• Key Challenges in India’s VET System
• International Models: Lessons for India
• Recent Policy Measures in India
• Way Forward: Reforming India’s VET Ecosystem

UPSC Syllabus

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in India

Key Challenges in India’s VET System

• Late Integration: VET is offered post high school, unlike Germany’s dual system where vocational streams are integrated at the upper secondary level through school + apprenticeship models.
• No Pathways to Higher Education: Lack of credit transfer and mobility between VET and mainstream academia discourages enrolment. Unlike Singapore, where VET graduates can progress to universities, India treats VET as a terminal track.
• Quality Deficits: Outdated curricula, one-third vacant instructor posts in ITIs, weak grading and monitoring, and poor alignment with industry demand undermine credibility.
• Weak Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs): Unlike Germany and Singapore, where employers co-finance and design VET, Indian ITIs depend heavily on government funding, with minimal industry participation.
• Social Perception: VET is viewed as a “second-best” option, often attracting students who could not pursue academic routes, leading to lower prestige and aspiration mismatch.

International Models: Lessons for India

• Germany’s Dual System: Combines classroom education with structured apprenticeships in industries, ensuring 80–90% employability.
• Singapore’s SkillsFuture Programme: Offers government subsidies for lifelong learning, integrates VET into post-secondary education, and ensures pathways to higher education.
• Canada’s Co-op Education: Strong university–industry tie-ups where students alternate between academic semesters and paid work placements.

These models highlight three pillars India needs: early integration, industry involvement, and lifelong learning pathways.

Recent Policy Measures in India

• National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: Proposes VET integration from school level, but implementation remains slow.
• National Credit Framework: Aims to enable mobility across VET and mainstream academia, but requires institutional adoption.
• Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme: Encourages formalisation of jobs but lacks a skilling component.
• ITI Upgradation Scheme: Modernises 1,000 ITIs in partnership with industry, but quality of training remains a concern.
• PM Internship Scheme: Offers one-year placements, but with no clear pathways to permanent employment.

These initiatives, while positive, risk being incremental rather than transformative.

Way Forward: Reforming India’s VET Ecosystem

1. Early Integration of VET: Introduce skill-based learning at secondary level as per NEP 2020, combining academics with practical exposure.
2. Defined Academic Pathways: Operationalise the National Credit Framework, allow credit transfers, and create progression routes from ITIs to polytechnics and universities.
3. Enhancing Quality:
   • Recruit and train ITI instructors through expanded National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
   • Regular industry-led curriculum audits and ITI grading based on outcomes.
   • Establish feedback loops from employers and trainees.
4. Strengthening PPPs:
   • Involve MSMEs in designing localised courses.
   • Use CSR funding strategically to modernise ITIs.
   • Incentivise industry to co-invest in training infrastructure.
5. Financial Commitment: Increase public spending on VET from the current 3% of education budget to at least 8–10%, closer to global benchmarks.
6. Changing Perceptions: Launch campaigns to rebrand VET as a pathway to dignity and employability, not as an inferior option.

• Rationale for Declaring Cancer Notifiable
• Fiscal Measures for Cancer Care and Prevention
• Healthcare Infrastructure and Human Resource Gaps
• Research and Development Imperatives
• Broader Risk Factors and the Need for Inter-Ministerial Coordination

UPSC Syllabus

Public health challenges in India

Rationale for Declaring Cancer Notifiable

• Data Deficit: At present, fragmented reporting undermines accurate assessment of disease trends. A national mandate would provide real-time, credible data for evidence-based policymaking.
• Uniform Documentation: While some States have already made cancer notifiable, a central directive would ensure consistency across jurisdictions.
• Targeted Interventions: Reliable data would support region-specific cancer strategies, rational allocation of diagnostic infrastructure, and planning of oncology units in underserved regions.
• Global Practice: Although WHO restricts notifiability largely to communicable diseases, several countries (e.g., China, South Africa) have included cancer to ensure robust surveillance.

Fiscal Measures for Cancer Care and Prevention

• High-risk cess or taxes on tobacco: Tobacco use is the leading cause of oral and lung cancer in India. Imposing a cess would serve dual purposes—discouraging consumption and generating dedicated revenue for cancer research and care.
• Ring-fencing of funds: Earmarking tax proceeds exclusively for oncology infrastructure can ensure equitable financing, particularly in rural and Tier-II areas.
• Complementary Approach: Fiscal deterrence must be combined with public awareness campaigns, especially in schools and colleges, to reduce demand.

Healthcare Infrastructure and Human Resource Gaps

• Workforce Shortage: Despite expansion in MBBS and postgraduate medical seats, the number of trained oncologists remains grossly inadequate.
• Brain Drain: Many doctors educated with public funding migrate abroad, undermining domestic availability. The Committee suggested compulsory service norms for those availing subsidised education, coupled with attractive salary structures to retain talent.
• Capacity Building: Strengthening District Cancer Centres, integrating tele-oncology, and recognising Diplomate of National Board (DNB) faculty are important steps to address geographic disparities.

Research and Development Imperatives

• Dependence on Imports: Most cancer drugs in India are imported, raising affordability and accessibility issues.
• Domestic Potential: India has a robust pharmaceutical base and scientific talent, yet inadequate budgetary allocations constrain oncology research.
• Way Forward: Encouraging public–private partnerships, setting up National Cancer Innovation Hubs, and incentivising indigenous drug discovery can reduce dependency and foster self-reliance.

Broader Risk Factors and the Need for Inter-Ministerial Coordination

• Beyond Tobacco: Rising cancer incidence is linked to air and water pollution, pesticides, and occupational carcinogens.
• Fragmented Governance: These determinants cut across multiple ministries—Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labour.
• Integrated Strategy: A coordinated National Cancer Control Mission with inter-ministerial collaboration is vital, replacing siloed approaches with holistic prevention and mitigation.