Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signs MoU with Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship here today signed a MoU with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to establish a framework for concerted and comprehensive joint action to address the need for skilled human resources in the health sector. Besides achieving the national goals to skill youth so as to increase their employ-ability, the MoU shall also seek to upgrade the quality and reach of human and infrastructural resources that is at the core of a quality healthcare system.
Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) and MoS Parliamentary Affairs Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri J. P. Nadda were present at the MoU signing ceremony. This was the sixth Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the MSDE with a Central Ministry over the last three days.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Rudy said that skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. We are in cognizance of the huge demographic dividend that our country stands to reap, at this point in time and healthcare is one of the most important sectors for us.

He said that according to an NSDC report, the health sector employs around 36 lakh employees and is slated to employ more than 74 lakh by 2022 which is more than double its existing workforce to meet the market demand. Hence there is an incremental human resource requirement of 38.93 lakh people which we will collectively address with the help and guidance of his senior cabinet colleague Shri Nadda.

Health and Family Welfare minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda in his address said that National Healthcare Policy 2015 clearly puts the focus back to the quality, affordability and availability of healthcare in the country. He said that is only possible when we have advanced and innovative technology, supporting available infrastructure and a powerful trained and skilled workforce to support the requirements. He thanked Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy for extending his Ministry’s support to Health ministry in ensuring standardized training for the human resources in the sector.

Some of the significant outcomes of the MoU are as under:

  • Significantly increase the present capacities in areas of health sector to a minimum of one lakh trainees
  • Make significant savings of public resources by way of leveraging the existing infrastructure of government and private sector healthcare institutions to provide training against various short term job roles
  • Explore pooling of financial resources of the two departments and allow for international partnerships to provide greater financial muscle to the programme
  • Create a framework of certification by Health Sector Skill Council of select job roles and for absorption of the trainees in the health sector
  • Create a framework for Recognition of Prior Learning(RPL)
  • Allow for seamless vertical and horizontal mobility of trainees at various levels of skill development

By 2020 India is set to experience a dynamic transition as the population burden of the past turns into a demographic dividend, with 64% of the population in the working age group. Current predictions suggest a steady increase of the youth population to 464 million by 2021 from 430 million in 2011, when the median age is also expected to be 29 years making it one of the youngest countries in the world. Recognizing the need of the hour, the Ministry will be making some strategic announcements in the presence of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on July 15th which has been designated as World Youth Skills Day by UN.

Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from a government website.