 PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS AND
 TRAINING PROGRAMMES

EFFECTIVE utilisation of material and human resources is of vital significance in planning. To achieve the requisite tempo of development, it is essential that the task of matching human resources on the one hand with material resources on the other should be taken up with as much precision as may be possible. Manpower has usually been referred to as the nation's first resource; much more so is technical manpower.

2 The need for assessing requirements and availabilities of technical personnel was keenly felt in 1953 when it was found that the employment situation had deteriorated and at the same time, non- availability of sufficient technical manpower came in the way of expanding employment opportunities. An even earlier effort in this direction was through the work of Scientific Man-Power Committee but its assessment had been made before the first five year plan was drawn up. As the first plan proceeded, its provisions relating to the facilities for training in different fields were further enlarged. This has to some extent improved the situation at the beginning of the second plan. Planning for technical personnel has to be undertaken well in advance in order that the future supply may be adequate for meeting probable demands. While this is generally accepted, dif- ficulties in forecasting fixture demand require to be underlined. Apart from the lack of information as to the possible direction of technological advance, it is necessary both to take an over-all view and to study the facts of supply and demand in different regions, especially at the lower levels. Again. since technical personnel will always remain a composite group, even within broad fields of development, lack of balance is possible because sufficient attention is not given to details,

3. In the analysis Chat follows, it is not intended to cover all categories of technical personnel. The approach to the problem has to be selective in that the categories of personnel in which shortages were experienced during the first plan period have to be specially taken care of. In certain other categories where the building up of personnel requires basic training as well as a fair amount of practical experience, it would be necessary to make a rough assessment of the demand, say, in the third plan period and to draw up training programmes accordingly. This is specially so in engineering trades where as a result of the emphasis in the second plan on steel production, large avenues of employment are likely to be opened up. Since the production of steel will be stepped up further during the third plan period, a steady demand for skills in this field is to be expected. In cement also, production has gone up considerably during the last few years and during the second plan period a substantial increase in cement production has been envisaged; indeed exceeding the capacity built up since the inception of cement industry. Steel and cement taken together would provide employment in construction activity and as such planning of technical personnel for construction assumes a special significance. Shortages of personnel experienced during the first plan included agricultural graduates and diploma- holders, veterinary personnel, personnel for forestry, cooperation, soil conservation, development officers, project executives, medical personnel and trained teachers. Training facilities. planned for these and some other special categories of personnel are discussed below:

ENGINEERING PERSONNEL

4. A number of steps were taken during the first five year plan to expand training facilities for personnel required in engineering occupations. The Institute of Technology was established at Kharagpur; the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore was further developed. Four new colleges and 19 Polytechnics were established. In addition, 20 existing colleges and 30 schools were strengthened in accordance with the recommendations of the All India Council of Technical Education. All these measures have resulted in there being at the end of the plan period 45 engineering institutions for graduate training and 83 institutions for training at the diploma level. The annual output of engineering graduates almost doubled in the last five years and diploma institutions increased their output from 1850 to 4900. In other technological courses also, substantial increases took place.

5. During the second plan it is proposed that a sum of about Rs. 50 crores should be devoted to the expan-

PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

sion of facilities for technical education for producing engineers, supervisors, overseers and other categories of personnel. Among the programmes included are development of various technical courses relating to printing technology, town and regional planning, architecture, strengthening of existing technical institutions, establishment of higher technical institutions, expansion of Indian School of Mines and Applied Geology, organisation of refresher courses for serving engineers and so on. The result will be that institutions imparting training to engineering personnel will increase from 128 to 155. The annual outturn of graduate engineers is expected to increase from 3,600 in 1955 to about 4,500 in 1960 and of engineering diploma- holders from 4,900 to about 6,500.

6. Even with this expansion, the demand for personnel as assessed by different State Governments and Central Ministries, some of which constituted special committees for such assessment appeared to be so heavy that the Planning Commission constituted the Engineering Personnel Committee to examine the whole question of the demand for engineering personnel in relation to supply keeping in view a perspective wider than the second five year plan. The conclusion reached by the Committee is that even with the expansion of facilities for engineering education proposed in the second plan it would be necessary to provide for additional training facilities for nearly 2,300 engineering graduates, civil, mechanical, electrical, tele- communication, metallurgical and mining. In addition about 5,940 persons trained for posts at lower level in the fields of engineering mentioned earlier would be needed. If suitable steps are not taken to augment the supply of engineering personnel immediately there is every danger of even more critical shortages continuing and developing during the third five year plan. The Committee considers that the very fact that the economy has been able to absorb all the increases in the technical training facilities and is still wanting to have more is a sign of healthy development. The Committee has proposed that :

