MSDE and World Economic Forum Launch India Skills Accelerator
Mumbai: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to launch the India Skills Accelerator initiative. This national public-private collaboration platform aims to address India’s skill gaps and drive systemic progress in the skilling ecosystem.
The India Skills Accelerator will focus on three critical areas: improving awareness and shifting mindsets around future skills needs, increasing collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders, and committing to upgrade institutional structures and policy frameworks to support a more adaptive and responsive skilling ecosystem. By enabling agile career transitions, promoting scalable training, and aligning education with industry needs, the initiative will empower India’s youth and drive future-ready workforce development.
The initiative is led by Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and co-chaired by Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education and Development of North-Eastern Region. Private sector leaders, including Shobana Kamineni (Apollo HealthCo) and Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Finserv), will also play a crucial role in shaping the initiative.
In his opening remarks, Shri Jayant Chaudhary underscored the need for collective ambition and structural reform in skilling to meet the aspirations of a young, dynamic nation. He emphasized that India’s demographic potential can only be realized if skilling systems remain agile, inclusive, and closely aligned with global opportunities and national priorities. Dr. Sukanta Majumdar articulated India’s strategic opportunity to position itself as the global epicenter of next-generation talent, highlighting the need to embed competitiveness in India’s skills architecture, particularly in emerging fields like AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
The World Economic Forum’s Managing Director, Saadia Zahidi, expressed her support for the initiative, stating that it reflects a strong commitment to equipping India’s workforce with the skills needed for the future. The initiative will be implemented through a comprehensive analysis of India’s skilling ecosystem, identifying high-impact priorities with clear outcomes, and establishing dedicated working groups to guide implementation and track progress.
