondary schools. The network of institution of higher education
includes more than 7000 colleges of general education about 1000
professional colleges and number of specialized institutions in industrial,
scientific, technical, social sciences and research. There are 150 million
students who are enrolled with an employment of about 4 million
teachers.
Creating more schools and allowing hundreds of colleges and
universities to mushroom is not going to solve the crisis of education and
economic growth in India. Parents are spending more money for
education, even though not getting standard education and struggling to
find employment of their choice. There are millions of students who are
the victims of unrealistic, pointless, mindless rat race. The mind numbing
competition is not only crushing the creativity and originality of millions
of Indian students but also drives students to commit suicide.
Skill Development & Higher Education Institution:

Indian higher education system has undergone massive expansion
in post independent period with national resolve to establishing several
universities, technical institutions, research institutions and professional
and non-professional colleges all over the country to generate and
disseminate knowledge to the common citizen of India. The rapid growth
in the sector both in terms of enrolment and number of institutions has
thrown up now challenges of maintaining quality of higher education. In
last decades the higher education sector in India has witnessed
exponential growth both in terms of the number of institutions and the
rate of employment, the recent UGC report states that in 1950-51, when
214
there were only, 3, 97,000 students enrolled in all disciplines in 750

colleges affiliated to 30 universities. Now the growth of higher education
in India has been phenomenal in 2013, India had 727 universities over
35000 colleges and about 13000 stand alone institutions. Despite of this
progress made by our higher education sector we are unable to prepare
our graduates in tune with needs of job market. Given the direct
correlation between education, employment and empowerment, the
biggest challenge confronting us is low employability of our graduate
passing out of higher education institutions.
Significance of Education, Skill and its Impacts on
Employability Education is the backbone of each family that too women’s
education is very essential. Nowadays, the value of education is just
earning a degree without a goal, why this happens? The reason is lack of
reinforcement, loss of hope on employment. “Nation does not need
pointless, goalless youngsters, instead need mindful, talented, skilful
youth to compromise the dynamic society and improve the status of our
country among others”. So the government has the responsibility to bring
the hope and set stage for the youngsters of India.
Each individual has to think and answer these questions like where
we stand? What we have? Where has to go? What is our life time goal?
How to bring the status in the society? This is not only for the people and
also for the nation. The Nation also should set the goals on what we have?
What must be taken initiative to improve the economic growth? What are
all the sectors that need attention to improve the economic growth? So
select that kind of areas and plan the strategies to implement the
methodology which should contain need based education and skill
development and plan for periodic monitoring.
Education alone is not needed. For proper execution, skill is
necessary. In India, importance of skill is an unattended aspect except in
few areas like Medicine, Engineering etc that too not everywhere. What
about other areas of studies? The graduates are still struggling in
communication, lack of boldness to present the presentations. India is
composed by demographic dividend with multiple languages, cultures,
religion etc. So teaching in common language is not possible like other
countries, if we do it, other issues crop up.
215
Skill Learning
Having knowledge alone is not adequate to bring the changes, the
need of skill to execute properly is important. Now the new ministry
introduced “Skill India Mission” for the youth to meet their domestic
demands and also for the betterment of economic growth of our nation.
Through this mission, Jobless, school dropouts, graduated, uneducated,
and women will be given training based on their knowledge and ability
which will certify them to get the jobs. For the students it will be starting
from the school to provide communication skill, entrepreneurship,
problem-solving skills, etc.
The skill India mission has been introduced all over the India. It is
not only for the schools, “SKILL FOR ALL” irrespective their education,
sex, age etc. The central government has many vocational and professional
skill-based training programmes. Apart from the courses the mission is
planning to reach the rural India also. So the main aim of the mission is
reach the outreach population. Training will be given to carpenters, black
smith, masons, nurses, cobblers, welders, tailors, weavers etc. Importance
will be given to the area where the government can improve the economic
growth like real estate, construction, jewellery designing, tourism,
banking, transportation, gem industry, textile etc. It will improve the
individual earnings and which directly influence economic growth of the
nation.
Quality of schooling institutions and Economic Growth

Micro economic evidence of productivity increasing the effects of
education and skills, it is naturally extending the view to the
macroeconomic perspective of long run economic growth of countries. It is
same like education earning relationships. There are three mechanisms
through which the education may affect economic growth. First, education
increases the human capital inherent in the labour force, which increases
labour productivity and transitional growth towards equilibrium level of
outputs. Secondly, education may increase the innovation capacity of the
economy and the knowledge on new technologies, products, processes,
promotes growth. Thirdly, education may facilitate the diffusion and
transmission of knowledge needed to understand the process new
information and to implement successfully new technologies devised by
others, which again promotes economic growth.
216
National Skill Development Corporation:

The National Skill Development Corporation came into existence in
2009 to promote private sector participation via conducting short term
careers. It provides funding to build scalable for profit vocational training
initiatives. Its mandate is also to enable support systems such as quality
assurance information system and training the trainer academics either
directly or through partnerships. NSDC acts as a catalyst in Skill
Development by providing funding to enterprise, companies and
organizations that provide skill development.
National Skill Development Agency
The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) was notified
through a gazette notification dated 6th June, 2013. NSDA is an
autonomous body of Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, which will coordinate and harmonize the skill
development efforts of the Government and the private sector to achieve
the skilling targets of the 12th Plan and beyond and endeavour to bridge
the social, regional, gender and economic divide:
1. by ensuring that the skilling needs of the disadvantaged and
differently-abled persons are taken care of through the various skill
development programmes and
2. By taking affirmative action’s as part of advocacy by the NSDA. The
Central Ministries and NSDC will continue to implement schemes in
their remit. The NSDA will anchor the National Skills Qualifications
Framework (NSQF) and facilitate the setting up of professional
certifying bodies in addition to the existing ones.
The NSDA will discharge the following functions:

 Take all possible steps to meet skilling targets as envisaged in the 12th
Five Year Plan and beyond;
 Coordinate and harmonize the approach to skill development among
various Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, the
NSDC and the private sector;
217
 Anchor and operationalize the NSQF to ensure that quality and

standards meet sector specific requirements;
 Be the nodal agency for State Skill Development Missions;
 Raise extra-budgetary resources for skill development from various
sources such as international agencies, including multi-lateral agencies,
and the private sector;
 Evaluate existing skill development schemes with a view to assessing
their efficacy and suggest corrective action to make them more
effective;
 Create and maintain a national data base related to skill development
including development of a dynamic Labour Market Information
System (LMIS);
 Take affirmative action for advocacy;
 Ensure that the skilling needs of the disadvantaged and the
differently abled persons are taken care of; and
 Discharge any other function as may be assigned to it by the
National Skills Qualifications Framework

On 19th December 2013, the Cabinet Committee on Skill
Development approved the National Skills Qualifications Framework
(NSQF), a quality assurance framework which organizes qualifications
according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude. These
levels are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must
possess regardless of whether they were acquired through formal, non-
formal or informal learning.
The NSQF was notified on 27th Dec 2013, and all other frameworks,
including the NVEQF (National Vocational Educational Qualification
Framework) released by the Ministry of HRD, have ceased to exist, and
have been superseded by the NSQF.
Conclusion
Until the middle of nineteenth century, girls and women were
educated only for traditional household works. Now, the society is
witnessing changes in the role-status of women. There is greater emphasis
on education girls and women in the same way as we educate boys and
218
men. The modern-day parents want to fulfil the aspiration of their

children without gender parity. The educated women should insist on
exercising their civil, social, political and economic rights. This will help
improve the overall condition of women in the society. We can hope for
better days while all women of our country will be enlightened and
educated.
References:
 Asian Development Bank – (ADB): Education & Skills: Strategies for
Accelerated Development in Asian Pacific, Manila Asian Development
Bank Manila.
 Paul B. (2011) : “Demographic Dividend of Deficit : Insights from Data on
Indian labour Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Conference of the
Academic Network for Development in Asia (ANDA) Nagoya, March 3-6,
2011
 Aya Okada: Skills Development for youth in India: Challenges and
opportunities.
 Draft – National Policy on Skill and Entrepreneurship Development 2015
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship G.O.I. May 2015.
 Ramadorai : Youth Empowerment through Skill Development, NSDA,
October 2014
 Millward Brawn : Decoding the Skilling Landscape, National Skill
Development Corporation, June 2013
 Desai, S.B., Dubai A, Joshi B.L. Sen, M. Sharif, A & Vann Man R
(2010) Human Development in India, Challenges for Society in Transition
New Delhi, Oxford University Press.
 Government of India (GOI) (2011) : Report of the Working group on
Employment, planning and policy for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-
17) Labour Employment and More power (LEM) Division Planning
commission, Government of India, New Delhi
 Chandrashekhar C.J. Ghosh and A. Raychowdhury (2006) “The
Demographic Dividend and young India’s Economic Future” Economic &
Political Weakly, Vol. 41, No. 49, PP 5055-44
 Desjardins R. and K. Rubenson (2011): “Am Analysis of Skill Mismatch –
Using Direct Measures of Skills” OECD Education working papers no. 63,
OECD, Publishing, Paris.
 Mehrotra, S., A. Gandhi and B.K. Sahoo (2013) “Estimating India’s Skill
gap on a Realistic Basis for 2022” Economic & Political Weakly Vol.
XIVIII, No. 13, PP 102-11
 ADB 2011 Asia 2050, Realizing the Asian Century 2011,Manila ADB
 National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) 2009 India
year Book 2009 Delhi NCERT
219
 OECD 1997 : Industrial Competitiveness in the knowledge based

Economy – The New Role of Government OECD Proceedings Paris
OECD
 World Bank (2007): Skill Development in India – The Vocational
Education & Training System.
24
220
Awareness among the Stakeholders of Pradhan Mantri

Kaushal Vikas Yojana: An Empirical Study
B.P.Mahesh Chandra Guru, M.Dileepkumar and D.Srinivasa
Preamble
The builders of Indian Republic and founding fathers of
Constitution of India had considered it necessary to provide specific
safeguards and promotional opportunities in the constitution for the
empowerment of women who are weak, vulnerable and oppressed section
of Indian society mainly due to existing caste system, social order,
economic order, political order and a combination of various
circumstances. The Constitutional safeguards and provisions relate to the
removal of the disabilities as well as positive measures to enable women
and weaker sections to acquire a dignified position in the mainstream of
national life. In India, a meager minority of women and youth workforce
has any formal skill training. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
(PMKVY) is the flagship outcome-based skill training scheme of the new
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). This skill
certification and reward scheme aims to enable and mobilize a large
number of Indian youth and women to take up skill training and become
employable and earn their livelihood. The present investigation was
carried out in Mysuru district with a view to understand as to whether
women are successfully trained, assessed and certified in skill courses run
by affiliated training providers.
National Skill Development Mission

Skill development has become a key priority area in India from the
point of view of national development. It would help to fulfill youth
aspirations for good quality, better paid jobs and self-employment
opportunities. This would also enable the country to take advantage of its
favorable demographic profile. Skill development is the surest means of
improving the demographic dividend of the country. India has an
opportunity to become a skill provider for the world, particularly the
ageing developed world on the basis of planned skill development
programs in the new millennium. The National Skill Development
221
Mission was launched in India on July 15, 2015 with a view to achieve the
goal of skill development on the basis of a streamlined institutional
mechanism. The mission has seven sub-missions which include
institutional training, infrastructure, convergence, trainers, overseas
employment, sustainable livelihoods and leveraging public infrastructure.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is primarily
intended to enable and mobilize a large number of Indian youth to take up
skill training and become employable and earn their livelihood. The
initiative came into force on March 20, 2015 to increase the productivity of
the existing workforce and align the training and certification to the needs
of the country. The Scheme will provide monetary incentives for
successful completion of market-driven skill training and certification to
approximately twenty four lakh youth in a span of one year from the date
of implementation of the scheme. The Government of India is responsible
for carrying out awareness building and mobilization activities with the
involvement of local State and district governments. The Members of
Parliament will be actively involved to ensure greater outreach and
ownership. A mentorship programme will be created in order to support
trainees who have successfully completed the training programme and are
in the process of looking for employment opportunities. The programme
is also based on systematic feedback from the beneficiaries on the basis of
a validated standard format verified at the time of assessment. A proper
grievance redressal mechanism would be put in place.
Review of Literature
The subject of skill development has attracted the attention of
various stakeholders including the researchers. Bjorklund (1991:04)
assessed the labour market training and reported that general training
schemes for the unemployed were not practically useful. Cotter (1997:07)
studied the social skill development of students in developing countries
and found that children acquired good social behavior. Bennell (1999:02)
examined the need for skill development among the economically
vulnerable and socially excluded sections in developing countries.
Lechner (2000:09) investigated the effects of public-sector-sponsored
continuous vocational training and retraining in East Germany and
222
observed that skill development was brought about through such

initiatives.
Barnhill et. al. (2002:01) investigated the effectiveness of social skills
intervention targeting non-verbal communication for adolescents. Wilson
and Hogarth (2003:13) reviewed the issues and concerns regarding the
skill development of employees and reported that modern organizations
had not achieved success in their mission. Bergemann (2004:03) evaluated
the dynamic employment effects of training programmes. OECD (2004:11)
evaluated the on the job training and skill development programme and
found that employees did not have affordability to make use of such
programmes. Lyngdoh (2005:10) conducted a study on skill development
of youth and noted that the enterprising behavior of the youth was not
adequately reformed.
De Koning (2007:08) explored the potential effects of labour market
policies and stated that the performance of such policies was not
satisfactory in integrating the unemployed in the labour market. Bryson
(2008:05) carried out an extensive review of literature on skill
development programmes and observed that skill development
programmes were not tailor made for the socially and economically
disadvantaged sections of society. Chenoy (2012:06) analyzed the skill
development challenges and opportunities of women and pointed out that
marketable skills were not developed in modern times. The review of
literature clearly indicates that scientific investigations are not carried out
in India exclusively on the status of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
with reference to India.
Significance of the Study

Skill development of youth assumes great significance in modern
times since it is an important component of human capital development in
developing nations including India. Scholars have given a serious thought
to this subject and explored new possibilities of skill development of
women and youth who are the active producers of national wealth
regardless of region. The large scale training and re-training programmes
have not produced good results in the absence of scientific skill
development initiatives (Bjorklund, (1991:04). The workers should be
enabled to develop professional skills and protected through adequate
social security provisions (Bennell, 1999:02). Despite large public
223
expenditures there are no positive effects of skill development

programmes in the modern organizations (Lechner, 2000:09).
Teaching strategies matter most from the point of view of social
skills of the students (Barnhill et.al, 2002:01). In the absence of adequate
skill development initiatives, the significant proportion of the country’s
workforce will be involved in relatively low wage, low value added
production (Wilson and Hogarth, 2003:13). Employment is a state and
duration dependent process and that using transition rates is more
informative than using unconditional employment rates as commonly
done in the literature (Bergemann and Speckesser, 2004:03). The need for
enhancing the professional skill and competence of the workforce is
seldom questioned by the stakeholders of corporate management (OECD,
2004:11).
Adoptability and dynamic livelihood capabilities are the key to
generating sustainable livelihoods in modern times (Lyngdoh, 2005:10).
The labour market policies have not produced adequate results in the
absence of specific skill development programmes (De Koning, 2007:08).
The training/skills measures are the most cost - effective intervention for
disadvantaged workless groups, particularly in the UK context, with
evidence of a low‐ skills equilibrium in at least part of the labour market
(Bryson, 2008:05). The women workforce is concentrated in a large scale in
informal sector and the presence of great majority of unskilled workforce
has impeded productivity and prosperity of the Indian society (Chenoy,
2012:06). In India, skill development of the women, youth and workforce
assumes great significance. Scientific investigations on skill development
certainly enhance the socio-economic status of the work force and country.
Research Methodology
The present investigation was carried out in Mysuru district on the
basis of systematic survey research method. About 60 respondents were
selected on the basis of purposive sampling and stratified sampling
techniques. The respondents include – 15 elected representatives, 15
government officials, 15 non-government organizers and 15 unemployed
persons.
Distribution of Study Area and Sample

Sl. Respondents Number of
224
No. Respondents
1. Elected Representatives 15
2. Government Officials 15
3. NGO Organizers 15
4. Unemployed Youth 15
Total 60
Statistical Analysis
The primary data were analyzed on the basis of certain
standardized statistical tests which include – percentage analysis,
graphical representation, Chi-square test and cross tabulation. All the
statistical methods were carried out through the SPSS for Windows
(version 16.0).
Findings of the Study

1. All the respondents (100.0%) were aware that the Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojana was the central government scheme.
2. A majority of the respondents (88.57%) were not aware that the
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was implemented by the
National Skill Development Corporation.
3. A majority of the respondents (58.29%) were not aware that
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana was implemented based on
the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry
led standards.
monetary reward was given to trainees on assessment and
certification by third party assessment bodies.
eligible persons were mobilized through skill melas organized at the
local level.
training was imparted on the basis of demand assessed on the basis
of recent skill gap studies conducted by the NSDC.
trainees would get enrolled with any of the authorized training
centers.
225
8. A majority of the respondents (74.86%) were not aware that

trainees would be enrolled with a training course and a training
partner.
9. A majority of the respondents (76.29%) were not aware that trainees
would undergo the training with the help of training partner at the
concerned center.
would undergo a due diligence before being eligible for
participating under this scheme.
training would be based on improved curricula, better pedagogy
and better trained instructors.
training would practically include soft skills, personal grooming,
behavioral change for cleanliness and good work ethics.
would receive certification on successful completion of the training
program.
trainees would become the key element of the evaluation
framework to assess the effectiveness of the PMKVY scheme.
training was also based on a robust grievance redressal system.
Testing of Hypotheses
H1. The respondents were not aware of the salient features of Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
The data clearly reveal that the respondents have pleaded ignorance
about the salient features of the programme. Hence, the above hypothesis
stands proved according to the data analysis.
H2. The respondents were not aware of the practical aspects of Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
The data clearly reveal that the respondents have expressed that
they were not aware of the practical aspects of the programme. Hence, the
above hypothesis stands proved according to the data analysis.
226
Suggestions of the Study

This study is an attempt to understand the awareness of the elected
representatives, government officials, organizers of NGOs and
unemployed youth about the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojana in Mysuru district. The subject has not been
scientifically evaluated by the researchers either qualitatively or
quantitatively since it is the latest skill development programme in the
country. The future generation of researchers can concentrate on the
intervention of various stakeholders in the effective implementation of
this programme which aims at increasing greater employability and
productivity in India.
Conclusion
National Skill Development Corporation implements the Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana across the country on the basis of
coordination among various agencies. There is a need for effective
mentorship programme in order to support trainees who have
successfully completed the training programme. The trainers are
responsible for identifying mentors who will support and guide trainees
in the post-training phase. Systematic mentorship programme is required
to facilitate the tracking of trainees in the post training phase. The
Government of India should evolve the Skill Development Management
System (SDMS) to standardize the training programme and facilitate
scientific skill development programme on the basis of enhanced
monitoring. The feedback analysis is also required to assess the
effectiveness and improve the status of skill development programme on
the basis of redressal of grievances.
References
 Barnhill, G. P., Cook, K. T., Tebbenhamp, K, and Myles, B. S. (2002) The
effectiveness of social skills intervention targeting nonverbal communication
for adolescents with asperger syndrome and related pervasive
developmental delays. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities,
17, 112–118.
 Bennell, P (1999) “Learning to Change: Skills Development among the
Economically Vulnerable and Socially Excluded in Developing Countries”,
Employment and Training Papers, 43, Employment and Training
Department, International Labour Office, Geneva.
227
 Bergemann A, Fitzenberger B and Speckesser S (2004), ‘Evaluating the

Dynamic Employment Effects of Training Programs in East Germany Using
Conditional Difference‐ in‐ Differences’, ZEW Discussion Paper no. 04‐ 41,
Mannheim: Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung.
 Bjorklund A (1991) ‘Labour Market Training: The Lessons from Swedish
Evaluations’ in Björklund A, Haveman R, Hollister R and Holmlund B (eds),
Labour Market Policy and Unemployment Insurance, Oxford: Clarendon
Press, pp 87‐ 91.
 Bryson A (2008), Why might a skills focus help achieve ‘full‐ er’
employment?, note for the SSDA Expert Panel Meeting, January 2008
(mimeo).
 Chenoy, D (2012), “Empowering Women through Skill Development :
Challenges and Opportunities”, Power Point Presentation at the GEPD
 Cotter, M. W. (1997). Improving the social behavior of high-functioning
children with autism: A social skills support group intervention.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Alabama.
 De Koning, J (2007), ‘Is the changing pattern in the use of active labour
market policies consistent with what evaluations tell us about their relative
performance?’, in de Koning, J (ed.), The Evaluation of Active Labour
Market Policies: Measures, Public‐ Private Partnership and Benchmarking,
Aldershot: Edward Elgar.
 Lechner M (2000) ‘An evaluation of public sector sponsored continuous
vocational training programs in East Germany’, Journal of Human
Resources 35(2), pp 347‐ 75.
 Lyngdoh, B W B (2005), “Skills for Work in the Future: A Youth
Perspective”, in Prospects, vol. XXXV, no. 3, September 2005.
 OECD (2004), ‘Improving Skills for More and Better Jobs: Does Training
Make a Difference?’, ch. 4 in: OECD Employment Outlook 2004, Paris:
Organisation for Economic Co‐ operation and Development.
 Vishwanath, V (2012), “Empowering Women through Skill Development :
Challenges and Opportunities”, Power Point Presentation at the GEPD
 Wilson R and Hogarth T (eds.), (2003) Tackling the Low Skills Equilibrium:
A Review of Issues and Some New Evidence, London: Department of Trade
and Industry.
228
25
229
International Women Migration and Occupation- A

Study on Kerala
Ruksana M M
Introduction
Skilled labour migration across international borders is a
phenomenon of increasing significance in the age of globalization.
Emigration has been a key channel for mobility- an opportunity to earn
money, gain skills, see a new place, experience new cultures and
accumulate consumption goods. Between 2000 and 2015, the female share
in the global international migrant stock fell slightly, from 49.1 per cent to
48.2 per cent. But, Asia has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of
international migrants. The stock of male migrants in Asia grew by 62 per
cent, from 27 million in 2000 to 44 million in 2015, while the stock of
female migrants increased by more than 40 per cent, from 22 million to 32
million.(UNDP 2015). Approximately one in seven people today are
migrants: 232 million people are international migrants, or 3.2% of the
world population (Marzia Rango 2014), 57 million more than in 2000.
Globally, there were 232 million international migrants in 2013. The
migration of women has always been an important component of
international migration. As of 2000, the United Nations Population
Division estimates that 49 per cent of all international migrants were
women or girls, and that the proportion of women among international
migrants had reached 51 per cent in more developed regions. Women
often migrate officially as dependent family members of other migrants or
to marry someone in another country.
Female migrants are, however, increasingly part of flows of
migrant workers, moving on their own to become the principal wage
earners for their families. Most migrant women move voluntarily, but
women and girls are also forced migrants leaving their countries in
order to flee conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, natural
disasters or other situations that affect their security, livelihood or
habitat. India has long been an important player amongst them in
suppliers of skilled persons (both professionals and students) to the
world market (of labour and education respectively), particularly in
developed countries.
230
It is vital to evoke that the vast majority of international skilled

migrant flows are still between developed countries, and most
international migration takes place between countries of a similar
development level. Evidence also shows that countries with the lowest
levels of human development also have the lowest rates of emigration.
However, skilled migration from developing to developed countries
represents a rising proportion of all international migration (IOM, 2008).
As developed countries’ societies grow older while developing world
populations continue to raise, the resulting imbalance in workforces are
likely to increase the pressure for migration from the developing to the
developed world (World Bank, 2009). Among the Indian States, Kerala
rank the top in exporting skilled human resources to the developed
nations. The emigration of highly skilled workers (brain drain) can also
undermine development efforts of small developing economies
particularly in crucial sectors such as health and education. This paper
will examine the characteristics of different types female migrants in
Kerala and to analyses the occupations of non-resident Keralites at
destination.
There are various studies about international women migration by
researchers and economists on different aspects. The gender distribution
among migrants today is reasonably balanced, with almost 50 percent of
the global migrant population today being female, although the increase
has been mainly in the developed world. Between 1970 and 2000 the
numbers declined in Asia (46.6% to 43.3%) and North America (51.1% to
50.3%), but rose in Africa 42.7% to 46.7%), Oceania (46.5% to 50.5%), Latin
America and the Caribbean (46.8% to 50.2%) and Europe (48% to 51%).
But these statistics on recorded migrant populations do not reveal the true
numbers of movements, particularly within countries and regions. We do
know that in most developing regions more females are migrating
independently, i.e. not just as dependants or family members, and more
are making a difference for development (Sorensen, 2004). A new trend of
international migration started in the 1960’s. With the relaxation of
restrictions in developed countries due to the shortage of labourers
large number of professionals migrated to these countries as nurses,
doctors, professors etc. Now there are a large number of Malayalees in
231
North America and Western Europe. With the result of Oil boom in
1970s a new trend of migration had originated in Kerala –migration to
the Middle East or Gulf countries. These countries had overtaken
migration to all other countries and other states of India. Gulf
migration has its efforts on every aspect of life in Kerala and every
household in Kerala. There exists no official agency to collect and
publish data on external migration(Zachariah, K.C., et. al., 1999).
Migration as a transforming experience can improve or worsen the
position of women in families and society. It can also do that for men, but
often not in a way that is as gender-specific. It is important to note that
while statistics under-represent the number of females who migrate, they
tell us even less about the number who ultimately end up in the
workforce, regardless of how they migrated (Carling, 2005). Many female
migrants come from developing countries that are already somewhat
integrated into the global economy with export-oriented industrialization
(e.g. Philippines, Sri Lanka). Also, where there is already a long tradition
of domestic migration in such countries, there is a stronger likelihood of
female emigration (Oishi, 2002).
A number of studies conducted during the past three decades
have concluded that one of the major problems encountered by wives of
emigrants is loneliness. The extent of such loneliness is reported to be
more severe among younger wives whose husbands migrated
immediately after the marriage. Such solitude had given rise to mental
tension in the wives of those migrated during the 1970s and 80s. Such
mental tensions seem to have been reduced in the 1990s. This could
mainly be attributed to the availability of quicker means of
communication, new responsibilities, roles, and leisure activities for
women (Zachariah et al, 2002)
Review of earlier literature brings out the fact that there are so many
studies held in different regions of Kerala on various dimensions of
migration and its impacts on the economy. In the case of women
migration from Kerala, there is no study conducted to examine the
characteristics of different types female migrants in Kerala and to compare
the professional job at destination of both male and female emigrants in
Kerala. So the present study will helps to fill this gap in research on
professionally skilled female migration in Kerala.
232
Research Problem
The proportion of women in global migration flow is increasing
rapidly and they have become the pioneers of human migration chain.
Migration has provided larger opportunities for women to improve their
own living situation and their contribution to national development is
enormous. Migration provides an economic lifeline for millions of women
and it is a strategy for them to offer better living conditions to their
families. Almost half of the four million Indian emigrants to the Gulf are
from Kerala. Among them, 16 per cent are women, a growing number
since they were only 9 per cent a few years ago. In this respect, the present
study seeks to examine the characteristics of female migrants in different
types in Kerala and district wise analysis of professional job at destination
of both male and female emigrants in Kerala.
Objectives of the Study

The objective of the present study is to examine the characteristics of
different types of female migrants from Kerala and district wise analysis
of professional job at destination of non-resident Keralites
Research Methodology and Data Base

The present study has been designed as a descriptive one based on
secondary data collected from the reports and publications of working
papers of Centre for Development Studies, Department of Economics and
Statistics, Government of Kerala and Economic Review. Table, graph and
percentage are the simple tools used for analyzing the data.
Results and Discussion
Characteristics of Female Migrants
Marital Status of Female Emigrants
Most of the migrants from Kerala are unmarried, 61.1 percent of emigrants
and 80.0 percent of out-migrants. There are of course difference between
males and females. Unlike male emigrants, majority (52.7 percent) of
female emigrants are married. The below table represents the marital
status of female emigrants in Kerala.
Figure: 1- marital status of female emigrants in Kerala.