(a) the existing established institutions should be expanded to the fullest possible extent. This expansion is expected to result in an average increase of about 25 per cent in output;

(b) 18 additional colleges and 62 engineering. schools should be established;

(c) a new class of personnel should be trained on a functional basis to handle specific operations below the overseer level;

(d) apprenticeship and in-plant training schemes should be organised on a large scale;

(e) delays in recruitment should be avoided;

(f) to improve the quality of teaching some senior teaching posts in technical institutions should be manned by officers working in government departments. The existing engineering cadres in government service should be strengthened so as to provide reserves for this purpose; and

(g) There should be a high-power body supported by an executive organisation with sufficient authority to take decisions on questions of policy relating to technical personnel. (for details see paragraphs 21 and 22).

The recommendations of the Committee are under consideration.

7. A comprehensive programme of training has been organised at Sindri for graduate engineers and others from industry who do not possess adequate experience. These facilities are being extended to meet the requirements of additional fertiliser factories in the second plan period and subsequent years. Certain categories of steel plan staff are also being trained at Sindri. The D.D.T. factory at Delhi is undertaking the training of personnel to be employed at the second D.D.T. factory and the Vishakhapatanam Shipyard is similarly to train personnel on a large scale to man the second shipyard which is to be established. For the training of necessary technical personnel required in connection with the expansion of coal production. four centres are to be established as a first step at Kargali, Giridih, Talcher and Kurasia for the training of intermediate and lower technical staff, such as supervisors, overseers, electrical and mechanicl subordinates.

8. Programmes for specialised training for fresh engineers, refresher courses for serving engineers and for operatives and mechanics have been started at various project sites during the first plan, These programmes will not only continue to operate but will be further strengthened during the second plan period. The existing arrangements for imparting specialised training to about 45 engineers e very year in the designs and methods of construction of darns and power-plants are also to be continued. The centre established at Roorkee to provide training facilities to serving engineers in the techniques of development of water resources will also continue to function. This centre has not only been training Indian engineers but also those deputed by a number of Asian and African countries. A training centre for operatives and mechanics has already been established at Kotah (Chambal Project) in persuance of the recommen- dations of the Construction Plant and Machinery Committee. Another centre will shortly be opened at the Nagarjunasagar Project. Experienced personnel knowing the technique of `Live Line' maintenance of

SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN

electric transmission and distribution lines ate at present not available in the country. It is proposed to establish two training centres to impart such training.

CRAFTSMEN

9. It is not enough to plan for training only at higher levels. The running of establishments public or private requires support at all levels of skill and experience. The training of craftsmen, therefore, becomes equally important. But there are some inherent difficulties in assessing the supply and demand for craftsmen. These difficulties exist in respect of estimation of supply because it is impossible to get at the magnitude of training in crafts imparted within families from father to son, brother to brother and so on. On the demand side, difficulties arise because the requirements usually Jack precision though trade definitions are specific. The best that can be done, therefore, is to list facilities provided for institutional training, to indicate possible supplies and to continue efforts to improve the assessment of demand. The most organised source of training facilities for craftsmen are the institutions maintained all over the country by the Ministry of Labour. The progress made in the Organisation of training facilities and their value in equipping trainees for employment was reviewed by the- Training and Employment Service Organisation Committee. The Committee expressed the view that while the results achieved so far were not unimpressive, it was possible to Make the training given more purposeful. It, therefore, recommended, amongst other things, that

(a) the initiative for training workers should rest with industry, but Government should continue to provide adequate basic training facilities;

(b) co-ordination between the training programmes of the Ministry of Labour and the various schemes of State Governments should be ensured by the transfer of training centres from the Centre to the States;

(c) the Central Government should collect information regarding (i) requirements of industry for trained workers, (ii) available training facilities, (iii) the standards and methods of training and the syllabii used;

(d) the Central Government should constantly review the situation in order to enhance the utility of these training centres; and

(e) Government should introduce legislation to make it obligatory for private industry to train apprentices.

Action on these lines is being pursued.

A number of training schemes have been included in the programmes of the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry's technical and vocational training scheme envisages the stepping up of annual admissions in craftsmen training courses from 10,300 to 30,000 by the end of the second plan. Under an apprenticeship scheme, it is expected that between 3,000 to 5,000 craftsmen will be trained each year. Similarly 20,000 Workers already serving in industry are to be trained for higher posts by organising evening classes for them either in the institutions being run by the Government or in training centres to be established in the undertakings themselves. In order to feed the Ministry's training centres with suitably qualified personnel, arrangements have been made for the training of instructional and supervisory staff.

