Council on Skill Development

·         On July 3, 2008 Management guru CK Prahlad and IT honcho Nandan Nilekani were included in the PM National Council on Skill Development that was constituted to serve as the apex body to guide activities in the field.

·         Besides Prahlad and Nilekani, four other experts in the area of skill development have been included in the council.

·         They are Laila Tayabji, the founder of crafts NGO Dastakaar; Renana Jhabwala, coordinator of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA); Rajendra Pawar, chairman of the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT); and Manish Sabharwal, founder and managing director of pioneering HR BPO firm India Life Hewitt.

·         To be chaired by PM Dr Singh, the council would comprise the ministers of human resource development, finance, heavy industry and public enterprises, housing and urban poverty alleviation, labour and employment and rural development, as also the chairperson of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council

·         The council would be assisted by the National Skill Development Coordination Board chaired by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, which will coordinate action for skill development both in the public and private sectors.

·         This apart, the finance ministry has set up a not-for-profit National Skill Development Corporation "to promote private sector action for skill development",