Classification Female Emigrants (in %)
Unmarried 45.9
Married 52.8
233
Widowed 0.8
Divorced 0.2
Separated 0.3
Total 100.00
Source: Compiled from Kerala migration Survey Report 2011
Above table depicts that more than half of the female emigrants are
married women. And other four sections together contributed to other
near half.
Sex Composition
Migrants, especially external migrants, from Kerala are
predominantly males. In 2011, only about 14.0 percent of the emigrants
from Kerala were females compared with 40.0 percent among out-
migrants, and 52.0 percent in the general population. However, female
out-migrants outnumbered male out-migrants (51.0 percent) in the age
group 20-24 years.
Source: Zachariah and Rajan study 2012
Age composition
At the time of emigration or out-migration, migrants are relatively
younger than the general population. The average age of Kerala
population (15+ years) was 35.09 years in 2011. Compared to this, the
average age at migration of the emigrants was 24.78 years and that of the
out-migrants was 18.91 years. The proportion of population in the age
group 20-29 years was 16.5 percent among the general population, but
was as high as 59.5 percent among the emigrants.
234
Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs)

Non resident Keralites play a vital role in the development of the
State. Their contribution to the development can be seen at family level,
community level and state/country level. At family level it has improved
household earnings, food, consumption, health care, housing and
educational attainments and for over three decades remittances have been
meeting the current account deficit of the country. Around 50 lakh people
in Kerala are dependent on Non Resident Malayalis. Country wise, 90% of
Non-Resident Malayalis are working in the Gulf region.
Fig: 3-District Wise Proportion of NRKs in Kerala
Source: Economic and Statistics Department, GoK, Economic Review 2015
As per the survey conducted by Economics and Statistics Department of

Government of Kerala, the largest number of NRKs is reported from
Malappuram, their proportion to the total NRKs being 18 percent.
Thrissur is in the second position accounting for 11per cent of the total
followed by Kannur and Kozhikide with 10per cent share each. Idukki
and Wayanad are the two low NRK reporting districts and their share to
the total NRKs are 1 percent each.
235
Number of Working NRKs

Out of the total Non-Resident Keralites, 87.77per cent are engaged in
different economic activities. Among those employed, 93.04per cent are
men and 6.96per cent are women. District wise, Malappuram has the
highest proportion of 19.51per cent NRKs employed followed by Thrissur
and Kozhikode at 10.50per cent and 10.37per cent respectively. Even
though Idukki reported the lowest share in employed NRKs women
NRKs employed is 32.83per cent of total working women NRKs. Second
highest proportion of female working NRKs is reported from Kottayam
(31.68per cent).The district and gender wise ratio of working NRKs are
given in the below table
Fig: 4-District Wise Working NRKs in Kerala
Source: Economic and Statistics Department, GoK, Economic Review 2015.
Country Wise Working NRKs

Distribution of NRKs by country showed that 35.54 per cent is in UAE
and 29.5 per cent in Saudi Arabia. Figure 6.4 gives the country wise
proportion of NRKs in Kerala. Gender wise data shows that the
proportion of female NRKs to total NRKs is higher in UK with 34.21per
cent, followed by Canada at 33.01per cent and other European countries
236
with 29.34 per cent. The lowest female NRKs are identified from Qatar
with 3.7per cent of the total NRKs in Qatar.
Fig: 5-Country wise Working NRKs

Professional NRKs
In recent years, the pattern of emigration in terms of the skill content has
changed. In the 1970s, the proportion of skilled workforce to the total
emigrants was very small. Now larger number of skilled workforce from
different professions such as doctors, nurses, engineers, IT professionals
and teachers are seeking employment outside the country. Distribution of
NRKs by profession showed that 11.85 % of them are working as drivers,
10.99% as salesmen, 6.37% as nurses, 3.78% as engineers, 2.23% as IT
professionals and 0.53% as doctors and the remaining 67.78% working in
different spheres like businessman, teachers and bank professionals.
Fig: 6-District-wise NRKs working in different jobs
237
Among the doctors, the highest share is reported from

Thiruvananthapuram at 14.39% followed by Kottayam and Ernakulam
with 14.38% and 14.34% respectively.The lowest share is from Wayanad.In
the case of nurses, the highest proportion is from Kottayam at 23.73%
followed by Pathanamthitta at 20.75 % and Ernakulam at 18.16 %. For
engineers, Ernakulam has the highest proportion of 13.47 %, followed by
Thrissur at 13.23 % and then Kottayam at 10.11 %. Among teachers,
Pathanamthitta has the highest share of 16.69 % followed by Alappuzha at
15.99 % and then Kottayam at 9.74%. Figure 6.5 shows the district wise
number of NRKs working in different jobs abroad.
Fig: 7- Male female comparison of different profession at destination.
Occupation Emigrants at Destination % female Total
occupation to
total
Male Female
Doctor 1674 4464 72.72 6138
Nurse 11718 64728 84.67 76446
Teacher 8370 8928 51.61 17298
Chartered 8928 2232 20.00 11160
Accountant
IT 43524 9486 17.89 53010
Manager 40734 2232 05.19 42966
Electrical 46304 3906 50210
engineer
Beautician 7254 1674 0.001 8928
238
Other 1775563 241824 11.6 2083189

workers
Total 1944069 336474 14.75 2280543
Source: compiled from Kerala Migration Survey Report 2011
The above table shows that the number of both male and female emigrants
’share in professional job at destination. The table revealed that overall
15% females’ occupation contribution from the eight selected occupations.
Among them the profession Doctor, Nurses and Teaching job, the number
of female emigrants outnumbered male emigrants, and the share of this to
total are 72.72, 84.67, and 51.61 percent respectively. All others are led by
male emigrants.
Findings and Conclusion

Non- resident Keralites are the back bone of the Kerala economy, is the
largest emigrants of the country. They play a vital role in the development
of the state. Their contribution to the development can be seen at family
level, community level and state/country level. The major objective of the
paper is to examine the characteristics of female migrants and comparison
of different occupations of both male and female at destination. From the
analysis, it is clear that most of the migrants from Kerala are unmarried,
61.1 percent of emigrants, only about 14.0 percent of the emigrants from
Kerala were females compared with 40.0 percent among out-migrants, and
52.0 percent in the general population, and The proportion of population
in the age group 20-29 years was 16.5 percent among the general
population, but was as high as 59.5 percent among the emigrants.
Regarding the occupation at destination, female emigrants outstands in
the field of doctor,, nurses and teaching profession rather than male and
only these constitute approximately 15% of overall type of occupations.
References:
 Carling, J., (2005), “Migrant Remittances and Development Cooperation”,
PRIO Report 1/2005, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo.
 Economic Review 2015
 Government of Kerala (2015), Department of Economics and Statistics,
Kerala
 International Organisation for Migration (2008), “World Migration Report
2008: Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy”. Geneva:
IOM.
239
 K. C. Zachariah and S. Irudaya Rajan (2012), “Inflexion in Kerala’s Gulf

Connection Report on kerala migration survey 2011” September 2012,
Working Paper 450, Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram.
 Kerala’s Gulf Connection CDS Studies on International Labour Migration
from Kerala State in India. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Centre for
Development Studies.
 Marzia Rango(2014), “ Global Migration Trends: An Overview”
Published in International Organisation For Migration. International
Organization for Migration / Migration Research Division,IOM -
Migration Research Division – December 2014, Www.Iom.Int
 Oishi, N, (2002), “Gender and Migration: an Integrative Approach”,
Working Paper 49, The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies,
University of California, San Diego.
 Sorensen, N.N, (2004), “Migrant Remittances as a Development Tool: the
Case of Morocco”, Working Paper No. 2 (June), Migration Policy Research,
IOM, Geneva.
 UNDP(2015), United Nations ,Department of Economic and Social
Affairs, Population Division, Population Facts, “Trends in international
migration, 2015”, No.2015/4
 World Bank (2009), “ Shaping the future: a long-term perspective of people and
job mobility in the Middle East and North Africa”. Washington DC: World
Bank.
 Zacharia, K.C. and Irudaya Rajan, S. (1999), “ Migration in Kerala State,
India; Dimensions, Determinants and
Consequences”.Thiruvananthapuram: Centre for Development Studies.
 Zachariah, K.C., Mathew, E.T. and Irudaya Rajan, S.(2002),
“Consequences of migration:Socioeconomic and demographic
dimensions. In: Zachariah, K.C. et al eds. (2002) .
26
240
Skill Development of Fisherwomen in Coastal

Karnataka through Post-Harvest Technology in
Fisheries
S. Gunakar
Introduction
In India, fishing has been a commercial occupation and mainstay of
fishermen communities since time immemorial and is considered as an
important component of the country’s agricultural sector. Importance of
the fisheries sector to the state and national economy is widely
acknowledged. Its significance lies in three main areas: (1) as a source of
animal protein for human consumption. (2) as a source of employment
and (3) as a source of foreign exchange earnings. A large section of the
population also depends on fish resources (both marine and inland) for
their livelihoods, employment and income. Worldwide fishing and fish
farming activities provided livelihood to an estimated 41 million people in
2004; working either on a part-time or full-time basis on post harvest
processing, marketing; distribution etc. and a high proportion of these
workers are women (Willmann & Kelleher 2010). In India, more than 3.5
million fishers spread over 3,202 villages derive their livelihood from
capture fisheries. India is the world’s 2rd largest overall fish producer
contributing to 5.68% of global fish production, 9th largest marine capture
fishing nation, and 2nd in aquaculture production (GOI 2014). The total
fish production during 2012-14(P) is at 9.04 million metric tons with a
contribution of 5.72 million metric tons from inland sector and 3.32 million
metric tons from marine sector respectively. The annual per capita
consumption of fish in India was estimated at 5.90 k.g in 2011 (it was 4.8
kg in 2003). Fish is a cheapest source of protein especially to the
economically weaker sections of the population. The contribution of
fisheries to the national income is estimated at Rs.35,650 crores at current
prices, which constitutes 1.1 per cent of total Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) and 5.34 per cent of the Agricultural GDP (GOI 2008). The
contribution of fisheries sector to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at
current prices during 1993-94 which was Rs.16,316 lakh, has increased to
Rs. 1,39,511 lakh in 2008-89 (GOK 2009). In Karnataka contribution of
fisheries sector to the State GDP and NDP at constant price 1999-2000 has
241
been meager i.e., 0.36 per cent and 0.31 per cent respectively in 2008-09).
The Gross GDP from the fisheries sector increased from Rs59,648 lakh in
1999-2000 to Rs.65,100 lakh in 2008-2009 at constant 1999-2000 price and
for the corresponding period it increased from Rs.59,648 lakh to Rs. 94,491
lakh at current price (GOK 2009). Over the years fish export from
Karnataka has increased from 2.74 per cent in 1980-81to 26.61 per cent in
2008-2009. This indicates the declining trend in the availability of fish to
the consumers in the domestic market.
According to Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute [CMFRI]
(2010) Karnataka has 30,713 fishermen families with total population of
1,67,429. Among 30,713 fishermen families, 93% were traditional
fishermen. According to Government of Karnataka (GOK 2009) more than
60 per cent of the total fishers are small scale fishers. There are 40,756
active fishermen of whom 32,037 are full time fishermen, 6657 prt-time
and rest engaged in fish seed collection. In Karnataka 64% of fisher folk
are educated, among them only 9% have secondary level of education.
Fisheries Post-harvest sector

It is estimated that for every one who engaged directly in fishing,
four are indirectly engaged in fish related activities. Thus, pre and post
harvest activities provide a employment opportunities to a vast section of
the economy and the maximum employment opportunities are given to
women. The prime post-harvest activities includes the fish marketing, fish
curing, peeling, basket handling, sorting of fish, supply of ice etc. In all
these activities women outweigh the men accounting about 67%. The 2010
census of CMFRI reveals that among the major fishing allied activities,
women dominated in curing (90%), peeling (88%) and marketing (83%). In
fishermen communities the income of fisherwomen contributes the major
source of livelihood of their family.
Fish Production and their utilization

Karnataka stands 6th place in the production of marine fish
production in India The marine fish production of the state almost
doubled during the 50s-60s (6,34,200.00 metric tonns) and 60s-70s
(8,12,600.00 metric tons). During 1970-80 (12, 49,200.00 metric tons) and
1980-1990s (16, 97,300.00 metric tonns) rate of growth of production
increased at decreasing rate although overall decadal growth was 40 per
242
cent. However from 1990-2000 to 2000-2009 presents the decline in the

total production itself from 184,000 tons to 160000 tons (GOK 2009).
Further, during 2009-10 and 2014-15 marine production increased from
248728 metric ton to 3.89 metric ton. Although, at the all India level there
was no decline in total marine fish production, in Karnataka, we could
observe stagnation in the production, which is one of the indicators of
unsustainability.
Table 1 Change in the fish utilisation pattern in Karnataka (quantity in
metric tons)
Total Fish Misce-
Ye Marketing Reduc- Cannin Fish
Producti Curing Freezing meal llaneo
ar Fresh tion g manure
on us
29896.00 21032.00 3344.00 1050.00 2147.00 0.00 - 8947.0
19
66416.00 (45.01) (31.67) (5.03) (1.58) (3.23) (0.00) 0
70
(13.48)
171515.99 67891.74 35732.50 28586.0 17866.25 28586.0 3573.2
20 357324.9 3593.24
(48) (19.00) (10.00) 0 (5.00) 0 4
13 6 (1.00)
(8.00) (8.00) (1.00)
Source: GOK. (1980, 1995, 2000, 2009, 20013).
Statistical Bulletin of Fisheries. Bangalore: Directorate of fisheries.
Note: Figures in parenthesis denotes percentage.
The Table 1 show that the proportion of the total production disposed in
the fresh form has increased from 45 per cent to 48 per cent during 1970-
2013. At the same time there has been a corresponding decrease in the
percentage of cured fish from 32 per cent to 19 per cent, indicating that
fish which used to be traditionally cured and dried, might have been
utilised in fresh form. Further fish utilized for freezing and canning
increased. The shared allocation towards reduction and miscellaneous
purposes has reduced.
Review of literature
Dehadrai (2005) in his article “Women at the centre stage for socio-
economic change in fishing community analyzed the role of fisherwomen
in fisheries stated that the present way of training neither going to
empower them nor improve their quality of life. Therefore, holistic
approach to enlarge the horizon of the exposure to women beyond the
sympathy oriented training programmes will have to be provided.
Shenoy (2005) suggested that more women need to be trained in specific
243
skills depending on the local requirements so that they could be gainfully

employed in fish related activities.
Bhatta and Rao (2003) suggested that employment generation by
providing modern marketing facilities is required for improving the status
of fisherwomen. Gracy (1988) made a comprehensive analysis of role of
women in fisheries and impact of advancement on socio-economic
conditions of women in Kerala. The study revealed that the technological
advancement in fisheries has brought a lot of change in the socio-
economic conditions of fisherwomen adversely affecting their livelihood
and no attention was given acknowledge and understand the role of
women in fisheries. Kurien (2000) made a detailed study of fish marketing
system prevailing in Kerala. The study found that existence of number of
middlemen in the fish marketing chain adversely affects the interest of
both fishermen and the consumer. Sugunan(2009) in his article Domestic
Marketing and Post-Harvest Management in inland fisheries examined
the problems of domestic fish marketing and pointed out that processing,
value addition and hygienic handling are still a far cry for the domestic
market especially in respect of inland fish. He suggested that necessary
market infrastructure, research support for development and
commercialization of value added products, national standards for fish
processing and food safety, quality control regime would strengthen the
domestic fish marketing.

The present study was undertaken with following objectives-
1. To study the socio economic status of fisherwomen in coastal
Karnataka.
2. To analyse the challenges faced by the fisherwomen in the changing
scenario.
3. To examine the need for skill development.
4. To suggest policy measures for the skill development.
The present empirical research is based on tow sets of data -primary
and secondary data. The secondary data on fish, related to production,
utilization, infrastructure development, and technology indicators, were
collected from the following published sources:
244
The web sites of international and United Nations (UN) agencies

such as Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), The web sites of
international and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade
associations such as International Collective in Support of Fish workers
(ICSF) and Bay of Bengal Programme to document the institutional
development within the fisheries sector. Reports and data published by
Government of India ministries such as Ministry of Agriculture
(Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries), Commerce
(Marine Products Export Development Authority), reports and data
published by State Directorate of Fisheries.
Primary data with respect to fish retailers were collected from the
market traders, head loaders and two wheeler retailers from different fish
markets of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The table no. 1 shows
the distribution of sample size selected for the present study.
Table 2 Distribution of sample fish retailers in urban and rural markets

Urban Markets Rural markets
Total Total
Respondents Useable
Sample Useable Sample sample useable
(i.e., Retailers) respons
size response size size response
e
1. Market traders
a. Fresh fish 112 100 54 51 166 151
retailers
b. Dry fish retailers 20 16 14 11 34 27
2. Head loaders 27 24 33 33 60 57
3. Two-wheeler 15 10 25 23 40 33
retailers
Total 174 150 126 118 300 268
Source: Survey Data
Stratified two stage sampling design was used for selecting the
retailers. D. K and Udupi districts were considered as the strata and
markets were treated as first stage sampling units and retailers as second
stage units within each strata. The primary data collected by using the
sampling framework was analysed by using Statistical Package for Social
Science (SPSS version 13). The important statistical tools and techniques
such as percentage, average, diagrams and graphs, chi-square test and
Garrett’s ranking technique were used to analyse the data.
245
Discussion and results

Livelihood Profile of Sample Retailers
Livelihood profile provides a comprehensive picture of the various
characteristics of the households. Table 3 presents the data collected on
livelihood profile of the four identified retail categories and makes a
meaningful comparison.
Table 3 Livelihood profile of sample retailers

Retail categories
Fixed point retailers Mobile retailers
Characteristic Two- Overall
Unit Head
s Fresh fish Dry fish wheeler (N=268)
loaders
(N=151) (N=27) retailers
(N=57)
(N=33)
Average No.
5.40(±2.30) 5.60(±2.40) 5.60(±2.80) 5.50(±1.70) 5.50(±2.30)
family size
Year
Average age 46(±8.77) 55(±7.86) 52(±10.32) 38(±10.35) 47(±10.31)
s
Average
55652.98 47244.44 53854.48
annual 44368.42 67418.18
` (±21491.61 (±21461.05 (±20188.43
Income of (±14451.43) (±9676.82)
) ) )
retailer
Average 130100.66 119911.11 111252.63 121914.18
104509.09
family ` (±77769.43 (±74411.11 (±111252.63 (±77728.79
(±90098.13)
income ) ) ) )
Average
8450.70 4130.43 3472.00 9563.64 7462.70
annual `
±4238.58) (±1713.69) (±1865.57) (±7737.15) (±4790.46)
savings
Household 27949.03 27290.96
24104.44 25327.58 30278.18
annual food ` (±12190.84 (±11274.83
(±6354.52) (±11555.30) (±8418.74)
expenditure ) )
Household
21585.43 18979.63 53163.64 22746.08
annual non- 9994.74
` (±29585.49 (±15012.69 (±100589.02 (±43406.61
food (±5575.37)
) ) ) )
expenditure
Main occu-
pation of the
- Fishing Fishing Fishing Fishing Fishing
household
head
Main occu- Non- Non-
Not
pation of the - Fishing Fishing fishery fishery
applicable
dependants services services
246
Average no.
of male 2 2 3 2 2
No.
members in (± 1.37) (±1.43) (±1.51) (±1.15) (±1.38)
the family
Average no.
3 3 3 2 3
of females in No.
(±1.25) (±0.98) (±1.10) (±.80) (±1.18)
the family
Average no.
3 3 3 2 2.75
of children in No.
(±0.56) (±0.64) (±0.64) (±0.32) (±0.45)
the family
Male children No. 1.30(±0.46) 1.20(±0.45) 1.40(±0.51) 1(±0.00) 1.24(±0.43)
Female
No. 1.39(±0.65) 1.50(±0.84) 1.80(±0.77) 1.43(±0.51) 1.51(±0.66)
children
Average no.
of married
No. 1.44 1.70 1.63 2.00 1.57
members per
family
Note: Figures in parentheses represent SD
Source: Survey Data
It is evident from the above table that the average family size was 5.5 and
two wheeler traders were youngest among all categories. Age-wise
distribution of retailers shows that majority of the women retailers
belonged to middle age (46-55 years). The average age of men retailers
was 38 years. Thus, it can be inferred that the younger women are quite
skeptical of entering fish marketing business because of social reasons and
marketing is mainly carried out by the middle aged, married women both
in the case of fresh fish and dry fish retailers. One of the most important
determinants of the performance of retailers is annual average family
income. The bicycle traders have highest annual business income (Rs
67,418) followed by fresh fish retailers (Rs 55,652) and dry fish retailers (Rs
47,244). Thus, the male fish sellers with quick mode of transportation
were able to reach the consumers and sell at a better margin compared to
their other counterparts. Thus, over the years women-head loaders are
experiencing declining business income and are competed out. In terms of
annual family income the women fresh retailers had highest gross income
due to multiple sources, as shown in the above table, followed by dry fish
and head loaders.
Another indicator of success of two-wheeler retailers is indicated by
the average annual savings of Rs. 9,563 compared to only Rs 3,472 for their
247
counter parts namely women head loaders. Thus, in spite of higher

operating cost (transportation, fuel etc.), two wheeler retailers were able to
achieve higher savings rate. The mobile-retailers (male) have incurred an
expenditure of Rs.53,163.00 annually on non-food items which is around 5
times higher than their counter parts (head loaders) and 2 times higher
than fresh fish fixed point retailers. One of the main reasons for higher
expenditure among two wheeler retailers could be their higher income
from non fishery business services. Thus, the emerging scenario indicates
that men retailers are able to compete with the women retailers and are
likely to emerge stronger in the coming years and threatening the role of
fisherwomen. Majority of women retailers of all categories are dependent
on fish harvesting except men retailers.
Level of Education
Educational status of the retailers represents their opportunity to
move to other occupations, awareness of market conditions and also avail
benefits from state sponsored welfare schemes. Further educational
achievements also represent social status and communication ability.
Hence, an assessment of the educational achievements was incorporated
in the analysis and presented in Table 4
Table 4. Level of education

Retail categories
Level of Fixed point
Mobile retailers
education retailers
Total
(No. of Two-
Fresh Head
years) Dry fish wheeler
fish loaders
retailers
1-7 82(54.30) 13(48.10) 39(68.40) 15(45.50) 149(55.60)
8-10 23(15.20) 5(18.50) 3(5.30) 6(18.20) 37(13.80)
12 and 3(2.00) 1(3.70) 0(0.00) 3(9.10) 7(2.60)
above
No 43(28.50) 8(29.60) 15(26.30) 9(27.20) 75(28.00)
education
Total 151(100) 27(100) 57(100) 33(100) 268(100)
248
2=14.167, p=0.117, NS d.f. = 9

Source: Survey Data
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentage.
Table 4 describes the educational achievements of the retail respondents.
Accordingly, only 2.6 per cent of the total sampled retailers were educated
above 12th standard.
Participation in Training Programmes
It is pointed out that training enhances the human capital. The changing
fish marketing environment needs proper training to the fish retailers to
face emerging challenges. The training in product handling, development,
and hygiene are considered to be valuable to fetch better market and price.
By considering this, data was collected in respect of number of retailers
who have undergone training, effectiveness of training and number of
retailers interested in training and presented in Table 6 and 7.
Table 6 Respondents who have undergone training

