Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation’s youths on World Youth Skills Day and stressed on the fact that today skill is the greatest strength of the youth. “The mantra to stay relevant in times of coronavirus is to skill, re-skill and upskill,” the prime minister said. “If there is no desire to learn anything new, then life comes to a halt. Skill is timeless and unique, it’s a treasure that nobody can take away from you,” he said. The day also marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of Skill India Mission. A Digital Conclave is being organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to mark the occasion. The Prime Minister also spoke on how one’s skills make them self-reliant and can take them to greater heights. He also said skills make one employable as well as self-employed.

“If a person is not inquisitive about learning new skills, life may become mundane, ” said the PM.  “Irrespective of your age, learning new skills fills your life with enthusiasm and energy,” PM added. He also shared his experience when he was part of an organization. “One day we were scheduled to go somewhere on a jeep and after travelling for a while the jeep developed a snag. We called a mechanic and he came and repaired the jeep in a couple of minutes. He charged twenty rupees for the repair job and when asked why was he charging extra, his reply was that he was not taking money for two minutes of work, but he was only taking money for the experience that he had gathered from two decades,” recalled the PM.

“Some people always create confusion between knowledge & skill. I say to them that you can read in books & watch on the internet how to ride a cycle, this is knowledge but it doesn’t guarantee you will be able to ride a cycle. To actually ride a cycle, you need skill,” Modi said.

What is the Skill India Mission Program?

Prime Minister Modi launched the Skill India Mission on 15 July 2015. Skill India is an initiative launched by the Government to train over 40 crore Indians in different industry-related jobs. The vision is to create an empowered workforce by 2022 with the help of various schemes and training courses.