New Delhi: The fast-growing direct selling industry, which became the saviour of scores of households during the pandemic in 2020-21 by providing them a source of income from their homes, was the focus of the 10th National Skill Summit which was organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in New Delhi on 2 June, in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Supplementing the goals of Government of India as well as of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e., increasing incomes, supporting self-employment, developing micro-entrepreneurship, improving gender equality, diversity, women’s empowerment and socio-economic inclusion, direct-selling industry ticks all the boxes and more.
Speaking in the Inaugural Session of the summit Mr Ajay Khanna, Chairman of PHDCCI’s National Skills Committee said, “Direct selling as an industry is big enough and specialized enough to need a separate sector skill council. Just like there are several other SSCs under the framework of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, we need another one on direct selling as it provides entrepreneurship opportunities to millions of people”.
Guests of Honour at the summit were Dr Vinita Aggarwal, Executive Member, National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) which is the national regulator for skilling and Dr Poonam Sinha, Director, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).
Both the dignitaries lauded the efforts of the chamber in promoting the skilling agenda of the Government of India and exhorted PHDCCI members and industry captains to join hands with NCVET and NIESBUD for furthering this.
Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, CEO & Secretary General, PHDCCI talked about the history and legacy of PHDCCI in the sphere of skill development, and its close association with the various Sector Skill Councils. He recalled the pioneering efforts of Late Shri R K Somany in setting up of the plumbing SSC and the role played by his group in skilling the manpower in this field.
Mr Nitin Jain, Co-chair of New-age Business Committee PHDCCI shared his entrepreneurship journey with participants and gave tips to youngsters present on how to become entrepreneurs. Mr Atul Anand, Co-chair of the Skills Committee invited sector skill councils to join hands with the chamber in fulfilling the skilling agenda of the Government.
The highlight of the Summit was a session with CEOs of seven sector skill councils including Construction, Lifescience, Telecom, Leather, Water Management & Plumbing and Domestic Workers’ Skill Council.
Background
During the pandemic, the direct selling industry added 5 lakh active direct sellers, taking the total count of people engaged in this industry to 7.9 million. The number further increased to 8.4 million in 2021-22
The Indian Direct Selling industry stood at around Rs 18,000 crore in 2020-21. The industry has grown at approximately 7.7 per cent from Rs 16,800 crore in 2019-20
Direct selling companies have been demanding separate skill courses for existing professionals. The Retail Association Skill Council of India (RASCI) caters to the skilling requirement of the sector as of now but its focus is more on organised retail industry which is huge in itself.