As Andhra’s skill census pilot raises concerns, full-fledged exercise delayed for ‘fine-tuning’
The exercise, which was scheduled to be launched on February 15, is the brainchild of state minister Nara Lokesh, son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
TDP general secretary and son of party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh. (X/@naralokesh)
The full-fledged launch of Andhra Pradesh’s “skill census”, an exercise mooted by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) amid calls for a caste survey in the state, has already been delayed by a month as it undergoes what government sources said was “fine-tuning”.
The exercise, which was scheduled to be launched on February 15, is the brainchild of state minister Nara Lokesh, son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
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“We are still fine-tuning the exercise to make the launch smooth,” a government source said, without giving details about what the fine-tuning entailed.
A source close to the TDP government said, “It’s not easy to quantify something as dynamic as skills. One’s skills keep changing within days or months. It is not clear whether the government has taken this into consideration.”
The skill census had been conducted on a pilot basis in five mandals last year, and some political observers believe the results of the pilot were not satisfactory, leaving the government to reconsider the exercise altogether.
According to sources, the preliminary findings had shown that just 12.7% of a sample of 2.46 lakh in the working-age population – aged between 15 and 59 – are “employed”. According to data from the pilot, of those employed, just 34.8% were women, The Indian Express has learnt.
The data also showed that 20.6% of those surveyed were “self-employed”. Of this, 66.4% were men.
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In total, just 33.3% of those surveyed in the working age group were employed in either the organised or unorganised sectors.
Under the pilot exercise, the state collected samples from five mandals – Tadepalli, Duggirala, Mangalagiri Urban and Rural, and Thullur – of the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency.
Out of a total of 2.77 lakh residents of the constituency, 2.46 lakh were surveyed.
Of the 1.38 lakh unemployed people, according to the pilot exercise, 64% are women. Around 39.5% of the unemployed were actively seeking employment, and among them, 60% were women, the data showed. This pilot data showed that women’s participation in the workforce was low despite their attempts to get employed.
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Incidentally, 68% of those who were surveyed said they need “skill training”. The top professions that job seekers were aiming for were tailor, computer operator, computer programmer, software engineer and administrative official, the data revealed.
Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice.
Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India.
Expertise & Focus Areas
Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include:
Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India.
Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism.
Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities.
National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting.
Authoritativeness & Trust
A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society.
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