Cabinet nod for skill development body

To harmonise and coordinate the skill development efforts of the government and the private sector, the Cabinet Thursday approved the setting up of an autonomous National Skill Development Agency, a minister said.

"The agency is expected to provide the much-needed single point focus to ensure that skilling quality and standards meet sector specific requirements benchmarked to international standards, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to official sources, the agency would subsume the Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development, the National Skill Development Coordination Board and the office of the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Skill Development.