Retail categories
Fixed point retailers Mobile retailers
Participated
Head Two-wheeler Total
in training Fresh fish Dry fish
loaders retailers
N=151 N=27
N=57 N=33
13 3 6 0 22
Participated
(8.60) (11.60) (10.50) (0.00) (8.20)
Not 138 24 51 33 246
participated (91.40) (88.90) (89.50) (100) (91.80)
151 27 57 33 268
Total
(100) (100) (100) (100) (100)
2=3.3.691, p=0.297, NS d.f.=3
Source: Survey Data
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentage
It is evident from Table 6 that, 92 per cent of the respondents have not
undergone training in fish retailing. The results indicate the poor status of
extension services in reaching the needy people.
Table 7 Effectiveness of training

Retail categories
Effectiveness
Fixed point Mobile retailers Total
of training
retailers
249
Two-
Dry Head
Fresh fish wheeler
fish loaders
N=13 retailers
N=3 N=6
N=0
To great 1(7.70) 0(0.00) 0 (0.00) - 1(4.54)
extent
Moderate 9(69.20) 3(100) 6(100) - 18(81.82)
extent
Least extent 3(23.10) 0(0.00) 0(0.00) - 3(13.64)
Total 13(100) 3(100) 6(100) - 22(100)
Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentage
Source: Survey Data
An analysis of the effectiveness of the training provided by the extension

agencies is furnished in Table 7 Thus even a few retailers who received
training observed that the training was not useful in their profession. This
has also resulted in less number of respondents showing interest in
attending the training programme. The analysis shows that there is a
great need to re-orient the entire training extension services so that the
utility of such programmes and benefits would reach the target.
Major problems faced by the women retailers in changing scenario are:
Problems Rank
Non availability of sufficient fish I
Competition by the men traders II
Existence of big bazaar, super markets, hypermarkets III
Poor marketing infrastructure IV
Centralized landing centre V
Poor access to credit and high rate of interest VI
Lack of storage facility VII
Lack of awareness and capacity VIII
Policy measures
The role of the women in fishing is largely depends on the socio-
economic conditions of the households. Overall, the conditions and
quality of life of women is very poor across different fishing groups and
communities. These include long working hours, poor returns compared
to the men and in addition the burden of household responsibility.
Though they face lot of problems, still they expressed their interest to
learn new skills and attend trainings to improve their status in the fishing
sector to empower themselves. The emerging picture shows that slowly
women retailers are likely to be competed out due to the competition from
250
men retailers and also from the operation by the organised retail stores.
On the other hand lack of interest persists among younger generation to
continue the fish business due to the social stigma and experience of
hardship in the business (unhygienic conditions, lack of sanitation
amenities etc.). Majority of the fishing family in Karnataka today finds it
difficult to earn a livelihood throughout the year. Therefore, the vast
potential available among the unemployed fisherwomen needs to be
tapped, which can be achieved by making them capable of doing
something remunerative on their own. This intern requires motivation,
degree of awareness and critical thinking. Therefore government /
fisheries department should take sufficient measures to ensure sustained
source of livelihood by
1. Skill development and capacity building for enterprise
development, to produce value added products and to improve the
quality of fish and fish products
2. Establishing modern hi-tech fish markets with modern amenities.
3. Better transportation facility to the selling points from landing
centers.
4. Training on modern methods of fish drying, curing etc.
5. Provision of financial facility at zero/low rate of interest.
This would help the fisherwomen gain control over their own livelihoods
and improve their status both within the household and the community,
improve/access to income and livelihood options, increase family income,
increase participation in various decision-making processes within the
family.
Conclusion: The multifaceted roles played by the fisherwomen in
earning livelihood are very mush felt. In the changing retail fish market,
there is a need to protect the livelihood of fisherwomen who are
marginalized and excluded from the main stream of the society. They are
denied and deprived by the available provisions/facilities extended as
most of them are unaware of the schemes. Further, low education and
less bargaining power made them to lag behind in availing the facilities. In
an integrated manner steps need to be taken taking into account the
drawing on available policy and legislative frameworks, and on the steps
already being taken by State and Central governments and their
institutions, to support this important segment of the population. Existing
gaps in policy and implementation must be systematically addressed.
251
References
 Bhatta, R., & Rao. K. A. (2003). Women’s livelihood in fisheries in coastal
Karnataka, India. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 10(2), 261-278.
 CMFRI. (2010). Marine fisheries census 2010. Cochin: Central Marine
Fisheries Research Institute.
 FAO. (2008). Report of the technical consultation on the measurement of
fishing capacity. FAO fisheries report no. 615. Rome: Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
 GOI. (2008). Handbook on fisheries statistics 2008. New Delhi: Government
of India, Ministry of Agriculture.
 GOI. (20148). Handbook on fisheries statistics 2014. New Delhi: Government
of India, Ministry of Agriculture.
 GOK. (2009). Statistical bulletin of fisheries. Bangalore: Directorate of
Fisheries.
 Gracy, M. M. (1988). Impact of technological advancement on socio-
economics of women in fisheries. Kerala. In M. S. Hameed & B. M. Kurup
(Eds.), Technological Advancement in Fisheries (pp.552-558). Cochin: Cochin
University of Science and Technology.
 Kurien, J. (2000). Factoring social and cultural dimensions into food and
livelihood security issues of marine fisheries- a case study of Kerala State,
India. Working paper 299, Trivandrum: Centre for Development Studies.
 Sugunan, V. V. (2010). Fisheries- A driver for livelihood and nutritional
security in India. In Proceedings of National Seminar on Fisheries Based
Livelihoods in India, Nov. 20-29 (pp. 1-9). Kolkata: The Livelihood School.
 Willimann, R., & Kelleher. J. (2010). Economic trends in global marine
fisheries, In R. Q. Grafton, R. Hilborn, D. Squires, M. Tait & M. Williams
(Eds.), Handbook of Marine Fisheries Conservation and Management (pp. 20-
42). New York: Oxford University Press.
27
252
Role of NGO In Women Empowerment Through Skill

Development –With Special Reference To ODP
Kumara J.N
Gayathri N.K
Introduction
Nongovernment organizations have been playing a pioneering role
in the field of rural development. Notwithstanding their limitations to
undertake rural development programmes nationwide, they may
contribute their mite by undertaking special projects in selected areas by
implementing them with an element of information and flexibility which
is the distinctive feature of their work. Alternatively, they may concentrate
on selected rural development activities covering a wide geographical
area. They may also stimulate and promote people's participation in
governmental programmes like Watershed and thereby play a supportive
role in the fields of rural development. Watershed brings them many
favors like improvement in the ground water levels, restoration of eroded
soils, crop rotation, improved agricultural technology, increased and
improved animal husbandry, more green fodder to their milch and
draught cattle etc.
Non-government organizations with their advantage of non-rigid,
locality specific, felt need-based, beneficiary oriented and committed
nature of service have established multitude of roles which can effect rural
development. In this context, the need to analyze how far the NGOs are
effective in rural development, what are their roles, components of their
development work, their consequences etc. was evident. With this
objective, a case study was conducted in Mysore District.
Profile of the Organization for the Development of Peoples

ODP is a voluntary non-profit and non-government organisation
aiming to develop and strengthen under-privileged people through a
participatory approach, by organising community-based people’s groups
to become self-managed and self-reliant, for better livelihood security. It
is established on 4th January 1984 and the mysore diocesan social service
society was registered under the Karnataka societies Registration Act 1960.
The financial wing of ODP is registered under the section 8 Companies
253
Act as- The perspective of ODP’s work is rooted in the mission of God ,to
empower men and women and bring back the image of God on humanity.
Vision - To build a society of love, peace and justice.

Mission - To restore human dignity to the poor, the marginalised and the
discriminated through empowerment.
Goal - Integrated human development
Aim - Change in attitudes and inappropriate value systems
Approach -Participatory, i e, with the involvement of people
Focus Areas of Development of the ODP

 Women Empowerment
 Natural Resource Management
 Capacity building of peoples for better governance
 Entrepreneurship and Employment Development
 Housing and Sanitation
 Care and Support For the HIV Affected and infected
 Child Labour Elimination and Education Sponsorship
 Sustainable Agriculture
 Alternate Renewable Energy
Today, ODP has about 30 on-going programmes in these focus areas,
catering to the social, economic, cultural, political and spiritual
development of people. This organization is working nearly in 4 Districts,
17 Taluks, 88 Towns, 202 panchayats, and 447 villages. Covering a
geographical area of about 21,051 sq. km (i.e., 13,079 s q miles).
History of ODP’s Programs:-

ODP has begun only by 4 programmes, Over the years, based on
emerging needs of the peoples and the experiences of staff, the two major
THRUST AREAS of all ODP’s development interventions are –Women
Empowerment and Natural Resource Management for Livelihood
security. All the other programs of ODP are support programs to these 2
major thrust areas, Like –capacity building trainings, skill development
training, HIV/AIDS awareness, education/family sponsorship,
rehabilitation of the handicapped, low cost housing, alternate renewable
energy, etc.
254
Women Empowerment Programme

The women empowerment programme was initiated in 1986 with
the formation of self-help groups. It is one of the earliest programme of
ODP. At present this organization have 2300 SHG’s with 40,000 women
members, 211 central committees, 26 Taluk Level Federations, 5 District
level federations and one apex federation called Mahilodaya Mahila
Okkuta, which was initiated in 1990,co-ordinates the entire women
empowerment initiatives–touching the lives of more than 33,000 poor and
disadvantaged women and their families.
Women Empowerment Programme Aims

 To organise a strong and active women SHG’s to discuss issues or
problems and to find solutions to them.
 To enable poor and marginalized women with again dignity and
equity
 To develop regular and systematic savings and resource
mobilization to manage credit needs through the groups,
federation and local banks, thus eliminating exploitation by
private money lenders.
 To encourage women to become active leaders and to extend
justice and legitimate voice in their lives
 To Mobilise financial resources for income generating
programmes for making women owners of assets and to develop
their self-esteem or status.
 To Generate awareness by conducting training programmes,
camps and workshops on various topics related to
Empowerment, Environment, organisation, leadership, skill
development, agriculture, health, Gender equality.
 To Involve women in Panchayat and other local governance
systems and to groom them for leadership in these systems.
 To ensure freedom with rights for integrated and sustainable
development of women in all spheres of their life.
Livelihood Enhancement Programme

Under this programme, this organization is providing training for
Tailoring, Sheep rearing, Cow rearing, Manufacturing Handicrafts,
Bamboo Chandriks, Petty Shops and vendors and salesman etc.
255
Income Generation Activities

 Loans for Agriculture and income generation activities
 The loans are primarily for Milch Cows, Sheep Units, Backyard
Poultry Units, Petty Businesses and Agriculture.
 It is providing loans through Families Development Project to help
the poorest of poor families to come up in life.
 Skill trainings in tailoring, basic computers, fashion designing,
beautician course, 2-wheeler mechanism, 4-wheeler driving,
electrical repairs of home appliances, etc.
Pathania Biswas (2014) states that microfinance sector has grown
rapidly over the past two decades and has helped women to gain
economic empowerment and to improve quality of their life and it can
also to help reduce the problem of unemployment and several social
problems. Abhishek etl. (2014) they are concerned with the upliftment of
the women in the society and their paper looks in to dynamism of the
process of NGOs and SHGs. Naznin Islam and Nahid Sultana (2005)
have made an attempt to focus light on the impact of ACD activities on
women of its working areas. According to Ankita etl. (2013) there are
many challenges face by NGOs who make their goal to empower women,
hence the study has carried out to understand the level of empowerment
of women of the selected NGOs of selected state of India. Tauffiqu
Ahamand (2015) are mainly concerned with the upliftment of the women
in the society, and it also looks into the dynamism of the process through
which women empowerment is achieved and the status of women are
uplifted with the aid of NGOs and Self-help groups in Uttar Pradesh.
Hedayat Allah Nikkhah explore the contribution of NGOs towards
sustainable community development. According to him micro finance
program improve the economic well-being of communities by job creation
and income generation.
Objective Of The Study

 To know the structure of ODP
 To know the performance of ODP in women empowerment by skill
development
256
Hypothesis of the Study

 Income level of the respondents has increased after joining to the
Organization of the Development of People.
ODP is a voluntary non-profit and non-government organisation
aiming to develop and strengthen under-privileged people through SHGs.
It is also providing training and assistance for skill development and
income generating activities in rural areas, by organising community-
based people’s groups to become self-managed and self-reliant, for better
livelihood opportunities, hence the study chooses ODP as a study area
For the purpose of examining the objectives constructed in the
study, primary data was collected from 25 beneficiary respondents. The
multi stage random sampling procedure was used for the selection of
respondents. Study considered both primary and secondary data and data
were analyzed by using simple percentage analysis, Paired Samples Test,
SPSS statistical package to analyze the socio-economic status of
beneficiaries’ respondents.
Data Analysis & Interpretation

1. Age of the Respondents
Age of the Respondents(years) Respondents Percentage
<25-30 2 0.08
31-35 6 0.24
36-40 6 0.24
41-45 2 0.08
46-50 5 0.2
51-55 & above 4 0.16
Total 25 100
Source: Field Survey Data
The field survey data analysis identified the age of respondents and
it is explained by the above table, out of 25 sample respondents large
number of respondents (24%) are in the age group of 31-35 and 36-40, 16
percent of respondents are in the age group of 51-55 and above and only 8
percent of respondents are in the age group of <25-30 in the study area.
2. Education Qualification of the Respondents
257
Respondents Percentage
Illiterate 7 28
Primary 9 36
Secondary 8 32
PUC 1 4
Total 25 100
The above table show education qualification of the Respondents, out 25

respondents large number of respondents (36%) have primary education
qualification, 32 percent of respondents have secondary education
qualification and 28 percent of respondents are illiterates in the study area.
3. Caste of the Respondents

SC 7 28
ST 6 24
OBC 6 24
Christian 6 24
Total 25 100
It is clear from the above table, large number of respondents (28%) are
belong to scheduled caste, 24 percent of respondents are belong to
scheduled tribes, 24 percent of respondents are belong to other backward
class and 24 percent of respondents are belong to Christian in the study
area.
4. Years of Experience in ODP
10 years 9 36
14 years 6 24
15 years 1 4
2 years 3 12
4 years 2 8
5 years 3 12
6 years 1 4
Total 25 100
258
The study found that, out of 25 respondents large number of

respondents (36%) have 10 years of experience in NGO, 24 percent of
respondents have 14 years of experience, 12 percent of respondents have 2
years and 5 years of experience and only 4 percent of respondents have 6
years of experience in NGO in the study area.
5. Income of Respondents Before Joining to the NGO

0 11 44
500 3 12
1000 6 24
2000 1 4
3000 1 4
4500 1 4
5000 2 8
Total 25 100
The above table shows that monthly income of the respondents

before joining to the NGO, out of 25 respondents large number of
respondents (44%) are not realized any income, 24 percent of respondents
are realized Rs.1000, 12 percent of respondents realized Rs.500 and only 8
percent of respondents are realized Rs.5000 in the study area.
6. Income of the Respondents After Joining to the NGO

1000 4 16
1500 3 12
2000 3 12
3000 2 8
4000 3 12
5000 5 20
6000 3 12
7000 & above 2 8
Total 25 100
It is clear from the above table, large number of respondents(20%)
income increased by Rs.5000, 16 percent of respondents are realizing
Rs.1000 rupee per month, and only 8 percent of respondents are realizing
259
Rs. 3000 per month through different livelihood strategies in the study
area.
7. Social Status Better Before and After Joining to the NGO

Poor 25 100
Better 25 100
The above table shows that, 100 percent respondents said

socioeconomic status is poor before joining to the ODP and the
socioeconomic status of respondents or members is improved after joining
to the ODP in the study area.
8. Loan Facility provided by the NGO

<10,000-20,000 5 0.2
20,001-30,000 7 0.28
30,001-40,000 5 0.2
40,001-50,000 5 0.2
50,001& above 3 0.12
Total 25 100
It is observed from the primary data, large number of respondents

(28%) are collected Rs.20001 to Rs. 30000 loan from ODP, 12 percent of
respondents are collected Rs. 50001 and above from ODP for achieving
their livelihood strategies in the study area.
Results and Discussions

Ho: Income level of the respondents has not increased after joining to the
Organization of the Development of People
H1: Income level of the respondents has increased after joining to the
Organization of the Development of People
Paired Sample Statistics

Particulars Mean N Std. Std. Error
Deviation Mean
Income Before 1080.00 25 1592.168 318.434
260
Joining
Income After Joining 3656.00 25 2370.844 474.169
Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
Particulars Mean Std.De Std.Er 95% Confidence df Sig.(
viatio ror Interval of the t. 2-
n Mean Difference taile
Lower Upper d)
Income
Before - 1970.2 394.05 - -1762.719 - 24 .000
Joining 2576. 54 1 3389.28 6.5
Income 000 1 37
After Joining
The above paired sample t-test result shows that, the difference
between income level of beneficiary respondents before and after joining
to the ODP. The paired sample t-test result to show the difference between
income of the beneficiaries before and after joining to the ODP is
represented in the above table. The results are statistically significant at 1
percent level of significance. The mean difference of income is Rs. 2576,
which means that the average income level of the respondents is increased
by Rs.2573 after joining to the ODP.
Policy Implication
 Organization is providing financial assistance for members children
education, it should start their own institution for providing free
education.
 Organization is providing financial assistance with 2 percent rate of
interest, it should provide without rate of interest by keeping
members property as a surety
Summary and Conclusion

Organization for the development of people is a voluntary non-
profit and non-government organization aiming to develop and
strengthen the women through a participatory approach and by
organizing community-based women groups to become self-managed and
self-reliant for better livelihood security. Organization has given a lot of
importance for sustainable development of poor and marginalized
261
families through viable and need based Income Generation programmes.

Organization is achieving empowerment of women through provision of
education facilities, employment opportunities, financial assistance and
training for skill development activities in rural areas. The present study
explains the different skill developing and income generating
programmes for women empowerment by ODP in Mysore district. The
paired sample t-test results showed the difference between income level of
respondents before and after joining to the ODP, the results are
statistically significant at 1 percent level of significance. The mean
difference of income is Rs.2576, which means that the average income
level of the respondents is increased by Rs.2573 after joining to the ODP.
The study concludes that ODP is playing a major role through capacity
building such as ability, skill and knowledge in income generating
activities of poor peoples and it also improves the quality of their lives.
Reference
 Manju Pathania Biswas etl.(2014) Role of NGO in Empowering Women
Through Microfinance: A Conceptual Study, IOSR Journal of Humanities
and Social Science, Volume 19, issue 5, Ver.I (May 2014).
 Abhishek etl. (2014) Role of NGOs in Women Empowerment in Uttar
Pradesh, New Man International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies,
Vol.1, ISSUE 12, ISSN: 2348-1390
 Naznin Islam and Nahid Sultana (2005) Role of NGOs in Empowering
thee Vulnerable Women: A Study on ACD, Acian Affiars, Vol. 27, No 4:
24-40, October 2005
 Ankita R etl. (2013), The Role of NGOs in Empowering Women- An
Empoirical Study of the Selelcted NGOsof India, Asian Journal of
Multidimensional Research, Vol.2, Issue 3,
 Tauffiqu Ahamad, etl. (2015) Role of NGOs in Women Empowerment:
With Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh, International Journal of
Applied Research, Vol 1 (10): 115-118.
262
28
Social Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for

Women Skill Development
Prince C P
Introduction
Social Innovation combines the passion of a social mission with an
image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination. It is high
time for having entrepreneurial approaches to social problems. In general,
social innovation can be defined as new responses to pressing social
demands, which affect the process of social interactions. It is aimed at
263
improving human well-being. According to Agnes et al (2010), Social

innovations are innovations that are social in both their ends and their
means. Social innovations are also defined as new ideas (products,
services and models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more
effectively than alternatives) and create new social relationships or
collaborations. In other words they are innovations that are not only good
for society but also enhance society’s capacity to act. Elaborating the
concept Agnes (ibid) further refers ‘Innovation’ as the capacity to create
and implement novel ideas which are proven to deliver value and ‘Social’
as the kind of value that innovation is expected to deliver: a value that is
less concerned with profit and more with issues such as quality of life,
solidarity and well-being.
According to Frank Moulaert et al (2013), Social innovation refers to
finding acceptable progressive solutions for a whole range of problems of
exclusion, deprivation, alienation, lack of wellbeing, and also to those
actions that contribute positively to significant human progress and
development. Social innovation means fostering inclusion and wellbeing
through improving social relations and empowerment processes:
imagining and pursuing a world, a nation, a region, a locality, a
community that would grant universal rights and be more socially
inclusive.
Thus social innovation, beyond its object of bringing measurable or
perceptible changes in situations of vulnerability processes and practices
which are inclusive and interactive forms bedrock of social innovation.
Thus social innovation leads to a commitment to the society to transform
the society from the existing situation to a new status that could aim at
eliminating the existing structures of risk or create new structures which
are more empowering and sustainable.
Innovative strategies are introduced in different nations differently.
To site an example from Bangaldesh, South Asian Country, at the national
level, innovations in higher education are being encouraged at both public
and private universities, with financial support from the Academic
Innovation Fund (AIF) of the UGC and the World Bank. The AIF provides
a competitive funding mechanism to improve the research capacity of
university faculty; it is in the form of grants to academics based on
transparent selection criteria. Under this scheme, 91 academics from 32
universities (29 public and 3 private) had received funds by December
264
2010 to come up with innovations to improve teaching, learning, and

research in various disciplines. The AIF’s efforts to support innovation at
universities will remain a continuing endeavor on the part of the
government, as a means of improving higher education standards. A few
examples of innovative ideas being tested under the AIF are: (i) the design
and implementation of a self-assessment exercise for civil engineering
programs; (ii) development of an ICT-based interactive teaching and
learning system to improve the academic quality of programs in the plant
sciences; (iii) discipline-based learning enhancement in graduate urban-
planning programs to meet the challenges of the 21st century; (iv)
development of a design-process simulation lab for teaching, learning, and
research; (v) development of an ultrasound-based elasticity imaging
system for early cancer detection; and (vi) development of a microscopic
traffic simulator, with mixed traffic simulation capability, for the
evaluation of alternative transport options for Dhaka city.
Women skill development is focusing the development of the skills
among the girls joint in higher education sector. It includes the girl
students and staff development. There are several strategies used for the
education or learning skill development. This study is an attempt to high
light some of the innovative strategies experimented at Centre for Post
Graduate Studies and Research, St. Philomena College, Puttur, Karnataka
focusing the women skill development. It is a conceptual paper explaining
the theoretical implications of the innovative strategies experimented in
the above rural higher education institute in India.
Literature
There are hardly any studies conducted purely on innovative
strategies in higher education sector. A few studies of social innovation in
higher education, strategies in higher education and women skill
development are given as background literature.
Theoretical perspectives of social innovation

Many theoretical traditions have influenced social innovation in its
formulations and practice. Some of the approaches emanating from such
theorizations are discussed below. Agnes et.al (2010) presents three
different approaches to social innovation.
265
Approach 1: The social demand perspective:

According to this approach, social innovations are innovations that
respond to social demands that are traditionally not addressed by the
market or existing institutions and are directed towards vulnerable groups
in society (Agnes et al 2010). This is one the leading argument in
understanding social innovation as discussed by Murray et al (2008). Can
there be a social demand in all social innovations? It would be doubtful
and hence to explore other approaches.
Approach 2: The societal challenge perspective:

The value added to the economy is as a result of the challenges put
forward by the economic activities to the society and in turn it also
demands certain social responsibility from the economic domain. Here,
innovation is seen as a process that should tackle ‘societal challenges’
through new forms of relations between social actors.
Approach 3: The systemic changes perspective:

A third view focuses more on the ultimate objective of social
innovation: sustainable systemic change to be reached through a process
of organisational development and changes in relations between
institutions and stakeholders.
The Social change theory

A theory of change is the empirical basis underlying any social
intervention —for example, the belief that a young person’s close
relationship with adult role models can reduce his susceptibility to
violence, or that regular visits by registered nurses to first-time pregnant
women can improve parenting skills and children’s outcomes (Brest,
2010).
Social change is the result of a tremendously complex mix of
ingredients. Environmental conditions, social conditions and individual
actors collide to spark world-changing ideas. Our emerging Theory of
Change is most succinctly communicated through the following image:
We begin at the bottom of the pyramid, focusing on the creation of the
physical space. We do this carefully, designing a space that's functional,
whimsical, inviting and energizing. The next layer is community. What
266
begins as a group of people looking for a place to work becomes a

community through conscious and careful creating and
programming. These layers form the basis for innovation -- the
serendipity that happens when you mix the right people, the right values
and the right environment; when you set the conditions for social innovation
emergence. The results are unpredictable and often astonishing (Brest, 2010).
The social innovation is also related to social capital when we discuss in
terms of higher education sector. Hence a few studies on social capital
high light the following information.
Social Capital and Higher Education
Social capital is commonly defined as “the assets inherent in
relationships (good will) – assets with potential to benefit individuals, the
group, and the wider community” (Woods, 2008: 15).
More specifically, social capital is: a product of social networks and the
resources available through such networks, as well as the extent to which
the people in such networks are willing to share their resources with one
another. Hence, a denser social network does not automatically translate
into higher social capital. This means that social capital is determined by
both structural factors (location of individuals in a society, which
determines the resources available to them) and cultural factors (the
strength of community-orientedness among individuals in a network,
influencing their willingness to share their resources with others in the
community) (Kazemipour, 2004: 7). In terms of trends, Woolcock (2001: 65)
found “seven social service areas that use the concept of social capital:
families and youth, schools and education, community life, work and
organizations, democracy and governance, problems related to collective
action, and economic development.” Franke (2005: 1) suggests adding
“physical and mental health, immigration, and public protection.” The
Policy Research Initiative (PRI) suggested three additional areas where a
social capital perspective can be useful: “helping populations at risk of
social exclusion, supporting key life-course transitions, and promoting
community development efforts” (PRI, 2005: 8).
Strategies in Higher Education

