Ever since the Modi Government launched its now-famous Skill India Mission in 2015, subsequent budget speeches have seen finance ministers dedicate significant attention to skilling with regard to the job market at large. Not to be outdone, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden budget speech, also ensured that the focus on skilling and jobs stayed true to the government’s plans.

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“We will set up 80 livelihood business incubators and 20 technology business incubators, so as to ensure 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in the agro-business sector,” said Sitharaman, while delivering her speech.

If it wasn’t already clear by now the government was attempting to prioritize focus on skill development in the agriculture sector, it became more than obvious when the finance minister announced that the government would take the onus upon itself to encourage zero-budget farming.

“Farmers are already being trained in zero-budget farming,” said Sitharaman, adding that the government was focusing on clusters like ‘Bamboo’, ‘Khaadi’ and ‘Honey’ to enhance agro-business entrepreneurship.

Later, while shifting the focus from agricultural skilling, Sitharaman said that the government was also open to skilling Indians who aspired for overseas employment. “Major economies could face a severe labour shortage in the future,” noted the finance minister in her first budget speech, "In all 30 million youth will take up industry-relevant training through the Kaushal Vikas Yojana". She added that the government would take the onus upon itself to prepare India’s youth to be employed overseas by improving skills required for working abroad, such as language skills.

“We are laying focus on new-age skills like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality and Robotics, which are valued both, inside the country and abroad,” said Sitharaman, who added that the last two years had seen 300 entrepreneurs emerge from India under the government’s Stand Up India scheme.

On the labour front, in what must come as a significant announcement, the finance minister announced that a proposal as being worked on, to streamline multiple labour laws, into a “set of four labour codes”. Earlier, Sitharaman announced that pension benefits to be extended to three crore retail traders and shopkeepers, with an annual turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore.

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