Digital India's two realities: A yawning gap between tech use & tech skills

Lack of tech skills in Indian youth a worry as labour markets brace for a tech-driven churn

More than 70 per cent of Indian youth aged between 15 and 29 cannot send emails with files attached. Nearly 60 per cent cannot copy and move a file or folder. Over 80 per cent cannot transfer files between a computer and other devices. And only 8.6 per cent can create electronic presentations with presentation software (including text, images, sound, video or charts).

These numbers can be found in the Multiple Indicator Survey for 2020-21, published by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) last month. The survey defined nine parameters for assessing the information and communication technology (ICT) skills of