India to emerge as skilled manpower supplier: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the 'Skill India' programme and said the country's young population could do wonders if trained well in various works and trades available in the world.

Vowing to train every youth of the country in different skills, he said India with the largest manpower in the world would emerge as a major power in the times to come.

"A major part of our population is below the age of 35. They are young and need to be trained," the prime minister said after launching the 'Skill India' programme on the first 'World Youth Skills Day' here.

India would have to build on its strengths, he added.

The prime minister said the central government has launched a "war against poverty" by embarking on a mission to train the Indian youths to earn livelihood with honour.

"We have begun a war against poverty. Every poor is my soldier in this war and we have to win this war with their support," Modi said.

Sharing his experiences of times when family elders would ask younger people to learn some skills to earn his or her livelihood, Modi said in those days every middle-class or poor family wanted its children to learn some skills by the age of 15 so that they could be on their own.

"Arre bhai, koi kaam seekh lo aur apne paaon par khade ho jao (acquire some skill so that you could be on your own)," the prime minister said, expressing concern why this voice of the countrymen could not reach the successive governments.

Telling the gathering how developed countries of the world were doing wonders in different fields, Modi said India has always been important in the comity of nations and did wonders on many occasions.

But now, with the changing times, it would have to build on its strengths to march forward with the rest of the world, the prime minister said.

"We have a large number of young people in the world; we just have to train and prepare them. I can assure you that India will provide the largest workforce to the world in the decades to come," he said, adding that people here need to be trained and skilled according to the need of the world.

Many union cabinet ministers, chief ministers of various states and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.