ODID is holding a two-day conference on Skill Development and Social Transformation in India on 12-13 January.

The conference is convened by Associate Professor of South Asian Studies and ODID Head of Department Nandini Gooptu.

Overwhelming importance is now attached to skills in India’s national policy, and extensive skill training initiatives are now unfolding throughout the country.

Designed to tackle unemployment and meet the demand for human capital in a rapidly changing economy, India’s skill development initiative is an unprecedentedly ambitious human resource development exercise that will not only entail up-skilling for 'employability' and livelihood generation, but is also expected to mould an entire generation of workers by transforming their human capabilities, life-skills, attitudes and mindset.

The skill development mission will, thus, have far-reaching ramifications for economic and social mobility, affecting all areas of national life, from the personal and individual to the family and community, and wider social relations, economy and politics.

This conference explores themes and issues relevant to India's skill development mission and examines its far-reaching consequences.

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