A tool on different higher education strategies gives several
strategic models and one of them is given here. Ask your students the
strategies they use when they “study.” Unfortunately, students today
267
have relatively poor cognitive strategies or known ways people learn. It is

up to teachers to teach students how to learn.
Metacognition means “thinking about thinking.” It refers to the
awareness and control students have of their cognitive processes. Good
learners have an array of learning strategies they can use. They know how
to solve problems, how to set goals, evaluate their own progress, monitor
their achievement, and assess whether they understand material. They can
use graphic organizers to study, read and review material with a purpose,
rehearse skills until they master them and so on. Poor students need
explicit instructions and guidance concerning how to do these things. It is
simply not enough for teachers to say, “Learn this.” We need to show
students how to learn.
Keep this in mind as you think about each of these teaching strategies.
They should help students to learn material and skills as well as learn to
be better learners. What can teachers do to develop metacognition?
Share and model self-monitoring processes

Show your students how you proofread and evaluate work, check
to see how lessons are going, and so on. Take, for example, a piece of
work and show students how you would analyze it to make it better. Ask
them to track their thinking processes by asking themselves, “What could
I do to improve?” “What help do I need?”
Explain strategies that students can use

Think out loud how you would go about solving a problem, making
a decision, studying for a particular test, or understanding a challenging
piece of reading material.
Clarify why particular strategies are helpful and useful

There are three types of knowledge: declarative knowledge
(knowing what), procedural knowledge (knowing how), and conditional
knowledge (knowing when, what, and how). Help students to develop
their conditional knowledge by letting them in on what works, when, and
why.
Clarify and model when particular strategies are appropriate

Modeling is a key. You teach the way you were taught; you learn
the way you learned. Your methods might not suit all of your students’
thinking styles, but it is a start. Show kids how you learn. Learn together.
268
Model in your lessons good ways to manage the complex learning

process. Make predictions or show students how to develop hypotheses.
Describe visual images that help you to remember. Share an analogy,
which links prior information with new information. Verbalize confusing
points.
There are studies done on the strategies traditionally used in the
Universities and one of such study high light the importance of traditional
methods. A study conducted by Sajjad (2010) was to determine the
effectiveness of various teaching methods used for teaching students at
graduate level. Two hundred and twenty undergraduate students
studying in 11 departments of Faculty of Arts, University of Karachi, were
interviewed about their perceptions of best and effective teaching methods
and the reason for that. Most of the students rated lecture method as the
best teaching method. Reasons included; teacher provides all knowledge
related to topic, time saving, students attentively listen lecture and take
notes etc. The group discussion was rated as the second best method of
teaching because of; more participation of students, the learning is more
effective, the students don’t have to rely on rote learning, and this method
develops creativity among students etc. Students’ perception and ratings
about the interesting and effective teaching methods is a way to suggest
improvements in teaching/ learning process.
Women skill development

Seshukumari (2001) conducted a study on Impact of Polyvalent
Adult Education among Women in Visakhapatnam Shramik Vidyapeeth.
The findings are as follows : Majority of the beneficiaries of the courses
(embroidery, DTP, beautician, entrepreneurship development
programme, cutting and tailoring, agarbathi making, handicrafts, fabric
painting, soft toys and medical lab technician) expressed their positive
attitude about the courses, management, instructors and physical facilities
at the centres. After completing the courses, 24.8 per cent of the
respondents got employment and 41.6 per cent of the respondents started
self-employment units. 87.6 per cent respondents in Desk Top Publishing
and 64 per cent respondents in Medical Lab Technician courses secured
jobs. 38.5 per cent of the respondents in Beautician course got
employment. There are also studies conducted across the nation on
women skills development. However attempt for social innovative
strategies to be implemented for women skill development is new to
269
Indian situation. Hence such an attempt done at St. Philomena College

Puttur must be appreciated.
Methodology
Being a conceptual paper, both primary and secondary data sources
are used. The information collected from the management, staff and
students along with the experiences of people who were direct and
indirect beneficiaries of the programme were gathered. The available
literature also was used to frame the social innovative strategies. Hence it
is compilation of the qualitative research done and inferences are drawn
accordingly.
The objective of the paper is to highlight those innovative strategies
that are successfully experimented at the Centre for Post Graduate Studies
and Research, St. Philomena College, Puttur, Karnataka, India, focusing
women skill development and how to make the formation of women
socially inclusive. A few of such innovative training programmes are
discussed briefly over here.
Social Innovative strategies experimented

Percolating model of social activism; it is the training given to post
graduate students. Majority of them are women to study the community
problems and come out with solutions making sure the community
participation. For example promotion of pipe composting in households
for waste management, formation of community forest protection group
through student initiative, river rejuvenation through involving people to
form river protection forum.
In Pipe composting promotion project the post graduate students
particularly girls visited houses in three Taluks and created awareness
about management of household wastes through pipe composting
mechanism. There was good interaction between the women at home and
the post graduate girls through which the students got training in
community health education. A local NGO called KIDS provided the
technical assistance to the students. Other planned projects include
formation of community forest protection group in which the students are
prepared to form people’s group to protect the resources in the forest.
They created the awareness that forest need to be protected like one’s own
property and it is with the intention of environment protection and
preservation and conservation of natural sources. The river rejuvenation is
270
intended to protect the river by keeping all pollutions away through the
community awareness and creation of river protection forums. It is in the
planning level and the students would start with a survey, followed by
formation of protection forum.
Promotion of Feminine Journalism: The fourth estate is still masculine

dominant and so feminine journalism is to bring out women issues to lime
light and fight for justice through women writings, promotion of women
blogs and social media initiatives. Students are encouraged to write
articles for the wall board magazines in each post graduate department.
Besides the social work department had initiated an e- blog called
Ayurspoorthy though which they write on health related themes. It is the
primary step for the promotion of feminine journalism in which the plan
is to bring out articles that high light woman’s issues and to promote
women empowerment, women movements and women activism.
Indigenous knowledge banking: It is with the purpose of creation of

indigenous knowledge particularly on different subaltern issues of rural
women and the story of exceptional women who bravely stood for women
development are collected and formed an indigenous data bank. Although
in each post graduate department subject related indigenous data banks
are created, gender related issues are collected along with them or through
the initiatives done by women cell. It helps in rediscovery of the role of
women in ancient past and how the women empowerment developed
over the years.
Formation of feminine farms: Traditionally women were active

participants with men in the farming. The educated new generation
withdraw themselves from agriculture and so it is training to be women of
soil irrespective of academic achievements. Highly educated women but
actively involved in farming training the young generation to get back to
soil for cultivation and promotion of agriculture. The initiative taken by
each department in helping the village farmers in farming gradually
turned out to be farming models in which educated women engage
themselves.
Peer mentoring model in life skill education: Women being the key
person in families to train them in responsible parenting life skill
education is promoted through peer mentoring strategy in which student
271
to student interaction, discussion of case vignettes are encouraged. Post

graduate girls used to come out with practical solutions for current
familial problems in such mentoring groups.
There is students’ group of three to four members in each group. They
discuss different cases in the family and community and try to find
solutions. The ten life skills are used with the help of case vignettes and
students evaluate its result in a common gathering of the students.
Conclusion
The skill development of women in higher education sector is not
an easy task. Collaborative efforts must be undertaken in which
traditional as well as innovative strategies should be used. The women
study centres in different colleges and universities can experiment the
social innovative strategies as explained in this conceptual paper. More
practical models and strategies will contribute to the women
empowerment and women skill development. It is further important
when the focus is upon the rural women who has less access to modern
resources, in which engage them in the active participation of the
community events to transform it to sustainable development models.
References
 Seshu Kumari, A (2001). Impact of Polyvalent Adult Education among
Women. A Case Study of Visakhapatnam Shramik Vidyapeeth, Ph.D. in
Adult and Continuing Education, Andhra University, Vizag.
 Asian Development Bank (2015). Innovative Strategies in Higher
education for accelerated Human resource development In South Asia,
Bangladesh
 Agnès Hubert (2010).Empowering people, driving change: Social
innovation in the European Union, Bureau of European Policy, Advisers
report
 Brest Paul, (2010), The Power of Theories of Change, Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Spring Franke, S. (2005). Measurement of Social Capital
Reference Document for Public Policy Research, Development, and
Evaluation. PRI Project Social Capital as a Public Policy Tool.
 Kazemipour, A. (2004). Social Capital of Immigrants in Canada. PCERII
Working Paper Series.
 Moulaert Frank, Diana MacCallum and Jean Hillier (2013). Social
innovation: intuition, precept, concept, theory and practice, International
Handbook of Social Innovation: Collective Action, Social Learning and
Transdisciplinary Research, London: Routledge.
272
 PRI [Policy Research Initiative]. (2005). Social Capital as a Public Policy

Tool Project Report. Ottawa: Policy Research Initiative.
 Sajjad Shahida SSCED Tool Kit, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Strategies
 Woods, T. (2008). Untapped Potential: Fostering Organizational Social
Capital in the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector. Muttart Fellowship Series.
 Woolcock, Michael. 2001. “The place of social capital in understanding
social and economic outcomes.” Canadian Journal of Policy Research
29
Skill Development among Migrant Women Workers in

Urban Karnataka: A Study on Un-organized Workers
Gowrappa M.S
INTRODUCTION:
Migration from one area to another in search of improved
livelihood is a key feature of human history. Migration has become a
universal phenomenon in modern times. Due to the expansion of
transport and communication, it has become a part of worldwide process
of urbanization and industrialization. In most countries, it has been
observed that industrialization and economic development has been
accompanied by large-scale movements of people from villages to towns,
from towns to other towns and from one country to another country. This
is not an exception to India. From the demographic point of view,
migration is one of the three basic components of population growth of
any area, the other being fertility and mortality. But whereas both fertility
and mortality operate within the biological framework, migration does
have some economic implications. It influences size, composition and
273
distribution of population. More importantly, migration influences the

social, political and economic life of the people. Indian constitution
provides basic freedom to move to any part of the country, right to reside
and earn livelihood of their choice. Thus, migrants are not required to
register either at the place of origin or at the place of destination. A
number of economic, social, cultural and political factors play an
important role in the decision to move. The effects of these factors vary
over time and place. Analysis of labor migration is important to
understand the people’s movement within the country as a response to
changes in economic, political and cultural factors (Singh, 1998). In India,
permanent shifts of population and workforce co-exist with the circulatory
movement of populations between lagging areas and developed regions
and between rural and urban areas, mostly being absorbed in the
unorganized sector of the economy.
In the related review of literature, there is no availability of enough
data on women migrant labour because of the assumption that most
women migrate because of marriage. This assumption blocks further
analysis of the women migrants engaged in paid labour and an
understanding of how their vulnerabilities are being compounded by
contemporary economic practices. In this regard, Centre for Women's
Development Studies opined that, this leads to the "invisibilization" and
undermining of women in policies.
However, according to NSSO 2007-08, women constitute 80% of
total internal migrants. As per 2001 census, India’s population exceeded 1
billion, with 67.2 percent of the population living in rural areas and the
other 32.8 percent in towns and cities. Of the total workforce, 73.3 percent
remained in rural areas, while the rest 26.7 percent are in urban areas.
Whereas, by 2011 census, the internal migrants in India are expected to
touch 400 million, over half the global figure of 740 million and almost
twice as many as China's estimated 221 million. These internal migrants,
comprising one-third of India's population, internal migrants faced
discrimination as 'outsiders', which excluded them from access to legal
rights, public services and social protection programmes accorded to
residents. This is despite the migrants providing cheap labour and
typically doing the dirtiest, dangerous and degrading jobs that locals do
not want to do. Far from being a burden on society, migrants' cheap
labour provides a subsidy and contributes to the national GDP, stated the
274
report. Moreover, remittances from migrants lead to increased

expenditure on health and education helping human capital formation.
In India in general and Karnataka in particular, the issues like
migration and skill development among women workers has an increased
importance in the post-liberalized and present globalised era. It has its
own specified problems and prospects and they have inert-relation with
theory and practical issues. Construction is one of the burgeoning
industries which support the infrastructural development of an economy.
In India, its role is recognized comparatively more in urban infrastructure,
especially from the globalization from 1991. Many foreign construction
companies have started function in India. Construction is one of the fastest
growing industries in India in general and in Karnataka in particular. In
Karnataka, of course, it has concentrates more in the urban areas,
especially in Bangalore city and peripherals of Bangalore. In this regard
the current paper undergone in digging the in-depth matters.
Unfortunately, the study needed to concentrate more on the issues related
to problems in skill development among the migrant-women workers in
urban Karnataka. The study has taken the construction related areas in the
vicinity of Bangalore city. It is especially more in the manufacture of
concrete blocks in the development of construction industry in urban
Karnataka.
Though, Karnataka government has come forward with some of the
skill development schemes on the lines of Indian government with
theoretical importance, yet there are some problems inherited practically
and led backwash effects. It is so more due to the within- they are by
socio-economic problems of women migrant workers in urban Karnataka.
The paper studies in-depth of the related issues/problems (findings) and
tries suggestions in overcoming the same.
As per the 2011 census, the average Indian people are divided into
rural with 68.84 % and urban with 31.16 %. In modern days, when the
discussion is on population, it would definitely on the rates of literature. It
was 64.8 in 2001 census but it has increased to 74.0 by the census 2011.
Interestingly, the same could be dividing among males with 75.3 in
2001census and with 82.1by 2011 census. And among females it was 53.7
in 2001 and it has increased to 65.5 in 2011 census. Interestingly, the
percentage change has rolled in favor of females with +11.8 compared to
just +6.8 for male over 2001 census. Improvement in female literacy is
275
more than males in both rural and urban areas. The gender gap in literacy
has come down from 24.6 in 2001 to 19.8 in 2011 in rural areas and from
13.4 in 2001 to 9.8 in 2011 in urban areas.
The origin of the theory-cum-practical problems related to the
current issue is that of the lack of correlation between the comparative
improvement of sex ratio and in fact with the workforce and the related
schemes implemented for the skill development among the women
migrated workers in urban Karnataka. The improvement in overall sex
ratio is largely in urban areas, it was +7 in the Indian average, it was just
+1 in rural India and it improves upto +26 among urban areas. When the
female population increased over that of males in urban areas, obviously,
the socio-economic problems would be augmented. It needs to be
considered seriously by the public authority while undertaking and
implementing schemes for the skill development of migrant women
workers among the increased un-organized sector in the urban Karnataka.
The study find that while the female population increased more in the
urban areas over the 2001 census, the government schemes relate to
women skill development in urban areas are not in favor of the same.
Moreover, the socio-economic problems of urban women workers have
intensified for the implementation problems among them, especially,
among the migrant women workers in the un-organized sector in the
vicinity of Bangalore city. In addition to that Karnataka in particular the
number of urban centers too increasing in its numbers, since the new
economic policy of 1991. It is mainly due to the rural-urban migration in
Karnataka. Karnataka government while framing and implementing the
related progarmmes and categorized the 43 activities under the un-
organized sector for the benefit of social security schemes, it did not taken
into consideration of these theory-cum-practical issues. Thus there is an
existence of gap for the study and tries in providing possible policy
suggestions.
Objectives of the Paper

Paper has the following important objectives:
1. Understand the existence and working of cement concrete block
manufacture industry in Karnataka
2. To understand the socio-economic problems of women workers
among unorganized sector in urban Karnataka, and
276
3. To find relation between the types of skill development schemes and

nature of migrant-women workers in the growing unorganized sector
in Karnataka.
Data And Methodology
Based on the above objectives, the paper follows both the secondary
and primary information. Calculated the percentages, find out the possible
correlations among the variables applied through the excel tools and
narrated/analyzed. Secondary data were extracted from NSSO, census
reports, department of labor, National Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC), Karnataka economic survey and some related articles and
reports.
Limitations Of The Study

The study was conducted on a research project by a candidate from
Toronto university of Canada in the year 2014. Therefore its scope with
respect to primary information is limited to the year 2014-15.
Workforce And Unorganised Sector In Karnataka

Out of the total 2, 78, 72,597 workers in the state, 2, 33, 97,181
persons, constituting 83.94% of the total workers, are main workers and
44, 75,416 persons, constituting 16.06% are marginal workers. The
proportion of main workers has marginally increased from 82.28% in 2001
to 83.94% in 2011. On the contrary, the proportion of marginal workers
has slightly decreased from 17.72% in 2001 to 16.06% in 2011. The
proportion of male main workers has decreased from 91.21% in 2001 to
89.49% in 2011, whereas, the female main workers has increased from
65.88% to 73.39%. In respect of marginal workers, the proportion of male
marginal workers (Karnataka economic survey: 2014-15).
The below table recommends that though the women workers in

unorganized sector more in the urban areas than the rural areas, the other
category has a lion share, with the highest percent in urban areas, in both
2001census with 71.55% and 2011 census with 82.73%. It is because of this
reason, the study got importance related to the schemes framed and
implemented by the government in this regard.
277
Table-1: Distribution of female unorganized workforce among different

industries in Karnataka
Female Workers
Category of
2001 2011
Workers
Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban
Agriculture
43.45 50.15 11.16 40.33 51.32 7.57
Laborers
Cultivators 24.71 29.27 2.75 19.03 24.69 2.14
Household
6.68 5.05 14.55 4.94 4.06 7.55
Industry
Other Workers 25.16 15.53 71.55 35.71 19.93 82.73
Source: Karnataka Economic Survey, 2014-15
The above table informs that a leading proportion of the

unorganized workers with 82.73 percent of the total women workers do
engage in urban areas. This is a part of migrated women workers engage
in cement block manufacturing units in urban Karnataka. While the labor
department, government of Karnataka categorized a list of 43 such
activities fall into the un-organized sector in Karnataka, whereas, the
UNDP constituted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for
ensuring equity and peace across the world. This different objectives have
led the major causes towards unsuccessful of many implemented
programmes, in this regard.
Figure-1: Distribution of female unorganized workforce among
different industries in Karnataka
90
80
70
60
Agriculture Laborers
50
40 Cultivators
30 Household Industry
20
Other Workers
10
0
Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban
2001 2011
278
Source: Estimated the data of Karnataka economic Survey, 2014-15
Moreover, the department of employment and training, Karnataka

government, with an objective of impart technical skills to the youth has
no any reference of the cement block manufacturing units.
Background And Existence Of Concrete Blocks/Hallo Blocks

Manufacturing Units In Karnataka
In Karnataka, the manufacture of cement concrete blocks has its own
importance in the provision of sufficient quantity of employment for the
migrant workers, especially for the unskilled women workers.
Unfortunately, the labor department of Karnataka had not included in the
43 unorganized sector activities. In its present working situation, though it
is a part of construction industry, the workers seldom avail with the
benefits of construction workers.
According to the leaders of Karnataka cement concrete block association,
the government of Karnataka imposed the 1 percent cess on the
construction units but not on the cement block manufacturing units.
Interestingly, a considerable proportion of workers engage in concrete
block manufacturing also works in the construction sites. It is mainly
because of the joint ownership of both the units by a single management.
Typical Division of Workers In Cement Block Manufacturing Units In
Urban Karnataka
A unit would have 5 to 50 workers depends upon its extended area
of operation. The proportion of women workers were too depends on the
same. There would be an administrator or manager on the top, who was
called as head of the unit. Minimum of a writer/assistant, and
helper/office boy were in the office. At the site, an operator heads all the
workers and he who looks after the daily manufacturing in terms of both
quantity as well as quality. Many of the women workers are just assistants
to their partner, usually, spouse. No training was given even in the
beginning for new workers. The family sheds have provided at free of
cost, which help children to stay.
279
Picture-1: Typical Division of Labor in Cement Block Manufacturing

Units in Urban Karnataka
Unskilled female workers

Picture-2
` Skilled male worker (operator)
Problems of Skill Development among Migrant Women Workers in

unorganized Sector in Urban Karnataka
Women in our society have so far had only a secondary status and
the economic dependence of women upon men is one of the primary
reasons which has pushed them into the background and resulted into
280
their secondary status both within and outside the family (Wadhera 1976).
In spite of the fact that the women have proved their mettle in every walk
of life, their contribution is not given due credit in most cases. In India
women constitute nearly half of the total population and they play a vital
role in domestic sphere, in the rural field and also in urban economy. Yet,
their economic status is still low as it reflects from the census data,
particularly of those who are engaged in the informal sector of urban
economy (Tripathy and Das 1991). It is found that among all categories in
the informal sector, domestic servants’ income is the lowest and the
problems are many (Sundaram 1996). They are engaged in household
tasks, which include washing utensils, floor cleaning, washing of clothes,
cooking as well as some outdoor tasks such as purchase of vegetables etc.
Most of them live in slums; lead a monotonous life without any colour,
struggle everyday for their survival and face numerous problems in day
today life like long hours of work, insecurity of job, low status at home
and outside (Gathia 1983). Women workers contribute significantly to
national development by performing remunerated/paid and
unremunerated/unpaid work. They also struggle to combine their roles to
look after their families. In many- a –case, they are at disadvantage as their
workplace 33 is in people’s private homes, outside the arena of labour
inspectors. Women household workers have a double burden as there is
greater demand for their skills as care-givers and service workers outside
home but they also work inside home doing the same work which is
unpaid. It is an exception to Karnataka state in this regard.
In its report on District wise skill gap study for the State of Karnataka,
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) opined that there was
lack of infrastructural facilities for the provision of vocational training.
They related to
a). Infrastructural bottlenecks
b). Shortage of skilled manpower in SSIs
c). Working as a team and co-ordination
d). Communication skills
e). Safety and quality norms
f). Basic knowledge of general construction techniques
g). Ability to use material handling equipments, and
h). Time management
281
Though, the Karnataka government has framed and implemented the skill
developmental schemes of its own as well as of the national schemes for
the women workers, they have their own limitations and pose with
persistent problems. Majority of them are socio-economic in nature of both
workers as well as the entrepreneurs.
They can be listed as below:
 Workers are not permanent
 Work is not permanent
 No Identity (neither Aadhaar nor voter ID)
 Majority of them are return migration during monsoons
 Double professions (works in both block manufacturing and
construction units)
 No information regarding related skill developmental programs
 Cannot spent additional time on such schemes as have children
 Employer might scold, avoid such opportunities.
Among above, according to workers respond those major ones which
avoid orderly were the first two, return migration, double
professions, no information and lat two reasons are leading.
Findings of the Study

Based on the analysis of both secondary, primary information, the paper
finds the following important points:
1. Type of employment not regular in nature
2. Work in cement block manufacturing units does not require any
qualification
3. Workers could not demand any skill up gradations
4. Government vocational training programmes are not suitable for the
workers
5. Socio-economic problems are posing severe threats in skill
development process
6. Lack of coordination among workers, unit entrepreneurs and the
government.
7. No recognized role of NGOs and civil society
Suggestions of the Study

Based on the findings, the study suggested some of the important
points to faster and improves the skill development process among the
282
women workers in the cement block manufacturing units in the Bangalore

sub-urban areas.
1. Maintenance of good co-ordination among the workers, entrepreneurs
and the labor department is the need of the hour
2. For this end, the role of civil society and NGOs are inevitable
3. Workers should motivate to seek more skill developments
4. Socio-economic problems can be solved through the issue of related
IDs
5. The labor department needs to consider the industry and include it
among the unorganized sector category in the state and provide the
possible social security schemes along with skill development
6. For the sustainable development, the children of workers need to
provide free and compulsory education.
Conclusion
Paper concluded that though there was lack of recognized scope for skill
development among the migrant women workers, the cement block
manufacturing industry could absorb a considerable number of ruined
women workers from the rural areas and cope them in sustain their
migrant families in the urban Karnataka.
References
 Anderson, Bridget. 2000. Doing the dirty work? The global politics of
domestic labour. London, Newyork: Zed Books. Bannerji,N. 1985. Women
workers in the unorganized sector: The Calcutta experience. Hyderabad:
Sangham Book Pvt. Limited. Bhatt, Ila.1989. ‘Shramshakti Report of the
National Commission on selfemployed women and women in the
informal sector’.
 Annual Reports, Labor Department, Government of Karnataka, 2008,
2013-14
 Breman, Jan.1985.Of peasants, migrants and paupers: Rural labour and
capitalist production in West India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. CBCI.
Undated. Commission for labour. www.cbcilabour.info.
 Delhi: Dominant Publishers & Distributors. Social Alert. 2000. ‘Invisible
servitude. An in-depth study on domestic workers of the world.
Description and recommendations for global action’, Brussels: Research
on Human Rights.
 Dutta, Pranati. 2010. Domestic workers in Assam to get minimum wages.
www.newageweekly.com/2010/09/domestic-workers-in-assam-to-
get.htm
 Economic Survey of Karnataka, 2014-15
283
 Gothoskar, Sujata .2005. ‘New initiatives in organizing strategy in the

informal economy- Case study of domestic workers’ organizing:
Executive summary’. Committee for Asian women.
http://www.deshkalindia.com/publisher:
 Rao, P. Shanmukha and N.V. S. Suryanarayana. 2013. ‘Issues and
challenges of female labour migration’,http://www.globalrp.org/issues-
and-challenges-offemale-labour-migration.html
 Sankaran Kamala and Roopa Madhav. 2011 ‘.Industrial and employment
relations’ Department and Bureau for Gender Equality International
Labour Office • Geneva.
 Unni, Jeemol and Rani Uma. 1999. ‘Informal sector women in the
emerging labour market’. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol.42
(4).
284
30
Importance of Skill Development for Women

