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Abstract
Education is the single most important instrument for social and economic transformation. Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. Globalization, knowledge and competition have intensified the need for highly skilled workforce in both the developing and developed nations. India today has its own initiative to rebuilt, reinvent and re-energize. India is expecting a huge growth in the labour market by having 64.8 percent of the population as the working population. At present India can be the largest provider of workforce to the world. The focus towards both job generation and skill development is leading the nation to greener “Demographic Dividend” pastures. In this era of knowledge based economy, skilled and employment ready manpower is utmost important. There are various initiatives which have been launched – ‘Skill India’ to hone skilled power, ‘Career Centers’ to connect the dots in the employment zone, ‘Make in India’ to create entrepreneurial capabilities and generate more employment facilities, jobs etc. But still, India has difficulty to fill up jobs due to a shortage of applicants with the right skills and knowledge. India is still behind countries like China and Singapore in imparting skills. Boston Consulting Group, in its study discussed the workforce demand and supply challenges faced in the world and stated that by 2020 the world may expect a shortage of 47 million skilled people. In this background the objectives of the study are to study the present skill capacity of India, to discuss the challenges facing by skill development system in India and to suggest some possible solutions.