Amidst the anti-China sentiments soaring, partly unleashed by the novel coronavirus and partly emanating from the national border intrusion by Chinese armed forces, several Chinese companies and products have been banned from the Indian market. However, many sizeable global behemoths are demonstrating strong interest to invest in India. Like for examples, Google is investing $ 10 billion for its digital operations in India. Similarly, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos also announced pumping in an additional $ 1 billion in its India operations. New markets and new businesses are coming into country in few specific sectors like FMCG and technology related startups. But every opportunity needs robust foundations of support. Therefore, our infrastructure requires more push in terms of financial inclusion and that can only be ensured through offering financial literacy and brining in a broader plan to include the differently abled into the ambit.
Skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling of the differently abled are the absolute need of the hour, for their bright future and better livelihoods which will further augment the economic growth of the nation. The Census 2011 data already stated that 104 million new employees would need skills training by 2022, and 298 million of the current workforce would require additional skills training over the same period. But at the same time, data from the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) 2017-18 indicated that about 33% of India's skilled youth are unemployed. This is where the Cental and state Governments need to step in, bringing in fresh job opportunities into the market.
The HRD ministry is trying its best by offering free skills training to the differently-abled, helping them bag better paying jobs, across rural and urban India. Inexpensive online methods of imparting skills education is quite a widespread phenomenon now and several Government and private academic institutions are joining hands to offer low-cost online skills training. The Skill India scheme of the Government pushes every button to create better skilled individuals, thereby setting the stage for India to emerge as one of the most reckoned with knowledge economies of the world.
Most large organizations were able to operate efficiently before the Covid-19 pandemic struck us unaware. Now in the “new normal” as we call it, technology and digitization are proliferating widely and organizations that were hitherto more or less comfortable with conventional working protocols are now investing in technology aggressively, because of its inherent advantages in sprucing up work efficiencies. Additionally, these are strange times for the differently abled. Neither can they enroll themselves in schools and colleges for pursuing education, nor can they land decent paying jobs. Even if they are able to land jobs, the workplaces are more often than not, accommodating enough and lack basic infrastructure.
Though the Central and State Governments are trying to handle the migrant workers situation, through schemes such as MNREGA etc, many workers are unable to find jobs and arrange for two proper meals a day. While organizations, the Government and the NGOs are leaving no stones unturned in providing food and other basic necessities such as masks, PPE kits and sanitizers to workers at their doorsteps, many other institutions are helping people cope up with the uncertain, unprecedented and volatile times through organizing webinars and workshops around mental health, stress mitigation classes, and other activities to adress health related issues and concerns of the populace.
Author- Prashant Agarwal, President of Narayan Seva Sansthan.
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