Context: Recently, the Union Govt. has launched a new initiative SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission.
Data on the returnees

• Amongst the data gathered so far, the top countries from where the citizens are returning are UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
• As per the skill mapping, these citizens had been primarily employed in sectors such as oil & gas, construction, tourism & hospitality, Automotive and Aviation.
• The data also suggests that the States which have shown highest returning labour are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.
• MSDE’s (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) implementation arm National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting the implementation of the project.

About SWADES Initiative

• It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of External Affairs.
• MSDE’s implementation arm National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting the implementation of the project.
• It aims to create a database of qualified citizens based on their skillsets and experience to tap into and fulfil the demand of Indian and foreign companies.
• The collected information will be shared with the companies for suitable placement opportunities in the country.

SWADES Skills Card

• The returning citizens are required to fill up an online SWADES Skills Card.
• SWADES Skills Card will facilitate a strategic framework to provide the returning citizens with suitable employment opportunities through discussions with key stakeholders including State Governments, Industry Associations and Employers.
• The data collected through SWADES Skill Card will help the citizens with job prospects and bridge the demand-supply gap.

About National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) 

• It is Public Private Partnership (PPP) under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• It was founded in 2009 as not-for-profit company by Ministry of Finance to address need for providing skilled manpower across various industry sectors.
• Government of India (GoI) through MSDE holds 49% of share capital of NSDC, while private sector has balance 51% of the share capital.
• NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalysing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions.
• Its objective is to create training capacity in the country; fund vocational training initiatives and create market ecosystem for skill development.
• Its mandate is to train 150 million people by 2022.
• It is also involved in re-skilling and also in catering to skilled manpower requirement of overseas markets, most notably that of Japan (under TITP) and UAE.