Empowerment
Mahantesh B Madiwalar
Introduction
Today, women for women international have active participants in
programmes in Afghanistan, bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kosova, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan. The
overarching aims of the programmes are to enable survivors of was.
Specifically women, to access both social and economic opportunities by
offering vocational skills, rights awareness training. Literacy training and
access to income generation opportunities.
The women undertake small business skills training, which encompasses
theory and practical design, decoration, cost and profit calculation, basic
marketing and basic bookkeeping. They then focus on the actual
production as well as potential client identification, visiting shops,
running public showcases and endeavoring to create partnerships with
sales houses.
Economic empowerment is the capacity of women and men to participate
in, contribute to and benefit from growth processes in ways which
recognize the value of their contributions, respect their dignity and make
it possible to negotiate a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth.
Economic empowerment increases women’s access to economic resources
and opportunities inducing jobs, financial services, property and other
productive assets, skill development and market information.
285
Women’s economic participation and empowerment are fundamental to

strengthening women’s rights and enabling women to have control over
their lives and exert influence in society. It is about creating just and
equitable societies. Women often face discrimination and persistent
gender inequalities, with some women experiencing multiple
discrimination exclusion because of factors such as ethnicity or caste. The
economic empowerment of women is prerequisite for sustainable
development, pro-poor growth and the achievement of all the millennium
Development goals. Women usually invest a higher proportion of their
earnings in their families and communities than men15.
improve farm and nonfarm productivity and rural incomes. Learning
about business skills, as well as life skill such as health management,
decision making, self confidence, or conflict management among various
others things like new products and markets, can make a big difference for
many of the rural poor, particularly the women folk. Women often have
different training needs than men since they are more likely to work as
contributing family workers, subsistence farmers, home based micro
entrepreneurs, or low paid seasonal labourers, in addition to handling
their domestic work and care responsibilities. Skills development is a key
to improving household productivity, employability and income earning
opportunities for women and also for enhancing food security and
promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and
livelihoods.
Women Empowerment
The women empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity
of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices
into desired actions and outcomes. Empowerment of women means
developing them as more aware individuals, who are politically active,
economically productive and independent and are able to make intelligent
discussion in matters that affect them. Women empowerment as a concept
was defined as redistribution of social power and control of resources in
favour of women. In its definition of women empowerment, the united
nations development found for women includes factors such as acquiring
15
K. Ramakrishna, “women Empowerment through Skills Development: the Role of RUDSETIs”,
International Journal in Management and Social Science, Vol.03issue-06,(june,2015).
286
knowledge and understanding of gender relations and the way in which

these relations may be changed; and developing a sense of self worth, a
belief in one’s ability to secure desired changes and the right to control
one’s life16.
Women empowerment in India

The Indian Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also
empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour
of women. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws,
development policies, plan and programmes have aimed at women’s
advancement in different spheres. From the fifth five year plan (1974-78)
onwards there has even a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues
from welfare to development and then from Eighth five year plan
emphasis was shifted from development to empowerment. Declaring 2001
as the year of women’s Empowerment, the Government of India passed
the National Policy for the Empowerment of women which has the goal to
bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women.
The National Mission for Empowerment of women (NMEW) 17 was
launched by the Goi with the aim to strengthen overall process that
promotes all round development of women. It has the mandate to
strengthen the inter-sector convergence, facilitate the process of
coordinating all the women’s welfare and socioeconomic development
programmes across ministries and departments. One of the key strategies
of NMEW is investment in sill and entrepreneurship development,
microcredit, vocational training and SHG 18 development for economic
empowerment of women. This subtly conveys that mere imparting
literacy would not be sufficient; the women need vocational training or
skills also to be able to stand on their feet and be the earning members of
the family. Women have been taking increasing interest in recent years in
income generating activities, self employment and entrepreneurship that
also lead to property right, political representation, social equality,
16
Id note 4, p.425.
17
.The National Mission for Empowerment of Women was launched by the Government of India on
International Women’s day in 2010 with aim to strengthen overall processes that promote all round
development of women.
18
.A self help group is a village based financial intermediary committee usually composed of 10-20 local
women or men. A mixed group is generally not preferred. This concept was found in other countries like
South Asia and Southeast Asia.
287
personal rights, family development, market development, community

development and at last the nation development.
The process of empowerment has five dimensions, viz. cognitive,
psychological, Economic, political, Physical.
1. Cognitive dimension refers to women having an understanding of the
conditions and causes of their subordination a the micro and macro
levels.
2. Psychological dimension includes the beliefs that women can act at
personal and societal level to improve their individual realities and the
society in which they live.
3. Economic dimension requires that women have access to, and control
over, productive resources, thus ensuring some degree of financial
autonomy,
4. Political dimension entails that women have the capability to analyze,
organize and mobilize for social change
5. Physical dimension tells about eh ability to protect oneself against
sexual violence to the empowerment process.
Working skills
Refers to skill training with special emphasis on the nine major sectors of
women’s employment i.e. dairying fisheries, small animal husbandry,
khadi and village industries, handlooms, handcrafts, sericulture and social
forestry. This type of training will entail upgrading existing skills in these
areas as well as training of women in appropriate technologies. It will be
aimed at programme beneficiaries as well as catalysts functionaries,
extension and supervisory workers. These skills need to be imparted on
the widest scale to rural women in order to encourage them to achieve
household self sufficiency as well as supplementary income. Also
included will be the skill training in the urban/modern sector with regard
to assembly, manufacturing and processing for larger industries as well as
small scale firms. Wherever possible women’s employability has to be
increased in the organized sector as the employment conditions in the
unorganized sector indicate the need for a shift in the occupational
structure. In generating such skills, care will be taken to ensure that the
training imparted does not push women into sectors where mobility is
limited, wages are low, health hazards are high and worker benefits are
not enforce.
288
For inclusive growth, it’s essential to provide sustainable livelihoods to

people. And for that, developing skills is the first step. the government, in
the wake of the growing demand, launched a National Skill Development
Mission in 2008 consisting of three institutions. These are the National
Council on Skill Development for policy direction, the National Skill
Development Coordination Board to enumerate strategies required to
implement the decisions of the PMs Council and the National Skill
Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization which is expected to
meet the skill training requirements for the labour market including the
unorganized sector. With these programs the government has to emphasis
on skill developing courses to all states. Make education more practical
and skill oriented. More vocational course should be provided so that
students are able to get a job once they complete the course.
Opportunities and challenges

Women attain the required mental and physical strength to swim
against the stream for the process of empowerment, which can be
promoted by providing proper education, health and nutrition facilities.
Providing information, knowledge, skills for self employment etc., is the
important parameter of women empowerment. Some of the important
objectives of women empowerment are to increase awareness in women
for their development to use their talent optimally not only for
themselves, but also for the society as a whole and to develop the skills for
self decision making capabilities in women and to allow them to present
their point of view effectively.
Women’s empowerment should not be on paper alone but should

be seen on ground. The reality is much different from what is generally
perceived. Despite reservations, in governance, women are not able to
come forward in large numbers. Men continue to oppose representation of
women in public offices. The only way women will get an equal
opportunity to perform in public life will be when every political party
has, out of its own choice, women candidates. This should not be a
compulsion; rather parties should willingly bring in more women to the
fore. Today, more women are educated than before and so they should be
given the opportunity to have a say in different spheres of public life.
There should be more job opportunities for them, easy loan and subsidies
289
for women entrepreneurs and reforms in laws to make it safe for them to
work. Unless the right environment is created, women will not come
forward.
Here one incident shows the strength and determination of Kutchi
women. During 1972 Indo Pakistan war, the Air Force’s border airport
was bombarded and completely destroyed. It was crucial for the airport to
be back in function. So the Air Force commander called the villagers of
Madhapur to rebuild the airport. Now, this village had only women, as
the men worked in smaller town outside Kutch. Time was limited and
there was no other option. The women however, were confident that they
could do the job. And they did. In one night, they rebuilt the entire airport.
If you educate a woman, you are educating the entire family. A
healthy woman translates into a healthy family. Unfortunately in India,
both education, and health are elusive to the women. In most cases, girls
are not allowed to study and if they are, then the dropout rate is high. It is
estimated that more than 245 million Indian women lack the basic ability
to read and write when it comes to health, once again they are neglected.
As per United Nations figures, India accounted for a third of maternal
deaths globally in 2010. India shares this sad distinction with Nigeria. The
story is the same when it comes to rape cases India stand fourth, behind
countries like Sri Lank, Jordan and Argentina. On one hand, women are
treated so poorly and on the other, India has had some prominent women
personalities. And even today, whether it is politics, films, education or
the corporate world, we have some powerful ladies reigning at the top.
The government has been working towards empowering women and one
of the steps is by supporting and creating self help groups to make women
financially independent. Another progress step has been providing
reservation for women in the panchayats. Also, the 50 per cent reservation
for women in the local corporation lections has given them an opportunity
to be part of the political process. This participation of women in the
legislature will bring about a big change in their status.
In India we have laws against various social evils such as dowry, female
foeticide, child labour, protection of women against abuse, protection of
women against rape and molestation and so on and so forth. But
implementation of these laws is virtually nonexistent. We must have a
mechanism to ensure the implementation of these laws. The young girls
and women who refuse to be threatened or silenced by social norms, Ex,.
290
Flavia Agnes, who escaped an abusive marriage, educated herself to

become a lawyer and now fight for the rights of women; Olympic winner
Mary Kom, a farm labourer’s daughter who fought all hardships
including threat from insurgents in Manipur, to emerge as a world boxing
champion; hence education has given them the confidence and awareness
to fight for their rights and in the process they will fight for the right s of
millions of other women and children.19
Women empowerment is fast emerging as an important slogan for
the 1990. Women have always made a very significant contribution to
their societies, but a patriarchal conspiracy has prevented women’s
contribution from receiving its due recognition. The reason is that societies
legitimating myths, the creating of written historical records and the
production of authoritative self knowledge have all been enterprises,
controlled by males. The implications is that a self conscious effort must be
made to locate women’s voices within patriarchal discourse, to retrieve
women’s history, to bear witness to their contemporary productivity and
to ensure that their labour is both recognized and properly rewarded20.
Empowering women through vocational training:

In nation like India, women are generally treated as second class
citizens and seen as so home bear children. In rural area women and girls
are involved in household chores, excluded from receiving higher
education and entirely dependent on their male counterparts, they have to
bear the brunt of most the evils like dowry, domestic violence etc. in view
of the financial constraints that a family faces, this skill building program
strives to empower the women, and community at large. It was observed,
if some kind of skill is imparted to the women, it would give them more
avenues to earn their living. The program will also help them to raise their
voice against the ill treatment accorded to them within the family or
outside. Hence, vocational training program will enable that rural women
and girls to learn and enhance their skills, enhancing their confidence level
by making themselves reliant.
RUDSETI and its contribution to women Empowerment through EDPs
19
.“India the Future is now” Shashi Tharoor, Wisdom tree, First Edition 2013, pp.144-147.
20
. Ashok Kumar Harish, ”womenpower status of women in India”, Gain Publishing House, Edition
1991,p.13.
291
Types of Entrepreneurship development Programs RUDSETI offers

around 70 types of Entrepreneurship Development Programs in various
areas. All the programs are of short duration intervention ranging from
one to six weeks. Mainly they are classified into four categories.
Sl no Types of EDPs scope
1 Agri EDPs Both Agri and Allied Sectors
2 Product EDPs Trained youth make a living by establishing
small business (manufacturing)
3 Process EDPs Involve a detailed learning process (business
activities under service sector)
4 General EDPs For those who are yet to decide the line of
business activity to rely on for their livelihood)
Training components
Skill Segment: the RUDSETI introduce innovative programmes every year
to focus on programmes having demand and enlarge their course
offerings.
Soft Skills (Behavioral) Segment: topic s coming under effective
Communication skills, self management skill, interpersonal skills, team
work etc.,
Business management segment: topic s covered are what is self
employment, difference between self employment and Wage employment,
entrepreneurial competencies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats analysis, ways to get innovative business idea, customer services,
selling and marketing market survey, steps in setting up of an enterprise,
project report preparation, importance of public relations in
entrepreneurship etc21.
Financial Literacy Segment: why to save, budget, why financial planning,
understanding important banking terminology, key points to be
remembered for getting bank facilities, what is interest? How money
lenders charge very high interest rates? How to be confident while
communicating etc.
Conclusion
Knowledge and skill are the parts of the development of country,
creation of job opportunities and development of entrepreneurship in the
21
.Supra note 4, p.427-429.
292
rural area is the priority of the country to ensure development of the rural
economy. Looking at the importance of the role of women play in the
development of a nation. What Swamin Vivekanand said “there is chance
for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved? It
is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing” so that it is the responsibility
of the nation, financial institutions, the Corporate sector, the NGOs and
other stakeholders of the society to lend their supporting hand in gender
responsive strategies for training and entrepreneurship development that
respond to rural youth especially women who are not less than men in
many spheres of life and have all the credentials to become a desirable
demographic divided in the days to come when treated with respect,
purity, dignity and equal rights.
References
 Prof. Probal Gupta, “Recognizing the value of women empowerment in
skill development”, Tactful Management Research Journal.
 “Indian Women Revisited”, Devaki Jain & C.P. Sujaya, Publication
Division, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Government of India,
Edition 2014.
 Ashok Kumar Harish, ”women power status of women in India”, Gain
Publishing House, Edition 1991,p.13 .
 “India the Future is now” Shashi Tharoor, Wisdom tree, First Edition
2013,
 Sakuntala Narasimhan, “Empowering Women”, Sage Publications,
Edition 1999.
 Neera Desai, Vibhuti Patel, “Indian Women”. Bombay Popular
Prakashan, Edition 1990.
293
31
Importance of Skill Development for Women

Empowerment
D.R. Sarvamangala
Shobha. M
Introduction
“Empowering Women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation,
when women are empowered, society with stability is assured.
Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value
systems lead to the development of good family, good society and
ultimately a good nation.” ----- Former President of India Shri APJ Addual
Kalam.
This stands truly valid in the global context – when women are
empowered and can claim their rights and access to land, leadership
opportunities economies grow, food security is enhanced and prospects
are improved for current and future generations. This can be seen from
how the developed nations have been able to move ahead - as they have
taken the women force along.
The key to achieving the goals of women empowerment and
inclusive growth is skilling the women force in India, and encouraging
their participation in all levels of economic activity. Skill development
initiatives for women are imperative for any nation to build strong
economies; Establish more stable and just societies; achieve internationally
agreed goals for development, sustainability and human rights; improve
quality of life for women, men, families and communities and propel
businesses’ operations and goals.
Women are an important element of our Society. The modern
society has started recognizing the individual identity of women. She is
believed to have her aspiration, abilities and qualities as a man does have
294
and it is also agreed that she should have the opportunities to develop her
faculties and to express them according to her own choice. Women can
help the society in various ways. They can engage in social activities and
work for the betterment of the society.
Women who were the most dormant segment of India population
have now become active participants in all walks of life. Till now, they
were only unit of the family organization. Now, women are becoming not
only a significant unit of the society but also influencing the course of
social change in society.
There is a need for skill development amongst women , specially at the
grass root level, by initiating ground level action plans at working
towards achieving the same in an effective manner. The focus on
1. Self – Defence Training workshop
2. Confidence Building and Soft Skills Training for employability7
skills, enhancement
3. Career counseling to girls
4. Skilling for entrepreneurship development
5. Augmenting new skill sets in women
6. Enhancing the quality of work in which they are already engaged
7. Creating a pool of skilled resources
8. Basic computer operation for girls
9. Basic cutting and stitching training on sewing machines
10. Tailoring, Fashion Design entrepreneurship skills
11. Paper bag making
It is definitely commendable to garner the skill development. This will

help in providing the industry a pool of skilled and certified work force of
excellent standard.
Ways of Empowering Women:
To “empower women” means to authorize power or increase the
overall position, status and condition of women in every spheres of life.
Empowerment of Women would result in better and more developed
society. When women contribute equally along with men for the benefit of
society, the world would surely become a better place to live.
Today more and more females is studying in schools and colleges and also
go abroad for higher studies. Women are increasing commanding better
position in the society.
295
There are several ways to empower women; some of them are discussed
below:
1. Create safe workplaces: Women can be empowered through the
creation of safe working environment. The workplaces should be safe for
the female members of the society. People will like to send their daughters
and wives to work if they are assured of safe environment at workplaces.
2. Women education: By educating women, economy of the country
increases. It has been seen from the last few decades that involvement of
educated women in various activities helps the country to move towards
economic and social development.
 Female education also contributes towards health and well-being of
the family.
 By getting education, women also contribute to the national income
of the country.
 The can afford to offer quality nutrition to their children.
 Educated women are considered active in politics as well.
 They know their rights and are able to defend themselves better.
3. Raise voice against gender inequality: Women can be empowered by

decreasing the gender inequalities or disparities in all sectors of the society
especially in education sectors.
4. Job skills (Vocational training): Proper training should be provided to
women’s for better results.
5. Create more part-time job opportunities: There should be
greater number of part-time job opportunities. In India, mostly women are
housewives so they do not get any opportunity for full-time work. Hence,
more part-time and flexible jobs should be created so that more and more
women get engaged into commercial activities.
Empowerment is now increasingly seen as a process by which the one’s
without power gain greater control over their lives. This means control
over material assets, intellectual resources and ideology. It involves power
to, power with and power with in. some define empowerment as a
process of awareness and conscientization, of capacity building leading to
greater participation, effective decision-making power and control leading
to transformative action. This involves ability to get what are wants and to
influence others on our concerns, with reference to women the power
relation that has to be involved includes their lives at multiple levels,
296
family, community, market and the state. Importantly it involves at the

psychological level women’s ability to assert themselves and this is
constructed by the gender roles assigned to her specially in a cultural
which resists change like India.
Recognizing the Value Of Women Empowerment In Skill

Development:
Skill and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and
social development for any country. Countries with higher and better
levels of skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and opportunities
of world of work. Potentially, the target of group of skill development
comprises all those in the labour force, including those entering the labour
market for the first time, those employed in organized sector and those
employed in unorganized sector. India has set a target of skilling 500
million people by 2022.The current scenario of women workforce in India;
one can observe the huge concentration of female workforce in favour of
the informal sector. Both, women and men, weather urban or rural, are
mainly unskilled compared to having some skills. There are higher
number unskilled workers in rural than in urban areas, and more number
of women do not have any skills, compared to men with no skills. It has
been recognised that the status of the women and their contribution is not
only managing their families, but also to the economic and social
development of entire society. Women have shown their capacity to play a
major role in community development. Hence it is important that women
become part of skill development. The aim of skill development, related to
women is not just preparing them for jobs, but also improve the
performance of women workers by enhancing the quality of work in
which they are engaged.
The empowerment practice has to go beyond its focus on women to

gender. The concept of gender will also, encourage an understanding and
an analysis of power relation, and enforces the idea of developing
capabilities rather than simply skills. Educating women in India plays a
very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only
helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving
the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to
promote education of their girl children, but also can provide better
297
guidance to all their children. In India creation of awareness among men

could enlist greater support for women participation in the various
development programmes. In many regions, the men have taken a path
contrary to tradition, to empower the women. Sensitize more men about
the benefits of women empowerment particularly, with respect to
development of children and enhancement of skills for income generation.
Recognition of their services to the family and society could empower
them further and provide equal status in the society. Integrated learning
programmes for women are recommended which will not only lay
emphasis on literacy but on empowering women through awareness
building on social issues, bringing about attitudinal change, promoting
skill training for employment, providing information on health care,
nutrition and hygiene as well as on legal rights. Such programmes are
beginning and must continue to be designed and structured so as to be
relevant for the vast majority of women. In India there is an urgent need
for skill development as demographic dividend arises as an asset for India
due to expected decline in dependency ratio in the country.
The dependency ratio (ratio of dependent to working age

population) of India has declined from 0.8 in 1991 to 0.73 in 2001, and is
expected to further decline. Low dependency ratio gives India cost
advantage and helps in improving India’s competitiveness. The
demographic dividend is expected to last until around 2035. Hence, India
has to act now and get the training and skill development dividend, to
create a global pool of skilled persons. If the demographic dividend is not
turned into an opportunity now, and if India fails to deliver, this
demographic dividend in about 25 Years may actually become a handicap.
Besides the demographic dividend, another factor, that adds the urgency
for improved skill development is the increasing number of newly
educated youth, especially women, who would like to seek employment
in the service sector. The education and skill development sector has not
adequately responded to this emerging need, making it imperative to
provide skill development and training in marketable skill and services. It
is also observed, that the concept of training and skill development needs
to move beyond the conventional goal of imparting technical and
managerial competencies, to playing a broader role of even including
basic literacy, numeracy, critical social and political awareness, awareness
298
about gender, and enhancing life skills. Such interventions by their nature
will encourage higher self-esteem among women and overall personality
development. For the success of skill development, training needs to be
towards developing the kind of skills women and men already
know.Empowering women and girls is not only right thing to do. It is also
smart economics and vital to ending poverty and boosting shared
prosperity-the World Banks Groups twin corporate goals. Evidence shows
that resources in the hands of women boast household spending in areas
that benefit children.
The World Banks group has made strong commitments on genders.
Gender equality is also a key priority for IDA. According to World Bank
gender equality can be achieved by
 Educating girls
 Increasing literacy rate among women
 Increasing early childhood development interventions.
 Increasing women’ slabour force participation and strengthening
labour policies affecting women.
 Improving women’s access to credit, land and other resources.
 Promoting women’s political right and participation.
 Expanding reproductive health program and family support
policies.
Under corporate responsibility Jindal Steel and Power Limited believes
that gender inclusive leadership helps create a new bench mark in women
development. The company organises skill development training
programs regularly to upgrade their existing traditional skills. The
company feels it is important to empower women. Women have right
determine their own choice in life. Several women empowerment
initiatives have been under taken across the area of their operation. These
initiatives aim at improving literacy as well as providing training to
enhance livelihood generation opportunities among women. Further the
company provide women with primary help in order to start with the
production facility, which would in turn help in supplementary family
income through micro based micro enterprises. Awareness programme on
gender purity, sexual harassment, domestic violence, legal rights are being
conducted to increase awareness on such issues. Also, different skill
development training programme are regularly organised to upgrade
299
their traditional skills and simultaneously promote new skills. All this is to
empower women.
Conclusion:
Women Empowerment refers to increasing and improving the
social, economic, political and legal strength of the women, to ensure
equal-right to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their
rights and the aim of skill development, related to women is not just
preparing them for jobs but also improve the performance of women
workers by enhancing the quality of work in which they are engaged.
Reference:
 Women education , .R.C. MISHRA .A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, New
Delhi - 110002
 Women’s Career development, Editors Barbara. A. Gutek and Laurie
Larwood
 http://www.importantindia.com/19050/essay-on-women-
empowerment/http://tmgt.lsrj.in/SeminarPdf/105.pdf
300
32
An investigation of influence of emotional
intelligence, and personality traits on the occupational
aspiration of institutionalized adolescent orphans in
Kerala
Jyothy G Vijayan and Santhi S Rajan
Introduction
Emotional Intelligence is our ability to deal successfully with other
people and with our own feelings. Since their qualities count significantly
towards a person’s success in his area of achievement, it may induce him
likewise to achieve the required success (Calvin and Kaul, 2007). If proper
efforts are made for training the emotions and developing proper
Emotional Intelligence potential among the people right from their
childhood, then it will surely help in bringing mutual emotional
understanding, empathy, accompanied with right actions and behaviour
on the part of the individuals and groups, to lead a better life in peace and
co-operation (Umadevi and Nurul Hudani, 2009).
Orphans have existed in all societies and an all limits. A child who
doesn’t experience the warmth of love and sympathy of parents feel that
he is wanted and tends to develop behaviour problems. If affects
Emotional Intelligence and Personality of Orphans. It is very essential to
find the Emotional Intelligence and Personality of Adolescent Orphans in
order to reduce social problems. Socially and culturally disadvantaged
children tend to create social problems.
The family considered to be the cradle of Personality. It is clear that
the family background is crucial for character which makes for acceptable
or unacceptable emotional release to the realities of life in society. Orphans
are an example of children with poor family relationships. Personality is
taken as the external appearance of the individual. Personality is unique
and specific. Intelligence influence different aspects of Personality in many
301
different ways in fact intelligence is sometimes considered to be part of

Personality. Personality refers to our attempts to capture or summarize an
individual’s essence.
There are several reasons to understand Emotional Intelligence
together with Personality. Emotional Intelligence is a part of human
Personality and Personality provides the context in which Emotional
Intelligence operates(Mangal,2005).
Kochhar explains the need and importance of proper Career
Orientation in Secondary Schools. He explains how to help the total
development of the student and how to enable students to make proper
choices at various stages of their educational career. How to help students
to choose prepare for, enter up on and progress in their occupation. How
to help the students in their vocational development and skill. How to
help students to make the best possible adjustments to the situations in the
school as well as in the orphanages. How to help the students to minimize
the mismatching between education and employment and help in the
efficient use of manpower. How to help the female students to increase
their aspirations to become powerful and independent women.
Need And Significance Of The Study

In Kerala education of a child is one of the main aims of their
parents. Orphans who do not have any parents also need special need and
attention. Only through their progress our society will developed. . In
view of its wider significance from the individual as well as soul angles, it
becomes quite imperative that serious efforts should be made for its
proper development right from the early childhood among the human
beings. It is very essential to find the Emotional Intelligence and
Personality of Adolescent Orphans in order to reduce social problems
socially and culturally disadvantaged children tend to create social
problems. An in-depth study of this will help to understand their
problems and its reduction.