10. Evidence of increased emphasis placed by Government on practical training is further seen in the conversion of a number of secondary training institutions into multi-purpose schools according to the recommendations of the Secondary Education Commission. Details regarding this programme are given in the Chapter on Education. It would be sufficient here to state that if all these training facilities are geared to the future requirements of the economy, shortages in the ranks of technical personnel at different levels are bound to be reduced. As a specific instance of how this basic training could be supplemented by specialised courses to suit the needs of employing authorities, action taken recently by the Ministry of Iron and Steel may be cited. The Directorate General of Resettlement and Employment, on the advice of the Ministry of Iron and Steel, has reorganised its courses to suit the requirements of the Ministry for manning the steel plants when they go in operation. Similar attempts are being made by Government for securing placements in private industries well in advance of future needs. It is intended that cooperative arrangements between employing authorities on the one hand and training institutions and private industry on the other will be developed to the greatest extent possible.

AGRICULTURAL AND ALLIED PERSONNEL

11. Considerable attention is being given to the stepping up of training facilities in accordance with the requirements of the plan in fields other than engineering. As regards agricultural graduates, requirements during the second plan are estimated at roughly 6,500. On the basis of existing training facilities a deficit of about 1,000 graduates is expected and to make good this shortage, States have framed schemes for strengthening existing colleges in order to increase their capacity and also in some cases new colleges have been planned. A most important

PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

source of demand for trained personnel is the national extension and community development programme. For instance, the demand for village level workers, is of the order of 38,000 persons. To meet this demand the number of institutions imparting basic agricultural and extension training will be increased to 158 during the operation of the second plan. In order to meet the estimated demand of 11,400 group level workers, it is proposed to set up 21 group level workers training wings at the extension training centres in addition to the 17 wings already in operation. The present arrangements for the training of project executives, block development officers etc. will continue during the operation of the second plan.

12. The requirements of veterinary personnel estimated at about 6,000 veterinary graduates will be met through schemes involving,

(a) commencement of the double shift in some of the existing colleges;

(b) expanding the capacity in other colleges;

(d) setting up of 10 schools providing short-term emergency courses in veterinary science.

13. The demand for forestry personnel will be met by the expansion of the forest colleges at Dehra Dun and Coimbatore. State Governments have in addition plans for opening schools to train forest guards and other staff. It is expected that with the contemplated expansion, shortages in the field of forestry personnel will be met.

Arrangements for training of persons in soil conservation methods for officers and assistants have been made at research-cum- demonstration centres set up by the Central Soil Conservation Board and training centre established by Damodar Valley Corporation at Hazaribagh.

Programmes under Cooperation are another field requiring trained personnel in large numbers. About 25,000 cooperators are needed at different levels. It is expected that while in the higher categories, shortages are not likely to develop, the problem of ensuring adequate supply of personnel at intermediate levels would require constant review. Training of members of cooperative societies in principles and methods of cooperation is sought to be imparted, to begin with, on an experimental basis by organising mobile training units.

VILLAGE AND SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

14. For village and small industries, the All India Boards and the State Governments have included various schemes of training and research. Training centres are to be opened to impart training to weavers in improved techniques of production. Provision has also been made for starting research centres in indigenous dyes. The All India Khadi and Village Industries Board has a programme requiring 30,000 persons trained in organising production, and is setting up its own training centres for the purpose. The integrated training programme for khadi and village industries also visualises the setting up of 4 Central Institutes and 20 regional vidyalayas besides a number of Central training institutions providing specialised intensive training in different village industries. For the Amber Charkha programme a beginning has been made with a sum of Rs. 30 lakhs sanctioned in 1955- 56 for training and research. For research in village industries, a Central Technological Institute is already operating at Wardha. The training and research programme for handicrafts includes, the establishment of Central Handicrafts Development Centre, assistance to technical research institutes, training of managerial, cooperative, and other personnel and grant of scholarships to working artisans for training. For small industries, training-cum-demonstration and training-cum-production centres will be set up in most of the States. Polytechnics are also proposed to be established in some States. There will be in addition to the small industries service institutes, model and mobile work shops. For sericulture,besides setting up two institutes to train personnel for sericultural departments of States, several other training centres are to be established. The existing sericultural research stations are also to be expanded. For the coir industry, the training programme includes setting up three training schools, and a Central Research Institute in Travancore-Cochin. About 30 technical experts are being recruited abroad for small scale industries. These experts will, in addition to giving technical advice, train Indian personnel.