BHUBANESWAR: If a level playing field and a robust entrepreneur-oriented ecosystem can be created, local talents can flourish and do wonders in the field of innovation and digital world, said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here on Friday.
In a fireside chat with Singapore-based Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) group CEO Sopnendu Mohanty, on the sidelines of the launch of Braratnetra initiative here, Pradhan said every year, 10 million graduates come out of the colleges, but they lack skill required in the fast-paced job market.
“There was a lacunae in the education ecosystem and to overcome it, several recommendations have been made in the National Education Policy (NEP) with a focus on skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling to make our youth job ready,” he said. In every institution now, the Union minister said, entrepreneur clubs (e-clubs) and innovation clubs (i-clubs) are being prioritised.
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over, there were only a few hundreds startups. Now the country has 1.57 lakh startups. India is now in a very comfortable position in the global innovation index and ranked among the prominent innovator countries. We have to rely on the talent of our youth,” he said.
Asked how India is preparing to provide employment in the next decade, Pradhan said, the country is developing a new skill architecture with an entrepreneurial cohort to create employment. “As the PM rightly said, degrees are important, but competency is even more crucial. We have to create competency at different levels. As per the NEP, skill orientation will be more focused to make youths job ready. In collaboration with policy makers, industry people and academia, a new India full of opportunities is being developed,” he said.
During the conversation, Pradhan also discussed the drone technology developed by Odia entrepreneurs, goat bank, unprecedented success of students in STEM education, and the efforts to popularise the products developed by women in Odisha in the global market through technologies.