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The report mentions the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which came into force on 1 April 2010 and which provides for free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 to 14.

1. 
   Would it be possible to get information about the enforcement of this act, in particular if it has impact on child labour? In this context, what is the current situation of India concerning possible ratification of ILO Conventions: C138 Minimum Age and C182 Worst Forms of child Labour?
   

Reply: India enacted the Right to Education Act in 2009 to provide every child in the age group of 6 14 years free and compulsory education. The Government has also launched a countrywide campaign of Education for All (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan) for providing education to children in the aforesaid age group.

India has not ratified ILO Conventions No. 138 and 182 and the issue of working out the modalities for ratifying the ILO Convention 182 in line with our Constitutional Provisions and domestic laws is under consideration. Most form of child labour is already prohibited under various Indian legislations.

It is also stated that in the areas of higher and technical education, policy initiatives aim to make the population group between 18 24 years (about 12% of the total) employable and competitive.

2. 
   Could India provide more information on the mentioned policy initiatives which aim to make the population group between 18 24 years (about 12% of the total) employable and competitive?
   

Reply: Productive employment generation with decent work conditions is an important concern not only for the national employment policy but also for the national agenda of inclusive growth. Active labour market policies are pursued to generate both wage as well as self employment. The major employment generation programmes which are currently in operation in India include: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY). These programmes have reflected immense potential for generating short term rural wage employment as well as sustainable self employment.

The present demographic dividend can best be harnessed by significantly enhancing levels of skills among workers. It is with this perspective that India has set an overall target of creating 500 million skilled workers by 2022 under the National Skill Development Policy. A three tier institutional structure consisting of Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development, Skill Development Co ordination Board and National Skill Development Corporation has been set up to take forward the skill development agenda.

India's report, page 13, para. 29

The report refers to the National Skill Development Policy which was initiated in 2010 and which sets an ambitious target of equipping nearly 500 million persons with improved skills by 2022 for enabling access to decent employment and ensuring India's competitiveness in a dynamic global labour market.

3. 
   Would it be possible to receive more information about this policy, in particular about the specific initiatives that have already been launched and others that may be in the pipeline?
   

Reply: National Policy on Skill Development aims at increase in productivity of workforce both in the organized and the unorganized sectors, seeking increased participation of youth, women, disabled and other disadvantaged sections and to synergize efforts of various sectors and reform the present system. The National Skill Development Policy has the following vision:

• 
  Skill development should harness inclusivity and reduce economic and social divisions among Indian workforce particularly across rural urban, male female, organized unorganized and traditional/contemporary.
  
• 
  Matching the emerging demands for skills across various industries and economic enterprises.
  
• 
  Evolving National Vocational Qualification Framework comparable with international standards.
  
• 
  Developing standard certification system by recognizing and including quality skills acquired through any informal system of learning.
  
• 
  Greater and more active role for workers' organizations, industry, civil society, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other professional bodies.
  
• 
  Greater reduction of poverty through enhanced earnings of skilled workers.
  

Recent initiatives for skill development:

1. 
   Institutional arrangement: a three tier institutional structure consisting of Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development, Skill Development Co ordination Board and National Skill Development Corporation has been set up to take forward the skill development agenda.
   
2. 
   Upgradation of 1896 Government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
   
3. 
   Skill Development Initiative: the SDI will provide short term flexible modular training courses through the Modular Employable Skills (MES) scheme. The courses will be delivered through public private partnership arrangements. The acquiring of skills will be evaluated by official bodies selected by the central government and certified by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT).
   
4. 
   Establishment of ITIs for minorities.
   

India's report, page 20, para 60

The report mentions reforms aiming at making MSMEs globally competitive through technological upgrade, skill development, a cluster development approach, etc.

4. 
   Would it be possible to get more information about the related skill development initiatives?
   

Reply: Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development has set a target of training 500 million persons by the year 2022. National Policy on Skill Development has carried out benchmarking of the training targets for various ministries/departments for developing Skill Development Programme in the sectors under their control. Planning Commission is coordinating with ministries/departments for preparing skill development plans and setting up the targets for the successive Five year plans. The training target of MSME is 15 million persons by 2022.