1. To find out the influence of Emotional Intelligence and Personality
Traits on the Occupational Aspiration of Institutionalized
Adolescent Orphans.
302
2. To find out the relationship between Emotional Intelligence,

Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of Institutionalized
Adolescent Orphans with respect to Gender and Locale.
Methodology
Sample
Normative survey method was found to be most appropriate in the
present investigation to study the influence of Emotional Intelligence and
Personality Traits on the occupational aspiration of Institutionalized
Adolescent Orphans. The present study has been envisaged on a sample
of 250 Adolescent Orphans in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Eranakulam,
Alppuzha, and Malappuram districts.
Tools Used
To measure the Emotional Intelligence of adolescence, the
investigator would use the “Emotional Intelligence Inventory”,
standardized by Dr. S.K. Mangal. To measure the Personality of
Adolescence the investigator use the “Personality Inventory”
standardized by H.J. Eyesenck. To measure the Occupational Aspiration
of students the investigator would use the “Occupational Aspiration
Scale” standardized by Dr. J.S. Grewal. The investigator used a self
prepared checklist for measuring Orphanage facilities and also the
investigator used a self prepared interview schedule for orphanage
administrator. The investigator tries to find out the Academic
Achievement of Orphans by measuring their marks in corresponding
examinations.
Method Adopted For the Study

Methods that are employed in collecting data are highly important.
The accuracy of the results of any research work depends upon the
method by which the conclusions are arrived at. The present study aims at
studying the influence of Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits on
the Occupational Aspiration of institutionalized adolescent orphans.
Normative survey method was used for the study. It is a method of
investigation which attempts to describe and interpret what exist at
303
present in the form of conditions, practices, trends, effects, attitudes,

beliefs etc (Sindhu, 1990).
Variables Used For the Study

Independent variables which is stimulus variable or input, operated
either within a person or within an environment to affect his behaviour. It
is that factor which is measured, manipulated and selected that the
experiments to determine its relationship to an observed phenomena. For
the present study independent variables are Emotional Intelligence and
Personality to measure the dependent variable. Dependent variable is that
factor which is observed and measured to determine the effect of the
independent variables. In the present study Occupational Aspiration is the
dependent
Sample Selected For the Study

The process of sampling makes it possible to draw valid inferences
or generalizations on the basis of careful observation of variables with in a
relatively small proportion of the population (Best and Kahn, 1992). Size
of the sample is governed by the size of the tools to be used. Size of the
sample depends on the population, sampling design, parameters used and
estimated range of unreliability and an estimate of dispersion of the
characteristic under investigation. The sampling method also determines
the size of the sampleThe sample for the present study constituted 250
institutionalized adolescent orphans belonging to different districts. The
sample contains 125 boys and 125 girls adolescent orphans form 13
orphanages. The sample also divided 125 orphans from rural orphanages
and 125 orphans from urban oranges.
Findings and discussions

Table 1: Data and Result of Test of Significance between Emotional
Intelligence, and Personality Traits of Institutionalized Adolescent
Orphans
Variables N df r tr Level of
Significance
Emotional
250 -0.16 2.69
Intelligence 248 P<.05
304
The r value (Table 1)-0.16 indicates that there is negative correlation

between Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits of Adolescent
Orphans. Hence it could be concluded that there is negative correlation
between Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits of Adolescent
Orphans. The obtained tr value (2.69) is greater than the table value (2.34)
at df=248 at .01 level of Significance. So it can be inferred that there is a
significant relationship between Emotional Intelligence, and Personality
Traits of Adolescent Orphans
Table 2
Data and Result of Test of Significance between Emotional
Intelligence, and Occupational Aspiration of Adolescent Orphans
Level of
Variables N df r tr
Significance
Emotional
Intelligence
250 248 .15 2.47 P<.05
Occupational
Aspiration
The r value (Table 2) .15 indicates the positive correlation between

Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Aspiration of Adolescent
Orphans. Hence it could be concluded that there is a positive correlation
between Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Aspiration of
Adolescent Orphans.
Table 3
Data and Result of Test of Significance between Personality Traits and
Occupational Aspiration of Institutionalized Adolescent Orphans
Level of
Variables N df R tr
Significance
Personality Traits
Occupational 250 248 .028 .45 P>.05
Aspiration
The r value .028 (Table 3) indicates that there is a slight positive

correlation between Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of
Adolescent Orphans. It can be inferred that there is no significant
relationship between Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of
Adolescent Orphans.
305
Table 4
Data and Result of Test of Significance between Emotional
Intelligence, Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of
Institutionalized Adolescent orphans based on Gender
Variables Gender N M SD tr Level of

Significance
Emotional Boys 125 57.62 7.49
Intelligence Girls 125 58.03 9.19 0.3924 P>.05
Personality Boys 125 9.155

113.94 3.712 P<.05
Traits
Girls 125 118.38 9.747
Boys 125 36.38 10.52
Occupationa
9.738 P<.05
l Aspiration Girls 125 46.42 11.02
Table 4 shows that the obtained tr value is 3.712 and 9.738 are
greater than the table value (1.65) at .05 level of significance. This means
there is a difference between boys and girls in their Personality Traits
Traits, and Occupational Aspiration tr value of Emotional Intelligence is
0.3924. This means there is no difference between boys and girls in their
Emotional Intelligence. It can be concluded that the girls have high
Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration. Hence it is inferred that
there is a significant relation between boys and girls in their Personality
Traits and Occupational Aspiration of Institutionalized Adolescent
Orphans.
LOCALE
Table 5
Data and Result of Test of Significance between Emotional Intelligence,
Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of Institutionalized
Adolescent Orphans Based on Locale
Variables Locale N M SD CR Level of
significance
Emotional Rural 125 57.99 8.12
306
Intelligence Urban 125 57.488 8.64 0.475 P>.05

Personality Rural 125 115.096 9.63
Traits Urban 125 117.256 9.66 1.77 P<.05
Occupational Rural 125 40.7 12.08
Aspiration Urban 125 42.06 11.65 0.8794 P>.05
Table 5 shows that the obtained tr value is 0.475and 0.8794 are less than
the table value (1.65) at .05 level of significance. This means there is no
difference between Rural and Urban Orphans in their Emotional
Intelligence, and Occupational Aspiration. It can be concluded that the
rural Orphans have low Emotional Intelligence, and Occupational
Aspiration compared to urban Orphans.
Research results shows that Emotional intelligence is a part of
personality, and there is significant relationship between Emotional
intelligence and personality traits of the institutionalized adolescent
orphans in Kerala. In the same way Emotional intelligence and
occupational aspiration of the institutionalized adolescent orphans are
positively correlated. But there is no significant relationship was found
between Personality traits and occupational aspiration of the
institutionalized adolescent orphans in Kerala.
Outcome of the result is that girls show more EQ than boys and
shows interpersonal and intra personal awareness and management. They
are more extravert and occupational aspirants than boys. They show more
realistic and idealistic career aspiration than boys. To create self-esteemed
and over all developed adults these female adolescent needs more
attention and protection.
Women are different than men in different aspects such as empathy,
inter and intra personal skills. High EI leads to positive attitude and
greater optimism. Giving more attention helps them to improve their
social and mental development. It will increase their communication
skills, leadership roles, social stability and creativity. Changing from
adolescent to adulthood make them more independent and self esteemed.
If we assure them the basic necessities they become more capable and
skilled
Conclusions
307
The major conclusions based on the findings of the study were presented
below
There should be effective steps taken to improve the Orphans
Emotional Intelligence, Personality Traits and Occupational
Aspiration..There is significant relationship was found between Emotional
Intelligence and Personality Traits on the Occupational Aspiration of
Adolescent Orphans.Significant relationship was found between
Emotional Intelligence, Personality Traits and Occupational Aspiration of
Institutionalized Adolescent Orphans. Much attention should be given to
Social and Mental Development of Adolescent Orphans and this will
certainly enhance the all round Development of the Orphans.Better library
facilities including reading materials, magazines and club activities should
be provided to all orphanages.
References
 Bhat Raj Hands (1997), General Psychology, New Delhi : Oxford and IBH
Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
 Buch, M.B., (1992), Fifth Survey of Educational Research, New Delhi :
NCERT Publications.
 Calvin C., et.al, (1995), Overly Positive Self-Evaluation and Personality :
Negative Implications for Mental Health, Journal of Personality and social
psychology.
 Dash Muralidhar (2002), Educational Psychology, New Delhi : Deep and
Deep Publications Private Limited.
 Kaul .L., (2007) Methodology of Educational Research (3rd Ed) New Delhi :
Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
 Kaur, Dr. (1990)., Educational and Vocational Aspirations of Students
Belonging to Different Socio-Economic Locales of Jammu Division,
Journal of Research and Extension, Vol. 21.
 Koodapuzha Paul., A Comparative Study of the Psychological Needs and
Problems of Resident and Non-resident Students of Secondary Schools of Kerala,
Unpublished M.Ed. Thesis, Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala University,
1979.
 Kothari, C.R., (2007), Research Methodology, New Delhi : New Age
International Private Limited Publications.
 M.R. Umadevi, Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Achievement
Motivation and Academic Achievement, Edutracks, , August 2009, Vol.8,
No. 12.
 Mangal S.K. (2005) Advanced Educational Psychology, New Delhi : Prentice
Hall of India Private Limited.
308
 Nurul Hudani et al (2012) , Inter relationship between emotional intelligence

and personality traits of educator leaders, International Journal of Academic
research in Business and Social Sciences 2(5),2222-6990.
 Varma Romesh (2003), Foundation of Educational Psychology, Ludhiana:
Tandon Publication.
 Walliman, Nicholas (2005), Your Research Project, New Delhi: Vikas
Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
 Webb S. (2005), Examining Emotional Intelligence and Leadership,
Dissertation Abstract International.
33
309
An Overview of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

(PMKVY) in India
Ramachandra Murthy K, Manjunatha G and Ningaraju R
1. Introduction
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi with Launching Make in India
campaign inviting investors from all over the globe to invest and set up
businesses in India, Central Government promised an abundance of
skilled labour in the country. Complementary to this was the idea of skills
development among the youth of the nation. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal
Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) was thus envisaged as a key measure to impart
skills-based training to young men and women, making them capable of
earning and supporting the nation’s anti-poverty endeavours. The scheme
becomes all the more important in the Indian society which has the
world’s largest youth population that requires employable skills (356
million populations between 10 and 24 years of age (The Hindu, Nov
2014).
Earlier this year, on 20 March 2015, the government of India gave
the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship a formal go-
ahead to formulate and implement the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY) through the National Skill Development Corporation.
With a total outlay of about INR 1,500 crore, the PMKVY is likely to
impart skills training to 24 lakh youth of the country, focusing on the
Class X/XII dropouts and lower income groups. The scheme was
developed over a period of almost three months and its implementation
started in select states (primarily Bihar) by early June 2015. The scheme
will be launched in all states of the country on 15 July – National Skills
Day. India’s unemployment rate averaged about 4.9 percent by early 2014.
This scheme should bring that number down by a reasonable measure.
Currently, only a very small proportion of India’s workforce has
any formal skill training. Not surprisingly therefore several sectors of the
country’s economy face shortage of skilled men and women and are mired
with low productivity levels due to poor quality of workforce. At the same
time, large sections of the country’s youth are looking for economic and
310
livelihood opportunities. In this context, skill development has become a

key priority area for the country. This is not only essential for economic
development, but would help to fulfill youth aspirations for good quality,
better paid jobs and self-employment opportunities. This would also
enable the country to take advantage of its favourable demographic
profile. With a large pool of skilled men and women, India has an
opportunity to become a skill provider for the world, particularly the
ageing developed world.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship
outcome-based skill training scheme of the new Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). This skill certification and
reward scheme aims to enable and mobilize a large number of Indian
youth to take up skill training and become employable and earn their
livelihood. Under the scheme, monetary reward would be provided to
trainees who are successfully trained, assessed and certified in skill
courses run by affiliated training providers. This will boost the
productivity of the country’s workforce by enabling them to acquire high
quality skill training across a range of sectors. It will also bring about a
paradigm shift from input-based to outcome-based skill training in the
country. It also seeks to significantly scale up skill training activities in the
country and enable skill training to happen at a fast pace without
compromising quality. Institutional arrangements comprising of the
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Sector Skill Councils
(SSCs), Assessing agencies and Training Partners are already in place for
implementation of the scheme.
The main Objective of the scheme is to improve access of BPL
families towards quality tertiary medical care for treatment of identified
diseases involving hospitalization, surgery and therapies through an
identified network of health care providers. In the Vajpayee Arogyashree
insurance scheme all the beneficiaries are poor and living in rural areas
with little or no access to tertiary care. This enabled beneficiaries to receive
free tertiary care at both private and public hospitals empanelled by the
scheme as capable of providing tertiary care. Hence, beneficiaries no need
to pay premiums or co-payments at the point of service. As of June 2013,
the scheme empanelled about 150 hospitals capable of providing tertiary
care, including all Major medical centers in the state. Hospitals received a
fixed bundled payment based on a reimbursement schedule for more than
311
400 tertiary care service packages in cardiology, oncology, neurology,

nephrology, neonatology, burn care, and trauma care. As most hospitals
are in urban centers in southern Karnataka while beneficiaries are located
in villages as far as several hundred kilometers away, empanelled
hospitals were required to organize health camps in rural areas to screen
patients for Tertiary care and transport eligible patients to hospitals
(Rajashekar and Majula 2011). Hospitals signed an agreement to conduct
these health camps during the empanelment process and received a fixed
payment per health camp conducted. Most rural patients receiving care
through the scheme were identified through these health camps.
The study is undertaken to explore the status of PMKVY in India; to
examine the role of PMKVY in generating employment in India. The
paper would also address issues and challenges of PMKVY in India.
Present study is both empirical and theoretical in nature. The study is
based on the secondary sources of data, such as, Annual reports of
Government of India and Articles etc.
Skills Needs Assessment

According to the PMKVY plan published by the Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship in March 2015, one of the key
objectives of the scheme was to cover the skills training of about 24 lakh
people. The specific skills imparted would be decided based on the
National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and on the basis of
feedback from the various industries that would potentially employ the
trainees.
The specific skills trainings to be imparted have been assessed by
the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on the basis of
demand in recent skills gap by a study for 2013-17 period. Central
ministries and state governments departments were consulted and the
inputs of various industry and business heads were also considered. Skills
needed to implement various other flagship schemes such as Digital India
were also assessed. Currently, about 428 job roles are being catered to by
the skills training imparted under the scheme.
Key features of the PMKVY are:
1. Standards: Training will be done against standards (National
Occupational Standards - NOS and Qualification Packs - QPs for
specific job roles) formulated by industry-driven bodies, namely the
312
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). Third party assessments for skill

training will be done based on national (and often) global standards.
2. Direct Fund Transfer: It will have complete transparent funding of

skill training without any intermediaries with monetary rewards
directly transferred to the trainees bank account. It will ensure
financial inclusion with a provision of unique multi-wallet facility
linked to debit card and accidental insurance. Aadhaar number will
be used for unique identification of each candidate.
3. Demand-driven targets: Based on assessment of skill demand and

the Skill Gap Studies, target for skill training would be allocated to
training providers by job-role and by district/city to the extent
possible, by NSDC in consultation with the SSCs, States/UTs and
the Central Ministries/Departments under the oversight of the
Steering Committee of PMKVY.
4. Target aligned to national flagship programmes and regions:

Target for skill training would be aligned to the demand from the
Central Governments flagship programmes, such as - Swachh
Bharat, Make in India, Digital India, National Solar Mission and so
on.
5. Supply side perspective in target fixation: Skill training under

PMKVY would essentially target drop out students after class 10
and class 12 and hence these numbers will be taken into
consideration while deciding state / district wise targets. There will
be special focus on youth in regions affected by left-wing extremists
and from North Eastern States and J&K.
6. Recognition of prior learning (RPL): Under PMKVY, trainees with
prior experience or skills and competencies will be assessed and
they will also be given monetary rewards for undergoing
assessments. This will be an important step towards recognising the
skills possessed by workers working in the informal sector and their
inclusion. This will also facilitate the process of skill upgradation
and re-skilling of the existing workforce. The focus of RPL would be
on those job-roles/sectors in which it is most desired and it will be
313
accompanied with a strong advocacy campaign to promote a

paradigm shift in the labour market to make skill training to
standards aspirational.
7. Variable amount of monetary reward: Monetary reward for
various job roles within a sector would also vary. This amount
would be arrived at after taking various factors like cost of training,
willingness of trainees for pay and other relevant factors into
consideration. Higher incentives will be given to training in
manufacturing, construction and plumbing sectors.
8. Robust regime for registration of training providers: NSDC
training partners undergo due diligence before being registered
with NSDC. Government affiliated training centres and other
training partners will be approved by the SSCs on the basis of
guidelines issued by NSDC. Under PMKVY, even the government
affiliated training providers will undergo due diligence as per the
process manual. Each training partner would be responsible for its
entire franchisee network and the infrastructure of training centers.
The same will be part of the monitoring process. Only first level of
franchising would be allowed but the same should be declared in
advance and validated on the basis of random sampling as per
guidelines in the process manual.
9. Focussed awareness building and mobilisation activities:
Awareness building & mobilization activities would be carried out
with the involvement of local State and district governments as well
as involve Members of Parliament in the activities to ensure greater
outreach and ownership. A camp-based approach by organizing
Kaushal Melas to disseminate information about various skill
training options, outline possible career paths and income
generation potential once the training is imparted would be held in
every district. Efforts will be made to ensure that the coverage of the
scheme is across all the 543 constituencies in India. Skill Yatras
through bus journeys will be explored to take awareness to the
hinterlands and include live demonstration of skills in the buses.
Non-governmental and community-based organizations would be
involved in this activity to ensure widest possible reach and create
an environment for skilling in the country. This would be
supplemented with specialised and standardized branding and
314
communication packages through mass media and social media.

Periodic surprise checks and audits of the mobilisation phase would
be conducted to ensure its continued efficacy.
10. Improved curricula, better pedagogy and trained instructors:

While, the thrust would be on outcomes in terms of third party
assessment/certification, but support for improved curricula, better
technology enabled pedagogy and upgrading the capacity of
instructors would enable improving the overall ecosystem for high
quality skill training in the country. All skill training would include
soft skill training, personal grooming, behavioural change for
cleanliness, and good work ethics as a part of the training curricula.
11. Enhanced monitoring: To monitor the training process, SSCs will
be tasked with verifying and recording details of all training centres
on the Skill Development Management System (SDMS), and
ascertain quality of training locations and courses through certified
assessors during the time of assessments. Possibility of putting in
place a system of bio-metric attendance and sample video recording
would be explored. SSCs will also be responsible for certifying the
training curriculum and for ensuring that it is aligned to QPs of job
roles. In addition, SSCs will be tasked with certifying all trainers for
the Scheme. Audit checks and surprise visits to training centres will
also be conducted to ensure enhanced monitoring. Assessing
process could be more technology driven and could also be carried
out in CCTV environment.
12. Mentorship support: A mentorship programme will be created in

order to support trainees who have successfully completed the
training programme and are in the process of looking for
employment opportunities. Training providers will be responsible
for identifying mentors who will support and guide trainees in the
post-training phase. These mentors will provide career guidance
and counseling for trainees once they have completed training and
will also help connect them to employment opportunities. This
mentorship programme will also facilitate the tracking of trainees in
the post training phase.
315
13. Evaluation: Trainee feedback based on validated standard format

obtained at the time of assessment will become the key element of
the evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness and scale up of
PMKVY in future.
14. Grievance redressal: A proper grievance redressal mechanism

would be put in place. Online Citizens Portal would be set up to
disseminate information about PMKVY. This would also serve as a
platform for redressal of grievances. The portal would also include a
complete database of all available courses and training centres
under PMKVY.
Objectives of the Scheme

The objective of this Scheme is to encourage skill development
for youth by providing monetary rewards for successful completion
of approved training programs. Specifically, the Scheme aims to:
 Encourage standardization in the certification process and
initiate a process of creating a registry of skills
 Enable and mobilize a large number of Indian youth to take
up skill training and become employable and earn their
livelihood. Increase productivity of the existing workforce
and align the training and certification to the needs of the
country.
 Provide Monetary Awards for Skill Certification to boost
employability and productivity of youth by incentivizing
them for skill trainings.
 Reward candidates undergoing skill training by authorized
institutions at an average monetary reward of Rs. 8,000
(Rupees Eight Thousand) per candidate.
 Benefit 24 lakh youth at an approximate total cost of Rs. 1,500
Crores.
Strategy and Approach

 The Scheme will provide monetary incentives for successful
completion of market- driven skill training and certification to
approximately twenty four lakh youth in in a Span of one year from
the date of implementation of the scheme.
316
 This Scheme shall be implemented through Public-Private and

Public-Public Partnerships.
 NSDC will be the implementing agency for this Scheme.
 All trainings and certification under Recognition of Prior Learning
will be specifically oriented for developing skills in specific growth
sectors.
 Assessment and training bodies for all purposes of the Scheme will
be separate and no overlap of roles will be allowed to maintain
transparency and objectivity.
 The monetary reward will be wholly funded by the Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India and
will be affected through bank transfer to the beneficiaries’ accounts.
For facilitating the smooth disbursement as prescribed under the
scheme, the entire money along with the additional implementation
fund will be transferred to National Skill Development Fund for
further utilization by NSDC.
 Definitions of terms and expansions of acronyms used in this
document are listed.
Enrolment Process
The government has partnered with various telecom operators to
create awareness about the PMKVY. After the nationwide launch telecom
operators are likely to send out mass SMS about the scheme and will
provide potential candidates a number to call. Candidates need to give a
missed call to this toll free number, following which they shall receive an
automated call back connecting them to an IVR. The potential candidate
will, at this stage, need to input his/her details into the system. These
details will be recorded, and screened. Candidates eligible to enroll for the
training programmes will be provided details of the nearest training
centre and will be asked to report on the training dates.
Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
In keeping with the draft plan, the scheme was launched (in Bihar)
and the NSDC partnered with about 24 sector skill councils. As of 1 July
2015, about 1,17,564 people from all parts of the country have already
enrolled for skills training. Training has commenced for some 1,07,080
trainees already. The scheme’s implementation is being undertaken by
NSDC’s training partners. The NSDC has some 187 listed training partners
317
with 2300 training centres spread out in almost all the states of India.
While the scheme is on a pilot mode in select states, a nation-wide launch
is expected by mid-July.
The total outlay planned for the scheme is over INR 1,500 crore, of
which INR 1120 crore is likely to be allocated towards the skill training of
some 14 lakh youth. Additionally, INR 220 crore will be spent towards the
“recognition of prior learning”. The scheme budget includes INR 67 crore
that shall be spent on spreading awareness and encouraging enrolment.
This includes implementation of the website and running awareness
campaigns. In this effort to create awareness about the PMKVY, the NSDC
will partner with state governments and municipal organizations and use
the administrative machinery extensively to mobilise candidates from the
grassroots level. The NSDC has also partnered with various business
houses and corporate in an effort to garner mentorship for the candidates
and to secure placements once their training is completed. The
government has allocated INR 67 crore towards this. The scheme has the
youth of the North Eastern region of India in special focus. This region has
been traditionally neglected and hence a separate allocation of INR 150
crore has been made towards the training of youth in this region.
Apart from training, the candidates shall also go through an
assessment at the end of the training schedule. A certificate of merit shall
also be issued to candidates at the end of this training period based on the
assessment. ‘Third party assessment bodies’ have been roped in by the
NSDC to assess the candidates on the skills acquired and a monetary
incentive or reward is given to exemplary candidates. The average
monetary reward that each successful candidate is likely to get is about
INR 8000.
The scheme has placed much focus on the training partners. These
partner institutions have been studied and assessed before enrolment.
Digital training facilities and able instructors are highly valued by the
NSDC for the training sessions. The curriculum developed is highly
relevant and efficient in practical employability. Training sessions and the
training institutes will be constantly monitored by state government
agencies and by the sector skill councils. Feedback from the candidates
themselves will also be sought.
Scheme Outlay Following is the PMKVY outlay:
318
Physical Target Financial

Average Reward Amount (Number of target
(Rs.) trainees in (Rs.in
lakh) crore)
Fresh
8000 14 1120
Trainings
RPL 2200 10 220
Sub total 1340
Awareness and mobilization (5%) 67
Incentives for supplementary mentorship and placement
67
services (5%)
Administrative expenses (2%) 26
Total 24 1500
Source: National Skill Development Corporation (2015)
Features & Benefits OF PMKVY:

 Objective is to train 24 lakh youths
 To create registry of skills
 Increasing the productivity of the skilled individuals which would
be used for nation’s development
 On an average trainee will get Rs. 8000 as a reward. This would be
given by third party assessment body. However in order to receive
the reward, trainee will have to appear for assessment test and
based on the test results, reward would be given.
 Training would be provided based on the National Skill
Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards and it
would be need based training.
 Most of the skills do not require any educational qualification or
experience.
 Feedback would be collected by all the trainees who undergo
assessment. This will help in calculating the effectiveness of Kaushal
Vikas Scheme.
Conclusion
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a unique initiative by the
Government of India that aims to offer 24 lakh Indian youth meaningful,
319
industry relevant, and skill based training. Under this scheme, the trainees
will be offered a financial reward and a government certification on
successful completion of training and assessment, which will help them in
securing a job for a better future. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY) was thus envisaged as a key measure to impart skill-
based training to young men and women, making them capable of earning
and supporting the nation’s anti-poverty endeavors. The scheme becomes
all the more important in the Indian society which has the world’s largest
youth population that requires employable skill (356 million populations
between 10 and 24 years of age the Hindu, Nov 2014). Earlier this year, on
20 March 2015, the government of India gave the ministry of skill
development and Entrepreneurship a formal go-ahead to formulate and
implement the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) through
the National Skill Development Corporation.
References:
 Chaugule, S. R. (2016). Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (Pmkvy):
Through Skill Development & Business Education in Entrepreneurship
Development. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 5(11).
 NSDC (2015). Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). Ministry
of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India 2015.
 http://www.mapsofindia.com/myindia/government/pradhanmantrika
ushalvikasyojanaskilldevelopmentscheme.
 http://www.pmkvyofficial.org/Index.aspx
 http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/government/pradhanmantri-
kaushal-vikas-yojana-skill-development-scheme.
 http://www.skilldevelopment.gov.in/assets/images/PMKVY%20Schem
e%20booklet.pdf.
 http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/education/india-needs-
education-especially-rural-education.
 National Skill Development Corporation, March-2015.
320
34
An Analysis of Skill Development through Micro

Finance in India
Yogesh H. S, S.P. Kiran and Manjuprasad. C
Introduction
Micro finance through Self Help Group (SHG) has been recognized
internationally as the modern tool to combat poverty and for rural
321
development. Micro finance and SHGs are effective in reducing poverty,

empowering women and creating awareness which finally results in
sustainable development of the nation.
Women have been the most underprivileged and discriminated
strata of the society not only in India but the world over. In spite of all
Government and Non-Governments’ efforts, they have been highly
ignorant clients of the financial sector. In the recent times, microfinance
has been emerging as a powerful instrument for empowering women
particularly, the rural women. Apart from the informal sector of finance
the formal and semi formal sectors like commercial banks, NGOs etc. are
taking much interest in providing microfinance to women considering it
to be a profitable commercial activity. Women are also participating in the
microfinance movement by availing the microfinance services being
provided by the various financial channels.
The main aim of microfinance is to empower women. Microfinance
is the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including
consumers and the self employed, who traditionally lack access to banking
and related services. Microcredit, or microfinance, is banking the
unbankables, bringing credit, savings and other essential financial services
within the reach of millions of people who are too poor to be served by
regular banks, in most cases because they are unable to offer sufficient
collateral. Women make up a large proportion of microfinance
beneficiaries. Traditionally, women (especially those in underdeveloped
countries) have been unable to readily participate in economic activity.
Microfinance provides women with the financial backing they need to
start business ventures and actively participate in the economy. It gives
them confidence, improves their status and makes them more active in
decision making, thus encouraging gender equality. According to CGAP,
long-standing MFIs even report a decline in violence towards women
since the inception of microfinance.
The most of the microcredit institutions and agencies all over the
world focuses on women in developing countries. Observations and
experience shows that women are a small credit risk, repaying their loans
and tend more often to benefit the whole family. In another aspect it´s also
viewed as a method giving the women more status in a socioeconomic
way and changing the current conservative relationship between gender
and class.
322
A recent World Bank report confirms that societies that discriminate

on the basis of gender pay the cost of greater poverty, slower economic
growth, weaker governance, and a lower living standard for all people. At
a macro level, it is because 70 percent of the world’s poor are women.
Women have a higher unemployment rate than men in virtually every
country and make up the majority of the informal sector of most
economies. They constitute the bulk of those who need microfinance
services. Giving women access to microcredit loans therefore generates a
multiplier effect that increases the impact of a microfinance institution’s
activities, benefiting multiple generations.
In this direction, the present paper is a modest attempt in analyzing
the various aspects of micro finance i.e., growth of number of SHGs, total
amount of bank loan sanctioned to the SHGs and the refinance in India
during the period from 2000-01 to 2012-13.

