IndiaRetailBiz

“We are looking at families below the poverty line, where children are sixth or eighth standard dropouts and don’t get admission into a polytechnic or an ITI. We are now in the process of finalising a structured system of skill development in which they undergo training for two-three months.” — Rita Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt of India.

Besieged with the problem of huge unemployment in rural areas, the Ministry of Rural Development has decided to latch on to organised retail for creating jobs for rural youth across India. FICCI, the trade body representing interests of commerce and industry, has projected that retail sector wiill require one million people every year.

This was revealed by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development, who was speaking to the Indian Express on the subject.

The ministry has drawn an ambitious programme to train around two lakh youth rural India. They will be provided necessary skills in the sector as it is expected open up a number of employment opportunities in the coming years.

The skill development training programme, lasting three to six months, is expected to require an expenditure of around Rs. 8,000 per person. The ministry has decided to meet this expenditure through its ongoing Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

Private Training Agencies will be roped in by the ministry to provide skill development training. The areas of training among others will include cashiering and front-end operations. These agencies will, however, be required to guarantee employment for at least 75% of the youth trained by them.

“We are looking at agencies that are training young people in the hospitality, retail, para-medic businesses where you don’t need a high level of education. With two months’ training, these people will become employable in many of the malls which are now coming up,” said Rita Sharma, Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development.