Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, addressing a Special Session on ‘Critical issues concerning Skilling and Training of Security Workers’ at the fifth edition of ‘FICCI Private Security Industry Conclave 2017 said that the  promotion of private security industry had become very crucial  for the robust economy.

He added that the competence level of the industry had been increased and it has been growing at the rate of 20% annually.

The minister noted that the 40 crore people out of 130 crore are employed in India but only 7 percent are skilled. The private security industry and skill development ministry has huge gaps.

The government would ensure the implementation of skills development and certification programmes to narrow down the gap, he added.

Dr. Sanjaya Baru, Secretary General, FICCI  who was also present during the meeting highlighted the challenges of the industry like enforcement of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act (PSARA), availability of skilled manpower, licensing and compliance requirements

Pankaj Khurana, Partner, Government and Internal Security, PwC India said that the implementation of PSARA would ensure nation-wide standardisation in training on functional skills and core life skills and mandatory assessment and accreditation of individuals employed in the private security sector. (KNN/AG)