Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s expanding economy has thrown open new opportunities for India’s youth and employment creation has reached a new height, while the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in six years, according to a recent survey.

Modi said this while addressing the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh via video message, on Thursday.

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He said unemployment is decreasing rapidly in both rural and urban areas of the country as benefits of development are reaching both villages and cities equally. As a result, new opportunities are increasing equally in both villages and cities.

He pointed out there was an unprecedented increase in the participation of women in India’s workforce and credited this to the impact of schemes and campaigns that have been launched regarding women empowerment in the past some years.

Highlighting the recent figures released by the International Monetary Fund, the prime minister said India will remain the fastest-growing major economy in the coming years.

He recalled his resolve to take India among the top three economies of the world and said the IMF is also confident of India becoming one of the top three economies of the world in the next three to four years. This would create new opportunities for employment and self-employment in the country.

Modi said there were rapidly changing demands and nature of jobs – and this required upgrading the skills accordingly. It is important for the industry, research, and skill development institutions to be in tune with the present times.

The prime minister said that about 5,000 new ITIs have been set up in the country in the last nine years, adding more than four lakh new ITI seats. He mentioned that institutes are being upgraded as model ITIs with the objective of providing efficient and high-quality training along with best practices.

“The scope of skill development is continuously increasing in India. We are not limited to just mechanics, engineers, technology, or any other service,” Modi said as he mentioned that women’s self-help groups are being prepared to use drone technology.

Stressing the importance of Vishwakarmas in everyday life, Modi mentioned the PM Vishwakarma Yojana which enables the Vishwakarmas to link their traditional skills with modern technology and tools.

He said Thursday’s event of joint convocation of skill development institutions across the country is a very commendable initiative. The Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh reflects the priorities of today’s India, he said. Acknowledging the presence of thousands of youths connected with this event through technology, the prime minister conveyed his best wishes to all youth.

“Today, the whole world is of the belief that this century is going to be India’s century,” Modi said, giving credit to the young population of the country. He said when the elderly population is increasing in many countries of the world, India is getting younger with each passing day.

“India has this huge advantage,” he stressed as he noted the world looking towards India for its skilled youth. He informed that India’s proposal regarding global skill mapping has been recently accepted at the G20 Summit, which will help in creating better opportunities for the youth in the coming times.

The prime minister suggested not wasting any opportunity being created and assured that the government is ready to support all causes. He pointed out the neglect towards skill development in the previous governments and said, “Our government understood the importance of skill and created a separate ministry for it and allocated a separate budget.”

He said India is investing more in the skills of its youth than ever before and gave the example of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which has strengthened the youth at the ground level. Under this scheme, Modi informed that about 1.5 crore youth have been trained, so far.

He added that new skill centres are also being established near industrial clusters, which will enable the industry to share its requirements with skill development institutes, thereby developing the necessary skill sets among the youth for better employment opportunities.