The following are the objectives have been enacted for the present study;
1. To assess the status of Micro Finance (SHGs) in India.
2. To examine the trends in the growth of SHGs in India.
The present study is based on secondary sources of data. The main
sources of secondary data and pertinent literature include published and
documented sources. The information has been accessed from various
reports of NABARD, RBI reports, newsletters, working papers etc.
Further, the paper has been used exponential growth model to examine
the growth of SHGs over a period time.
An Overview of Women Empowerment

Nobel Laureate Amartaya Sen (1991) explains that the freedom to
lead different types of life is reflected in the person’s capability sets which
are depends on a variety of factors, including personal characteristics and
social arrangements. However, the full accounting of individual freedom
goes beyond the capabilities of personal living and the he pointed that for
measurement purposes one should focus on certain universally-valued
functioning which relate to the basic fundamentals of survival and well-
323
being regardless of context, they can be taken as an evidence of

inequalities in underlying capabilities rather than differences in
preferences. Women empowerment signifies increased participation in
decision-making and it is this process through which people feel
themselves to be capable of making decisions and the right to do so. The
World Bank (2001) report confirms that discriminate on the basis of
gender pays the cost of greater poverty, slower economic growth, weaker
governance and a lower living standard of their people. The World Bank
also identifies key elements of empowerment that accessing information,
inclusion and active participation, accountability and finally local
organizational capacity. In the views of Yogesh (2015) empowerment
means increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make effective
development and life choices and to transform these choices into desired
actions and outcomes. It is by nature a process and/or outcome. Social
capital, on the other hand, features social organization such as networks,
norms and inter-personal trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation
for mutual benefits and gives control of decisions and resources.
Microfinance steps in and extends micro loans to such women
groups to enable them to support the household and involve themselves
in income-generating activities for a better living. Women are encouraged
to earn additional income by involving themselves in small businesses
such as tailoring, papad making, setting up fruit/vegetable stalls and
petty shops, and selling aluminum utensils.
Growth of Micro Finance In India

Microfinance is the provision of broad range of financial services
such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers and insurance
to poor and low-income households and their micro enterprises.
Microfinance services are provided the three types of sources (i) formal
institutions like through Banks (ii) semiformal institutions like NGOs and
(iii) informal sources like money lenders. Micro Finance Institutions
(MFIs) are playing vital role in the economy by extending Micro-Credit
facilities in order to develop rural folk by changing their life style pattern.
Similarly, these institutions are made an attempt to bring rural women
and farmers into the formal banking grid. As a result of this, most of the
under developed and/or rural areas are getting modern formal banking
facilities in their door steps. Micro-Finance services have diversified over
324
time into areas such as micro savings, micro insurance and several non-
financial services. Thus, over the years, an ongoing process of
experimentation and innovation undertaken by Indian Micro-Finance
Institutions (MFIs) has become vague at the edges which results in a
spectrum represented by SHG models.
In this section, the present study tries to analyze the growth of
number SHGs, total amount sanctioned to the SHGs and the refinance
capacity of the banks by using exponential growth model in order to
evaluate the impact of the said indicators of micro-finance on the socio-
economic condition of the women especially rural women of India.
Table 1: Growth of Number of Micro finance (SHGs), Bank Loan

Sanctioned and Refinance in India 2000-01 to 2012-13
(in Crores)
Bank Loan Refinance
No. of
Year (in Rs. (in Rs.
SHGs
Crores) Crores)
2000-01 1,49,050 287.89 244.85
2001-02 1,97,653 545.47 395.26
2002-03 2,55,882 1022.33 622.47
2003-04 3,61,731 1855.53 705.44
2004-05 5,39,365 2994.26 967.76
2005-06 6,20,109 4499.09 1067.72
2006-07 11,05,749 6570.00 1292.86
2007-08 12,27,770 8849.26 1615.50
2008-09 16,09,586 12253.50 2620.30
2009-10 15,87,000 14453.30 3173.56
2010-11 12,00,000 14548.00 2545.36
2011-12 1148000 16534.56 3072.59
2012-13 4451434 20585.00 1767.42
Source: NABARD Status of Micro Finance 2001-2013
Figure 1: Growth of Number of Micro finance (SHGs)
325
6000000
4000000
2000000
0
No. of SHGs
Figure 2: Loan Sanctioned and Refinance in India 2000-01 to 2010-11

2000-01
30000
2012-13 2001-02
2011-12 20000 2002-03
10000
2010-11 2003-04
0
2009-10 2004-05
2008-09 2005-06
2007-08 2006-07
Bank Loan (in Rs. Crores) Refinance (in Rs. Crores)
Table 2: Model Summary and Parameter Estimates for the Growth of

Number of SHGs, Loan Sanctioned and Refinance
Dependent Variable: No of SHG
Parameter
Model Summary Estimates
R
Equation Square F df1 df2 Sig. b1
Exponenti
.883 82.703 1 11 .000 .234
al
Dependent Variable: Bank Loan Sanctioned

Parameter
Model Summary Estimates
R
Equation Square F df1 df2 Sig. b1
Exponenti
.889 95.742 1 12 .000 1.008
al
Dependent Variable:Refinance
Parameter
Equation Model Summary Estimates
326
R
Square F df1 df2 Sig. b1
Growth .853 69.881 1 12 .000 .830
Exponenti
.853 69.881 1 12 .000 .830
al
The above table 2 shows that, the results of the growth pattern of
number of SHGs, loan amount sanctioned by banks and refinance position
over a period of time 2000-01 to 2010-11. Here, exponential growth model
has been used to measure the growth of such variables. According to the
results given in table it has been reveal that, the average growth of
number of SHGs is 23.4 percent which is statistically significant at 1
percent level with the F value of 82.703 and the R Square value of 0.883.
Further, the study also tested the growth of the bank loan
sanctioned by the banks over a period of time. According to the above
results, it has shown that the average growth of sanctioned loan amount
also increased with an average growth of 10.08 percent which is also
significant at 1 percent level with the F value of 95.742 and the R square
value is .889.
Subsequently, it has been proved in the above table 2, the growth of

refinance also increased positively with an average growth rate of 8.3
percent which is also significant at 1 percent level with the F value of
69.881and the R square value is 0.853. Finally it has been reveal that, the
growth of the SHGs is very high compared to the remaining two
indicators of community empowerment such as bank loan sanctioned and
Out of Total -
Total Savings of
Exclusive Women
SHGs with Banks as
SL SHGs
on 31 March 2014
no Name of the
Agency No. of Loans No. of Loans
SHGs disbursed SHGs disbursed
Commercial 767253 1603749 663636 1387927
Regional 333420 628813.4 291587 593968.9
Cooperative 265748 169173.1 196501 121900.6
Total 1366421 2401736 1151724 2103797
327
refinance. Where as the growth of bank loan sanctioned also increased in

the study period but the refinance growth is very low compared to the
growth of SHGs and bank loan sanctioned to the members. It is very clear
in the above analysis that, the growth of SHGs and sanctioned loan
amount of banks are positive in nature. According to the empirical study
there is a positive relationship between the growth of SHGs and loan
sanctioned by the banks. Hence, it is also one of the important sources to
achieve community empowerment.
Table 3: Progress under Microfinance - Bank Loans disbursed to SHGs

Agency-wise position during 2013-14
Source: NABARD Status of Microfinance in India 2013–2014
The table 3 indicates that, the progress under Microfinance - Bank

Loans disbursed to SHGs Agency-wise position during 2013-14.
According to the table commercial banks has disbursed highest amount of
loan through SHGs. It is followed by RRBs it stayed at second place. Then
the cooperative banks is also contributing to the disburse loan from SHGs.
Out of the total SHGs women SHGs are more. Most of the proportion of
all banks loan has distributed to women SHGs. It is very clear that in the
above table there is positive link between women empowerment which
leads to empower the community.
Conclusion
SHGs have been found as a tool to alleviate poverty and women
empowerment. And women empowerment aims at realizing their
identities, power and potentiality in all spheres of lives. But the real
empowerment is possible only when a woman has increased access to
economic resources, more confidence and self motivation, more strength,
more recognition and say in the family matters and more involvement
through participation. Hence, the growth of three major indicators of
SHGs i.e., total amount of bank loans and refinance have been playing a
vital role in empowering the rural women in India.
Further, SHGs have the potential to have an impact on women
empowerment. Self Help Group concept has been mooted along the rural
and semi urban women to improve their living conditions. Even though
SHG concept is applicable to men also in our country, it has been more
successful only among women. To reduce poverty by enabling the poor
328
household to access gainful self employment and skilled wage

employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their
livelihood on a sustainable basis, through building strong grass-root
institutions of the poor (SHGs) is now the main motive of the most of the
employment schemes. Thus SHGs have been showing the way ahead to
alleviate the poverty of India along with women empowerment.
References
 Alka Srivastava (2005): Women’s Self Help Groups: Findings from a
Study in Four Indian States. Social Change. Vol. 35. No. 2. June 2005.
 Arjun Y., Pangannavar (2010) "Women SHG Programmes and Rural
Poverty: A Micro Study" Southern Economist, pp47-50.
 Chandra P., Parida and Anushree Sinha (2010) "Performance and
Sustainability of Self Help Groups in India: A Gender Perspective" Asian
Development Review, Vol.-27(1), pp80-103.
 Heggani jyothi kalaynaro and R. Sindhe Jaganatha (2012). Women
Empowerment Through Self-Help Groups: A Review of Literature. Indian
Journal of Applied Research, Vol-4, Issue- 10, pp- 319-321.
 Jayaraman R. (2005) "Performance Analysis of Fisherwomen SHGs in

Tamilnadu" final report submitted to NABARD, pp1-63.
 NABARD Reports from 2000-2013.
 Yogesh H. S. and B. M. Indrakumar (2015). The Role of Self Help Groups
in Alleviating Poverty in India-An Appraisal. International Journal of
Research in Economics and Social Sciences, Voi- 5, Issue- 8, pp-262-272.
329
35
Public-Private and People-Partnerships for Skill

Development: A CSR Prospective
Nanjunda
Introduction
Skill Building for India is critical from both the socio –economic and
demographic points of view. It is an important tool for reducing poverty,
enhancing competitiveness and employability. Skill Development
enumerated in Schedule VII of the CSR Act can play an important catalytic
role in the government’s efforts to promote ‘Skill India’ and to boost our
Prime Minister’s larger ‘Make in India’ mission. In a landmark move, the
2013 Companies Act mandated all companies with a minimum net worth
of INR 500 crores, a turnover of INR 1,000 crores, and a net profit of at
least INR 5 crores, to spend at least 2% of their profits on CSR. This
330
has shifted the conversation from philanthropy to a deeper and value-

based engagement with society. Progressive companies are looking for
ways to leverage their core strengths, such as technical expertise, process
rigour, and widespread presence across the country to create sustainable
social impact.
The National Skill Development Mission has been developed to
create convergence across sectors and States in terms of skill training
activities. Further, to achieve the vision of ‘Skilled India’, the National
Skill Development Mission would not only consolidate and coordinate
skilling efforts, but also expedite decision making across sectors to achieve
skilling at scale with speed and standards. It will be implemented through
a streamlined institutional mechanism driven by Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Key institutional
mechanisms for achieving the objectives of the Mission have been divided
into three tiers, which will consist of a Governing Council for policy
guidance at apex level, a Steering Committee and a Mission Directorate
(along with an Executive Committee) as the executive arm of the Mission.
Mission Directorate will be supported by three other institutions: National
Skill Development Agency (NSDA), National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC), and Directorate General of Training (DGT) – all of
which will have horizontal linkages with Mission Directorate to facilitate
smooth functioning of the national institutional mechanism. All this units
have close associates with various CSR companies and NGOs for
implementing various skill development initiatives.
Draft National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

The objective of the Policy is to meet the challenge of skilling at
scale with speed, standard (quality)and sustainability. It aims to provide
an umbrella framework to all skilling activities being carried out within
the country, to align them to common standards and link skilling with
demand centres. The Policy lists out ten major directions for the Skill
Development Framework, including increasing the capacity, synergy
among existing schemes, global partnerships and inclusivity. It seeks to
address the lacunae in Entrepreneurship by steps like streamlining
entrepreneurship in education system, inventing business through
mentorship, fostering social entrepreneurship, promoting inclusivity,
improving the ease of doing business and providing access to finance. It
331
also mentions the possibility of the launch of the National Mission for Skill
Development &Entrepreneurship in next six months. The policy
encourages companies to spend at least 25%of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) funds on skill development, seeks to introduce fee
paying model along with Skill Vouchers, and set up a Credit Guarantee
fund for Skill Development. A ‘Project Implementation Unit’ (PIU) is also
proposed to be set up to review the implementation and progress of the
various initiatives under this policy (web based)
There has hence been a strong interest in skill development since it
offers companies a chance to create sustainable impact while leveraging
their core technical expertise. Investing in skill development to enable
access to skilled resources to the industry also provides long-term
business value to the corporations and the entire industry ecosystem.
Companies are increasingly creating structured skill
development initiatives in their specific sectors while leveraging the
ecosystem support that is enabled by NSDC.
There are plenty of key opportunities for CSR in skill development,
each suitable for companies background, the policy implications and short
examples of corporate involvement in the particular area. While not
an exhaustive list of areas within skill development or possible corporate
models, there is a lot of provisions to provide a context specific issues and
ideas to enable innovative and strategic thinking to those charged with
formulating CSR policies. What is common between most public-private
projects that have been successful is the linkage between a corporation’s
core business activities and the sphere in which it decides to contribute to
social development. A prominent example of such practices includes Tata
Motors’ partnership with 135 government-run industrial training
institutes across the country-31 under the public-private partnership
model-involved in training nearly 10,000 youth every year in areas of
vehicle repair and maintenance. The company clearly sees a direct link
between the community’s employability needs and its own business
requirements. In such cases, better management, involvement of domain
experts, and technological transfer enables projects to be scalable without
which it isn’t possible to have the wide impact that is needed.
Similar projects include those in the IT-BPM sector in providing
language and computer literacy skills, large scale skill development
projects involving collaboration between the Ministry of Labour, NSDC
332
and private and public mining corporations, and some well-run

Employment Exchange Programmes in Gujarat providing training not
only in basic soft skills and computer literacy but also collaborating
closely with industry to provide high end facilities for trainees. With the
proliferation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country, the
creation of a Skill Development Ministry, and the success of the Kaushalya
Vardhan Kendras, there is immense activity and progress being made
with respect to skill building for India’s youth. It is such collaborative
thinking and action that is required on the part of the government and the
private sector which will not only propel growth but ensure that the
growth achieved is sustainable, inclusive and equitable.
References
1. http://www.ficci.com.
2. http://www.nsdcindia.org.
3. http://planningcommission.nic.in.
4. Ministry of Labour & employment.
Reports;
Ministry of skill development
333
36
The Role of Public-Private-Partnership Initiatives in

Skill Development of Women in India
Ramesha H.C and Kavitha H.D
I. Introduction
The Planning Commission Approach to the 12th Plan Enhancing
Skills and Faster Generation of Employment Enhancing Skills to Reap
Demographic Dividend Skill building can be viewed as an instrument to
improve the effectiveness and contribution of labor to the overall
production. It is as an important ingredient to push the production
possibility frontier outward and to take growth rate of the economy to a
higher trajectory. Skill building could also be seen as an instrument to
empower the individual and improve his/her social acceptance or value.
The contemporary focus on skill building or skill development in India is
derived from the changing demographic profiles in India vis-à-vis China,
Western Europe, and North America. These changing demographic
profiles indicate that India has a unique 20 to 25 years’ window of
opportunity called “demographic dividend”. The demographic dividend
is essentially due to two factors (a) declining birth rates and (b)
improvement in life expectancy. Thus, the “demographic dividend” in
India needs to be exploited not only to expand the production possibility
frontier but also to meet the skilled manpower requirements of in India
and abroad. To reap the benefits of “demographic dividend”, the Eleventh
Five Year Plan had favored the creation of a comprehensive National Skill
334
Development Mission. As a result, a “Coordinated Action on Skill

Development” with three-tier institutional structure consisting of (i) PM’s
National Council (ii) National Skill Development Coordination Board
(NSDCB), (iii) National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was
created in early 2008. Whereas, Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill
Development has spelt out policy advice, and direction in the form of
“Core Principles” and has given a Vision to create 500 million skilled
people by 2022 through skill systems (which must have high degree of
inclusivity), NSDCB has taken upon itself the task of coordinating the skill
development efforts of a large number of Central Ministries/Departments
and States.
II. Review of Literature

There are many literatures concerned with this concept which
mentioned as follows:
Das Mallika, (2001) the article explained the initial problems faced by
the Indian women, similar to those faced by women in Western countries.
However Indian Women Entrepreneurs faced lower levels of work and
family conflicts there reasons for starting and succeeding in business are
different. Thus the article helps to understand the characteristics of
women entrepreneurs in India. N Rajani and D Sarada (2008) Authors
observed that entrepreneurship amongst women has been recent
development. Further they stated that the enterprises started by women
are so greatly influenced by the decisions and desires of the members of
the family. Women entrepreneurs who receive support from family,
relatives and other support systems to manage their own enterprises
successfully. Chalapathi B.V., Raghavulu B.V. and Prasad Hari P (2008)
This article depicted the situation of women in the world in general and in
Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal in
particular is not very satisfactory. The women’s access to health and
education in almost all these countries is inadequate. Cultural social and
economic factors are responsible for a low status of women. Jamil Ahmed
(2011) this article identified the key links between education and women
empowerment. Education provides critical foundation for women
empowerment. The author conclude that despite the progress made by the
Indian women, the life of the average of Indian women from birth through
infancy, childhood, adolescence, marriage, mother hood is a long journey
335
of battle against discrimination due to socio cultural structure of the

society. Hence, the economic empowerment of women is essential for
achievement of gender equality in all spheres. National Commission for
Women (2002) in this study commission studied a large number of judicial
decisions of supreme and various high courts examined the legal
provisions available for women. It also studies various policies issues and
future plans that could best enhance the role of women contribution
towards sustainable development in the country. It also investigated the
challenges that policy makers and the judiciary face on how to improve
the status of women. The study also examined the merits and demerits of
the existing provisions of law and other policies. It concluded that women
belonging to deprived and poorer sections of Indian society irrespective of
their social strata or region are not in a position to solve their problems.
More than 400 million women of this country hardly have social,
economic, legal or political attribute of any strength. Shaik Shafeequr
Rahman & Nikhat Sultana (2012) Author focused on the contribution of
Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad on women empowerment. The
study found positive contribution in the psychological, social and
economic factors in empowerment of women through SMGULP and
expressed opinion about new organizations like SMGULP should play an
important role in empowering socially and economically backward
women.
III. Objectives of the Study
 To analyze the Public-Private-Partnership Initiatives in women’s

skill development in India.
 To study the Empowering women and certain principles on
empowerment in India.
 To examine the policies on skill development in India.
IV. Methodology
The present study is based on secondary sources of data which used
for this research work. Content Analysis Method, which is commonly
known as the review of the previous literature, has been followed in the
preparation of this article. These secondary types of data were collected
from various published sources such as published articles, books, journals,
websites government reports, newspapers and economic survey. Through
336
the present study concentrates on the state as a whole, the focus will be on
skill development of women. Full use of relevant books, journals and
internet sources is made in order to make this study informative and
meaningful.
V. Discussion
There are essentially four initiatives taken by the Government of India
since 2007 to encourage skill up-gradation by using the instrument of
Private-Public Partnership (PPP) and, in addition, encouragement to
private sector initiatives to up-grade skills:
1. Of the 1896 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), in
all of them the Ministry of Labour decided to introduce a PPP-based
model of reform in 2007.
2. About 2000 privately owned and managed industrial training
centres, now called private ITIs, existed in 2007, the number of
which has grown to 6498 in India by 2011.
3. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting
the setting up of profit-making companies, since 2010, to promote
skill up-gradation.
4. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has
proposed in the country a National Vocational Education
Qualification Framework (NVEQF), to be promoted by the NSDC
jointly with Government; this will rely heavily upon private sector
industry involvement in the provision of vocational education and
training.
This note deals briefly with each of these four efforts for skill up-
gradation undertaken within the last three years by the Government of
India.
 PPP in government-run ITIs: Government-owned and managed

ITIs (under the jurisdiction of the central government’s Ministry of
Labour) have been the main instrument for children completing class 8
or 10 in school to obtain vocational training. ITIs offer courses lasting 1-4
years all across the country, though they tend to be concentrated in the
more industrialized southern and western states of India. The 11th Five
Year Plan, which for the first time had a whole chapter devoted to skill
development (Chapter 4, Vol. 1), essentially had two ways of promoting
337
vocational training through the ITI system in India. First, 500 of the 1896
ITIs (in 2007) were chosen as Centers of Excellence, in which only one or
two trades of the 10-15 that are normally offered, were selected for the
purposes of promotion as Centres of Excellence on a PPP basis. Of the
500 Centres of Excellence (CoE) to be created in ITIs, 100 are being
supported by the Government of India and 400 by the World
Bank. Second, the remaining 1396 ITIs were not to give any special focus
on any particular trade, but were to receive Central Government funding
for improving the infrastructure for skill development across all trades.
For both the Centres of Excellence as well as the remaining ITIs the PPP
mode took the following forms: new Institutional Management
Committees (IMCs). New Institutional Management Committees
consisting of both the ITI Principal as well as private sector industrial
representatives were to participate in managing the ITIs. The experience
with IMCs in the last three years has left a lot to be desired, as was found
in a nation-wide study of ITIs conducted by the Institute of Applied
Manpower Research (IAMR) in 2010-11. “The role of IMC in the
management of the CoEs did not appear to be very encouraging. Most
of the CoEs surveyed during the study reported that in terms of starting
new trades, up-gradation of new trades, placement support and training
support, the role of IMCs was mostly either ‘good’ or ‘fair’ (on a 5-point
scale, which went up to ’Excellent’ and ‘Very Good’). On the other hand,
in providing financial support, its role was described as ‘poor’. The
greatest problem faced by almost all the CoEs was the shortage
of teachers.”
 Private Industrial Training Institutes: In 2007 when the

Government of India decided to initiate a Skill Development Initiative
there were just under 2000 private ITIs in the country. However, in the
wake of the Government’s focus on skill development in the 11th Five
Year Plan, there took place a rapid increase in the number of private ITIs
to nearly 6498 within three years. While this quantitative expansion of
vocational training providers (VTPs) increased the availability of
facilities for skill up-gradation in the country, the quality of training
being impacted by these thousands of new VTPs could be open to
question. The number of trades offered by private ITIs, as we found in
the recent IAMR study cited above, is usually under five; in contrast,
338
government run ITIs offer anywhere between 10-15 trades in their

programmes. The private ITIs are also not professionally managed nor
regulated well by government.
 The Private Partners of NSDC: As part of the Government of

