While the Congress tries to break the DMK impasse over the number of Ministries it can offer, top strategists in charge of government-formation are working out the contours of a proposed brand new ministry that will be focused exclusively on skill development.

“The new ministry will be carved out of the ministries of Human Resources Development, Labour & Employment, as well as 15 others with skill-development departments and cells focused on their respective sectors,” said an official who declined to be named. The Prime Minister’s Office is understood to be fleshing out details of the proposal.

The idea of this new ministry is learnt to have come up after DMK chief M Karunanidhi reportedly rejected the Congress offer of the Labour & Employment portfolio. That ministry has an annual budget of just Rs 800 crore for 2009-10. By contrast, nearly Rs 3,000 crore has been earmarked for technical education and over Rs 28,000 crore for general education, parts of which would be reallocated to the new ministry.

Moreover, big-ticket expenditure is already underway on skill development through the public-private partnership route and significant increases in outlays are on the anvil. At the same time, the UPA is expected to move ahead with its plans to relax norms for the entry of foreign universities and education providers in its second term.

Irrespective of whether the DMK bites this, delivering on the ministry’s mandate is vital for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has often stressed that India must impart employable skills to the masses to tap its demographic dividend. In fact, some 92 million jobs need to be created during the 11th Five-Year Plan to achieve employment for all.

... contd.