Skill and knowledge are the motivating force for the financial growth and community development of any country. They have become even more critical given the increasing pace of globalization and technological changes that are taking place in the world. India is taking rapid strides towards being a digital economy with a potential of $1 trillion in the next five to six years. However, to ensure that this shift happens smoothly, it is imperative to have a skilled manpower base that can meet the global requirements. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Internet are increasingly viewed as a vital infrastructure for all sectors. The emerging "green" economy is a "smarter" economy that has increased demand for ICT-skilled jobs not only in the ICT sector, but more rapidly across the wider non-ICT economy. Further, ICT plays an important role for employability. The further creation of new jobs can only occur, if the right mix of skills and competencies are available in the job market.

India has a strong surplus of working population (age 15-50), which has helped the nation maintain the momentum in economic growth. Despite growing as a developing country, the economy has not created youth friendly labour market where millions of young Indians descend every year, creating rising youth unemployment. India’s demographic dividend advantage rests on its ability to channelize and train the youth towards skill development.

The Skill India initiative will work hands-in-glove with the Make in India program of the Government. India has the potential to achieve structural transformation in the formal sector. However, manufacturing productivity in India lags behind other nations, and all Indian states exhibit declining share of manufacturing in the state GDP. The manufacturing space must be expanded to leverage India’s abundant unskilled labour.Various studies indicate that over half of the labour force is still engaged in rural activities. Although there has been a significant movement away from agriculture, over 90 percent of labour is employed in the informal sector with very low levels of productivity. For this majority group, access to secondary education and Vocational Education is crucial. An effective school to work transition for these young people, made possible by higher quality secondary and tertiary education and VET, will improve their employment prospects and lifetime earnings. There is a need to focus on orientation courses in colleges and universities on a much larger scale to bolster levels of awareness in entrepreneurship.