India’s Skill Development Initiative (which started in 2007 with the
11th Five Year Plan), three institutions were created: the Prime Minister’s
Skill Development Advisory Council, the National Skill Development
Coordination Board (chaired by the Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission), and the PPP-based National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC). The NSDC is jointly funded by the private sector,
and the Government of India (51% private equity owned mainly by
Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry, Association of Chambers of Commerce, and
49% equity owned by the Ministry of Finance).
The NSDC is the operational arm of the 3-tier management structure of
the government’s Skill Development Initiative. Since the second quarter
of 2010, when NSDC acquired a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NSDC has
been rapidly supporting the creation of companies that are providing
vocational training all across the country, on a profitable basis. The
business model is as follows: NSDC finances the company start-ups
through a combination of debt and equity, the debt part of which is to be
re-paid by the business venture-cum-VTP over a number of years by
providing vocational training to youth on a fee-paying basis. As many as
26 companies have started providing such training, all of which are
required by agreement with NSDC to ensure 70% of their trainees gets
placed in industry.
 National Vocational Education Qualification Framework
(NVEQF) and the private sector: The Ministry of Human Resource
Development (MHRD) has since late 2010 been engaged in an exercise to
widen the scope of vocational education in government schools and the
higher education system. Two specific initiatives of MHRD in this regard
are notable: one, the vocational education provided to higher secondary
school students run by the government is to be expanded by increased
plan funding for the vocational education stream, which has been
available in higher secondary schools since 1986. Second, the MHRD
created an expert group in early 2011 to prepare a blue print radically
339
transforming vocational education in the secondary and higher secondary

school system of India to be called the NVEQF. The NVEQF has already
been agreed too, in principle, by State Education Ministers in June, 2011.
VI. Empowering Women

The Art of Living empowers women to face the present challenges
by providing tools and techniques that help to eliminate individual stress.
A sense of community spirit is created that allows for women to face these
similar challenges as a team rather than individually. The Art of Living
encourages women to find practical solutions to their challenges so that
each one becomes self-dependent in their own right.
 Empower yourself with happiness as you take on life’s daily
challenges. Fill in the form below to learn how to embrace life with
a renewed enthusiasm every day.
 Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all
sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve
internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability,
and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and
communities.
 The private sector is a key partner in efforts to advance gender
equality and empower women. Current research demonstrating that
gender diversity helps businesses perform better signals that self-
interest and common interest can come together. Yet, ensuring the
inclusion of women’s talents, skills and energies from executive
offices to the factory floor and the supply chain—requires
intentional actions and deliberate policies.
The Women’s Empowerment Principles offer practical guidance to
business and the private sector on how to empower women in the
workplace, marketplace and community. Developed through a
partnership between UN Women and the United Nations Global
Compact, the Principles are designed to support companies in reviewing
existing policies and practices—or establishing new ones to realize
women’s empowerment. In brief, the Principles are:
 Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
 Treat all women and men fairly at work respect and support human
rights and nondiscrimination
340
 Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men
workers
 Promote education, training and professional development for
women
 Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing
practices that empower women
 Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
 Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality
Subtitled Equality Means Business, the Principles emphasize the

business case for corporate action to promote gender equality and
women’s empowerment and are informed by real-life business practices
and input gathered from across the globe. They also reflect the interests of
governments and civil society and serve to support interactions among
stakeholders, as achieving gender equality requires the participation of all
actors at all levels.
Introduced on International Women’s Day 2010, the Women’s
Empowerment Principles are adapted from the Calvert Women’s
Principles. The Calvert Women’s Principles were originally developed in
partnership with UNIFEM (now UN Women) and launched in 2004 as the
first global corporate code of conduct focused exclusively on empowering,
advancing and investing in women worldwide.
VII. National Policy on Skill Development (2015)

The development and articulation of a national policy on skill
development must also be cognizant of the socio-economic realities at the
implementation level. This will enable the policy document to reflect and
articulate measures to address issues in a structured manner. The task of
skill development and entrepreneurship has many challenges which
include:-
i. Mobilizing youth to undergo skill development programmes, in
the face of the traditional and cultural bias against non-white
collar occupations
ii. Increasing capacity & capability of existing system to ensure
equitable access to all- Determination of capacity that exist in the
country
341
iii. Lack of a robust mechanism for monitoring and measuring

outcomes
iv. Disharmony in the various skill development efforts - Creating
effective convergence between school education, various skill
development efforts of government and between government and
Private Sector initiative.
v. In the federal set up, lack of a robust delivery mechanism at the
State level
vi. Capacity building of institutions for planning, quality assurance
and involvement of stake holders Draft – National Policy on Skill
and Entrepreneurship Development Page 5 of 38
vii. Increasing participation of stakeholders, mobilizing adequate
investment for financing skill development, attaining
sustainability by strengthening all resources.
viii. Limited mobility between skill and higher education programs –
vocational education
ix. Very low coverage and poorly designed apprenticeship programs
x. Narrow and often obsolete skill curricula
xi. Lack of trainers, inability to attract practioners from industry as
faculty
xii. Paucity of support systems, institutional structures and funding
for entrepreneurs
xiii. Pre-dominant non-farm, unorganized sector employment with
low productivity but no premium for skilling
Skill development for Women (2015): Skill development for

employability will be used as an agent of change in promoting women’s
employment. Women face a multitude of barriers in accessing skills and
productive employment, remaining on the job due to effect of
globalization or otherwise and advancing to higher level jobs, as well as
returning to the labour market after a period of absence spent, for
example, in raising children.
 A policy of non-discrimination will be pursued vigorously to
provide equal access for women to skill development and
employment.
 This Policy will aim to raise women’s participation to at least 30%
by the end of the 12th Plan.
342
 Proactive measures that overcome barriers and facilitate

participation, such as hostels for women, scholarships, transport,
training materials and loans, will be made available on a large scale.
 The Women’s Vocational Training Programme will be expanded
and the institutional network providing training facilities
exclusively for women, so that they can obtain skills with high wage
and self-employment potential will be greatly expanded.
 In order to promote skills and employability of women, the sectors
which employ a large number of women will be identified. These
may include construction, home-based traditional crafts or piece
rate work, financial and health service as well as agricultural
sectors.
 Gender stereotyping in vocational courses will be eliminated to
encourage women’s participation in non-traditional occupations,
including existing and emerging technological fields.
VIII. Conclusion
It is evident that a major challenge of skill development initiatives is
to address the needs of huge population by providing skills in order to
make them employable and help them secure meaningful livelihood
opportunities. This necessitates planned development of skills which is
underpinned by a ‘policy’, that is both comprehensive as well as national
in character. A national policy response is, therefore, needed to guide the
skill development strategies and coordinated action by all stakeholders to
avoid a piecemeal approach. It is also important that the policies of skill
development be linked to policies in the economic, employment and social
development arenas.
Notes:
 Of the 1896 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), in
all of them the Ministry of Labour decided to introduce a PPP-based
model of reform in 2007.
 About 2000 privately owned and managed industrial training
centres, now called private ITIs, existed in 2007, the number of
which has grown to 6498 in India by 2011.
343
 The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting

the setting up of profit-making companies, since 2010, to promote
skill up-gradation.
Reference
 Das Mallika (2001), "Women Entrepreneurs from India: Problems,
motivations and success factors", JSBE, Vol.15 (4), pp 67-81.
 N Rajani and D Sarada (2008), "Women entrepreneurship and support
systems", Stud.Home.Comm.Sci. Vol 2(2), pp.107-112.
 Chalapathi B.V., Raghavulu B.V. and Prasad Hari P., (January-March
2008), "Gender Equality-Empowerment of Women", Journal of Public
Administration, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 147-157. 75
 Jamil (December 2011), "Women’s empowerment and Gender Equality to
Promote Educ Ahmed ation: A Review", Economic Affairs, Vol.56 No.4,
pp.347-352
 National Commission for Women (2002), "Search for a vision statement
on women empowerment", New Delhi.
 Shaik Shafeequr Rahman & Nikhat Sultana (July-2012), “Empowerment
of Women for Social Development”, Published in Researchers World, a
Journal of Arts Science & Commerce, Vol.-III, and Issue-3/1.
344
37
Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women: A

Brief Note
Dinesha P T and Dinesha G A
Introduction
The subject of informal economy has a considerable multi-

disciplinary appeal and has caught the attention of scholars and
academicians of social science disciplines like economics, sociology,
anthropology, gender studies, political science, psychology, law etc. There
are growing concerns among academicians and policy makers on the
problems faced by the constituents of the informal economy irrespective
of whether they belong to the category of workers or the self employed.
The reasons and justifications for the existence of an informal economy are
varied but there is a growing consensus on the need to support the
working poor who constitute the informal economy. The Indian economy
is widely expected to grow at sustained high rates over the next few
decades and emerge as the second largest economy by 2050. These robust
projections have much to do with the demographic profile of the country.
India is slated to have one of the youngest populations in the world, with
the bulk of the population figuring in the working age. Low dependency
ratio and a surplus workforce put India at a strong comparative advantage
vis-à-vis most major economies. However, in order to utilise this
‘demographic dividend’ effectively, India needs to impart adequate and
appropriate skills to its workforce. Against this background the paper is
designed with the following objectives. To discuss the status of women
skill development in the informal sector in India; To suggest suitable
policy prescriptions to the problems. The proposed study mainly is
345
descriptive in nature. It solemnly based on secondary sources of data and

information which is collected from the related sources as per need of the
research. The relevant journals, articles, books, documents of various
ministries/departments and organizations, papers and web-sites are used
in this study.
Women Skill Development in the Informal Sector in India

A critical element in India’s 12th five year plan (2012-2017) is the
generation of productive and gainful employment on a sufficient scale.
The aim of such planning is to systematically absorb the growing working
population in the unorganized sector or informal sector of an expanding
economy. This sector contributes about sixty percent of the country’s GDP.
Infact, it employs workers in micro enterprises, unpaid family work,
casual labor and home based work on a mammoth scale. In addition, it
also absorbs migrant laborers, farmers, artisans and more importantly out
of school rural youth.
The terms ‘unorganized’ and ‘informal’ sectors are often used
interchangeably in India. According to International Labour Organization
(ILO), the informal economy refers to organizations in the informal sector
(i.e. those not registered with a local authority and not paying taxes), and
the activities of firms I n the formal sector that employ informal workers
(i.e. workers without a formal work contract and without any formal
safety net). According to The National Commission on Labour, informal
sector, is characterized unique features namely: (a) casual nature of
employment; (b) ignorance and illiteracy; (c) small size of establishment
with low capital investment per person employed; (d) scattered nature of
establishments; and (e) superior strength of the employers operating
singly and in combination. According to the Census of India 2011, women
constitute 48.46 percent of the total population in India and about 25.67
percent of female population is designated as workers (GoI, 2011). In India
the presence of the in non-formal economy has been overwhelmingly
large with 92 per cent of the total workforce of about 458 million poor and
vulnerable workers being part of this economy (GoI 2012). According to
the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 68th round (2011-12), 79% of
the informal workers do not have a written job contract; 71% are not
eligible for paid leave; and 72% are not eligible for any social security
benefits (NSSO, 2014).
346
And more than 90 per cent of women workers are concentrated in

informal sector. Hence, it can be said that informal sector in India is the
women’s sector. However, the plight of women in this sector is miserable
as they work for extremely low wages, with a total lack of job security and
social security benefits, working hours are long and working conditions
are unsatisfactory.
The most important problems of informal sector are that most of the
women labourers are appointed as contract labourers. Studies conducted
in several parts of the country indicate the awful conditions of the women
workers in this sector. They continue to face discrimination and
marginalization both subtle and blatant and do not share the fruits of
development equally. Ignorance, traditional bound attitudes, illiteracy,
lack of skills, seasonal nature of employment, heavy physical work of
different types, lack of job security, lack of a comprehensive legislation to
cover these workers in informal sector and competition in employment are
resultant deprival of real wage. Wages in the informal sector are
arbitrarily fixed, often without regard to the minimum wage legislations,
which adversely affect the income of the wage workers in general, and
women workers in particular.
Besides, those women workers in informal sector lag behind the
males in terms of level and quality of employment. There are still cases
where women workers are deprived of the benefits and amenities like
equal remuneration vis-à-vis their male counterparts, maternity benefits,
proper child care services and indifferent attitude of the employers
towards women workers. Such women, when they have to perform dual
role of both outside employment in harsh and hostile working conditions
and manage their homes, come across problems, which needs a loud
hearing. Several factors responsible for their plight are indifferent attitude
of the employers towards women workers, their weak bargaining power
and in many cases the women workers themselves being unaware of their
rights. From the close study, it can be easily estimated that the women
working in informal sector are living a life far below from satisfaction.
Several international and national commissions, research studies,
committees and conferences in the last six decades have documented the
socio-economic conditions of workers in the informal sector in India. The
Constitution of India provides equal rights and opportunities to both the
genders. In addition, there are specific provisions for protection and
347
welfare of working women in many of the labour laws. Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a major step
in the direction of providing security of employment to rural workers. The
Arjun Sengupta Committee report is a stark reminder of the huge size and
poor conditions in this sector. The National Commission for Enterprises in
the Informal Sector (NCEUS), has extensively profiled the informal sector
and informal employment in its report, „The Challenges of Employment
in India-An Informal Economy Perspective‟ (April 2009) and suggested
the measures that are considered necessary for enhancing competitiveness
of the informal sector in the emerging global environment and generation
of large scale employment opportunities on sustainable basis. However,
still the status of women in the non formal sector is not satisfactory.
During the past three decades, in most developing countries,

including India growth of employment in the formal sector has stagnated
or at best shown a gradual ascent while the informal economy has
increased significantly (Bacchetta, Ernst, and Bustamante, 2009). For
instance, in India the informal economy accounts for about 92 per cent of
total employment. On the other hand, contrary to the formal sector,
women are over-represented (i.e. making up more than 50 per cent) in the
informal sector in developing countries (Chen, 2005, Chen, 2001).Women
are found to be over-represented in the informal sector because the
flexibility, especially in home-based work, is advantageous to them given
their other needs and demands upon their time in the form of unpaid
labour. Women, who are generally unskilled, are considered to be the
cheap source of labour.
Women’s employment in unorganised sector consists of self-
employment in petty trade, food processing, or in family units of
traditional occupations or manufacturing establishments that are small
workshops scattered geographically or in various forms of putting out
systems. As rapid industrialization and mechanization have destroyed
traditional crafts, poor women in the developing countries face extensive
and acute unemployment. Women are mainly found in traditional
unorganised units as they face difficulties in entering in the more
structured units because of illiteracy, low technical skills and lack of
opportunities for acquiring either literacy or
new skills. As men move up through education and higher jobs, women
continue to hold traditional occupations that ensure basic survival for the
348
family. And whenever there is an availability of alternate job

opportunities, men are quick to grab it. Women’s employment in petty
ventures provides men and society in general, an insurance against
unemployment and sickness, against inflation and wage cuts.
Thus informal employment is generally a large source of employment for
women than men in developing world.
Policy Prescriptions
First and foremost there is an urgent need to further develop HRD
and training policy from a gender perspective, with an understanding of
local customs and traditions. It also implies focus on improvements in
access to education and training for girls, including the provision of
services, such as transport, hostels, scholarships, and other incentives to
encourage women to enroll for education and training. Besides that the
training may have to incorporate teaching of basic skills such as
numeracy, problem solving, communication, learning to learn, and team
work and, other deeply impacting skill such as behavioral skills, including
building selfesteem, self-organizational and negotiating capacity for
employment purpose. Issues of identity, autonomy, leadership, rights and
responsibilities, entrepreneurial and business management skills,
increasing awareness on gender are to be relevant issues for women.
The entire national skill development system should be put under
the umbrella of one ministry, rather than running them under the
leadership of two key Ministries Ministry of Labor and Employment and
Ministry of Human Resource Development and several other Ministries.
This will lead to better focus and coordination between different
initiatives.
The main institutions under the craftsmen training scheme in India
are public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and private Industrial
Training Centers (ITCs). The aim of the ITIs and the ITCs is to provide
skilled workers to the informal sector, however, evidence shows that both
the institutes have performed poorly on their mandate. ITIs have been
criticized for offering training in trades that are out dated and not relevant
for the modern day employment requirements. Furthermore, “the share of
ITI graduates who entered self employment or became employers was not
much greater than 10 per cent while only around 5 per cent of ITC
graduates joined the unorganized economy. The main reason is that
349
running a small business requires much more than simply possessing a

particular occupational skill. It requires the ability to run a small business,
which requires a person to be multi-skilled. This sort of training is not
imparted in the ITIs and ITCs”. Hence, there is a dire need to upgrade the
craftsmen training centre. Besides the expansion of it is and ITCs, it is
equally crucial to build basic infrastructure especially in remote areas,
making ITIs more accessible, particularly for women.
The dropout rate from schools is high usually after the 8th standard.
Most often, the drop outs from schools at this stage have very little
technical skills, and have no option but to join the informal sector. It is
therefore recommended that vocational education should be introduced
the level of secondary education, or from 9th standard onwards, to attract
students who may drop out, to skill them and as a result provide them
with better livelihood opportunities. The National Vocational Education
Qualifications Framework (NVEQF), currently being developed, will
encourage integration of vocational and general education.
If India has to benefit from the demographic dividend, the private
sector has to take a responsible position in the skill development sector.
Two policy level changes that could be undertaken are: (a) As more
investments are crucial for skill development sector, one innovation that is
suggested for India, is taxing of medium and large industries to contribute
to a fund for reinvestments in skill development. Such a provision which
is successfully in place in 61 countries, not only substantially supports the
skill development efforts of the country, but also helps in meeting the
demand for skilled persons from the industry. And (b) Local industry
needs to become members of the governing body of ITI, to guide them
about the new and emerging needs of the industry.
Along with other measures, identifying and making efforts to
change basic and nuanced socio-cultural values with a view to eliminate
existing biases that women in the country face when seeking employment
in necessary. Greater efforts are needed in the form of awareness
programmes, counseling of families to assuage their fears with regards to
training of women, and investment in personality development of women
to be able to analyze and challenge discriminatory practices.
One method of encouraging participation in skill development is
the identification of skills that are already known and up gradation of the
same; such an approach would increase the acceptability of the training
350
being offered. It is also equally important to provide training after

identification of changing norms and aspirations of women. To make
training programmes actually accessible to women, it would be crucial to
provide additional basic services and facilities such as, safe and secure
transport, toilets, etc.
With poor infrastructure, accessibility continues to be a major
problem for women. Hence, It is crucial to build and fund modern
institutes of training, which are made easily accessible for women by
building additional infrastructure for instance in terms of safe and secure
roads. To enable and encourage individuals belonging to low income
groups to join vocational training programmes, it is important to provide
quality training at an affordable cost with the option of availing loans and
scholarships.:
Additionally, channeling training through the existing local
institutions of governance can prove to be very fruitful. Local institutions
include the gram panchayats, where women have a stipulated
representation of 33 percent seats. Women from the gram panchayat may
be assigned the role of identifying the most desired needs of the women in
the village.
Providing employment opportunities to trainees after the
completion of training will go a long way in assuring sustainable
livelihood options and economic independence, especially in case of
women. By ensuring that NSDC funded organizations place at least 70%
of its trainees, NSDC has been able to facilitate employment of many
workers to a large extent. But the target of productively employing
workers is gigantic in India, and these efforts need to continue and
achieve goals at a high rate to have any impact.
Finally, special mechanisms in the delivery of training such as
mobile training units, flexible afternoon batches, training based on the
local needs of the area, will be introduced to ensure participation and
mobilization of women. Appropriate incentive mechanism will be
designed to achieve the same. Training in non-traditional fields for
women will be promoted through the establishment of specific training
programmes that focus on life skills training modules and literacy
training. Along with that, efforts will be made to increase the pool of
women trainers and providing them certification by earmarking a certain
percentage of intakes in training of trainers institutes, for women. New
351
institutes exclusively for training of women as trainees and trainers will

also be promoted by Government.
References:
 Anju Malhotra Jennifer Schulte Payal Patel Patti Petesch (2009):
Innovation for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality,
International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Washington, D.C.
 Chen, M. A. (2001). Women and informality: A global picture, the
global movement. SAIS Review, 21(1), 71-82.
 Chen, M.A.(2005). Rethinking the informal economy: Linkages with the
formal economy and the formal regulatory environment (No. 2005/10).
Research Paper, UNU-WIDER, United Nations University (UNU).
 FICCI (2014): Reaping India’s promised demographic dividend —
industry in driving seat, Ernst & Young LLP, New Delhi.
 GoI (2012): Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics,
National Statistical Commission Government of India, Government
of India.
 GoI (2015): Draft National Policy for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship 2015, Ministry Of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, Government of India,
 GoI, (2012): Report of the Committee On Unorganised Sector Statistics,
National Statistical Commission Government of India, February 2012
 GoI: (2011): Census of India 2011, Office of The Registrar General and
Census Commissioner, India.
 Institute of Social Studies Trust (2012): Empowering Women through
Skill Development - Challenges and Opportunities1, Gender and
Economic Policy Discussion Forum, Forum II, Briefing Note 2.
 Kannan (2008):Contribution of the Unorganised sector to GDP Report of
the Sub Committee of a NCEUS Task Force, National Commission for
Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, New Delhi
 Neha Mittal (2012): Women Workers In Unorganized Sector: Socio-
Economic Perspective, Asian Journal of Multidimensional Research
Vol.1 (3).
 Nitika Diwakar, Tauffiqu Ahamad (2015): Skills development of women
through vocational training, International Journal of Applied Research;
1(6).
 NSSO (2014): Informal Sector and Conditions of Employment in India,
NSS Report No. 557: Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, Government of India.
 NSSO (2014): Informal Sector and Conditions of Employment in India: NSS
68th Round (July 2011-June 2012) Report no 557, National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO), Government of India.
 Singh (1992): Training for Employment: Some Lessons from Experience,
Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, Volume 6 (2)
352
 Sunita Sanghi and Kuntal Sensarma (2014): Skill Challenges of Informal

Sector in India Indian Economy: Is a Recovery in Sight?, Economy
Matters, Confederation of Indian Industry.
353

Rethinking Skill and Women Empowerment by Dinesha P T

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rethinking Skill and Women Empowerment by Dinesha P T

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rethinking Skill Development and

Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored,

First Published in 2016

Printed at: Sri Annapurna Offset Printers, Mysore, Karnataka

Human development is a process of enlarging the choices of all people not

1 Skill Development of Leather Sector in India: Challenges

2 The Role of NGOs in Empowering Women Through

3 A Study on Status of Skill Development in Emerging

4 National Policy on Skill Development and

5 Traditional Skill Development is A Stepping Stone to

7 The Role of Education in Women’s Skill Development

8 Financial Service Skill in Rural Women through SHG’s

9 Empowering Women Through Skill Development in

10 An Analysis of Skill Development Programmes of India

11 A study on Progress and Performance of Women’s

12 Skill Development and Tribal Women: A Study in

13 Importance of Skill Development for Women

14 Placement Linked Skill Development of Rural BPL

15 Tribal Women and Skill Development

17 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and Skill India

18 Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women

19 Skill Development Through Community College-A Case

20 Impact of Skill Development Training Programme on Sri

21 Indian Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and

22 Empowering Women through Skill Development in

23 Role of Education in Women Skill Development

Awareness among the Stakeholders of Pradhan Mantri

26 Skill Development of Fisherwomen in Coastal Karnataka

27 Role of NGO in Women Empowerment Through Skill

28 Social Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for

29 Skill Development among Migrant Women Workers in

30 “Importance of Skill Development for Women

31 Importance of Skill Development for Women

32 An Investigation of Influence of Emotional Intelligence,

33 An Overview of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

34 An Analysis of Skill Development through Micro

35 Public-Private and People-Partnerships for Skill

36 The Role of Public-Private-Partnership Initiatives in Skill

37 Informal Sector and Skill Development of Women: A

Banashankari J. L, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics,

Basavaraju C, Professor, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Mysore,

Chandralekha.V, Assistant Professor, SDM Law College, Mangaluru

Chaya C.P, Principal, Shanthala Women’s College, Belur, Hassan District.

Chethana M G, Research Scholar, Center for women Studies,

Christina Kanthraju Faculty, Centre for Women’s Studies

Deepa Patil, Department of Studies in Economics, Rani Channamma

Dileepkumar, M, Research Scholar, Department of Studies in

Dinesha G A, Research scholar, DOS in Economics and Co-operation,

Dinesha P T, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive

Dr.B.P.Mahesh Chandra Guru, Professor, Department of Studies in

Gunakar S. Dept. of Commerce, Pompei College, Aikala-574141.

Huchhe Gowda Assistant Professor, Department of Studies in

Jyothy G Vijayan, Department of Education, Mar Severios College of

K. Gangadharan, Professor and Head, Department of Applied Economics,

Kavitha H.D, Research Scholar, Dos in Economics and Co-operation,

Kumara J.N, Research scholar, DOS in Economics and Co-operation,

Mahadeva A. S, Karnataka State Open University, Muktagangothri,

Mahadevaiah, Research Scholar, Department of Studies in Anthropology,

Mahantesh B Madiwalar, Research scholar Department of Law, Kuvempu

Mahesha M, Associate Professor, DoS in Economics and Cooperation,

Manjunatha G Research Scholar, Dept of Economics and Cooperation,

Manjuprasad C, DoS in Economics and Co-operation, Manasagangothri,

Nagabhushan, Asst Professor, Dept of Economics, Government First