In the past five years, Vedanta has managed to skill almost 15 lakh people across India through its skill-development initiatives. The skill-development programmes of the Indian critical minerals, energy transition metals, energy and technology conglomerate are closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 (UN SDG 8), namely, Decent Work and Economic Growth. Designed and deployed in partnership with leading knowledge providers, the initiatives aim to empower 25 lakh people with enhanced skillsets by 2030.
Vedanta’s 200 skilling & training centres across India offer over 40 technical and non-technical trades to the youth including solar technicians, forklift operations, hospitality, sewing and finance. The company’s skilling centres have a 91 per cent placement rate with an average salary of Rs 15,000.
Focussed on rural communities near its operations, the training programmes help bridge the gap between unskilled and semi-skilled youths. Aligned with the Government of India’s Skill India Mission and Kaushal Bharat Abhiyaan, Vedanta’s skilling initiatives provide rural youth secure jobs by equipping them with market-relevant skills and entrepreneurship, thereby enabling youths to enter the socio-economic mainstream through sustainable livelihood opportunities.
According to the Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), among persons aged 15-29, only about two per cent have received formal vocational training, and eight per cent have received non-formal vocational training in India. This suggests that very few new entrants to the workforce in this age group have any marketable skills.
India is one of the youngest nations in the world, with more than 62 per cent of its population in the working age group (15-59 years). Anil Agarwal, group chairman, Vedanta Group, has repeatedly stressed on the need to reap this demographic dividend which is expected to last for the next 25 years. In a recent tweet, he mentioned how “out of the 20 largest economies in the world, India has the youngest population. According to World Population Review, the average Indian is just 28.7 years old and 50 per cent are younger than that. This is a huge advantage. Let’s invest in our youngsters, women and men, girls and boys. They will be world beaters.”
Amongst the various skilling programmes, Vedanta’s noteworthy initiatives include Zinc Kaushal Kendra (Rajasthan and Uttarakhand), BALCO’s Vedanta Skill Schools (Chhattisgarh), Cairn Enterprise Centre (Barmer, Rajasthan), SESA Technical School(Sanquelim, Goa) and Vedanta ESL Skill School (Bokaro, Jharkhand). The Zinc Kaushal programme spanning six districts of Rajasthan and Uttarakhand has trained over 8,000 youths comprising 45 per cent females of which more than 7000 youths have secured jobs in India and abroad.
The Vedanta Skill School in Chhattisgarh, a 5-star SMART Centre accredited by the Government of India has been leading socio-economic transformation by upskilling over 12,000 rural youth in multiple technical and non-technical trades and providing 100 per cent placement opportunities.
In addition to its skilling initiatives, Vedanta is investing in early childhood development and social infrastructure through the NandGhar programme, which has now scaled to over 8,500 centres across 15 states. These modern anganwadis provide nutrition, education, healthcare support and skill development to children and women in some of India’s most underserved communities—laying the foundation for a healthier, more empowered next generation.
Vedanta’s endeavours seamlessly align with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship’s vision to ‘unlock human capital to trigger a productivity dividend and bring aspirational employment and entrepreneurship pathways to all.
As part of its broader social impact and community development commitments, Vedanta’s initiatives have reached over 68 lakh people across India in FY 2025 with investments to the tune of Rs 429 crores.