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There exists great demand for a skilled workforce, especially in the context of globalization and when Indian economy is growing at an unprecedented rate. Availability of such skilled workforce is closely associated with the kind of vocational education and training system existing in the country. This article maps the various government initiatives towards skill development by reviewing and analysing the prevailing programmes/schemes under various institutional arrangements, to promote a meaningful and employable skill development system. In doing so, it is found that skill deficiency is present across all levels despite new institutional arrangements from the government and several ongoing schemes and programmes operating in the country. Finally, the article makes an attempt to identify the limitations in the above-mentioned context and suggests some mechanism to fill the existing gaps in the skill development area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the new emerging trend of internationalization of R&D, MNCs are targeting developing countries in Asia for setting up their dedicated R&D centres. The resource scarcity in developed countries, due to escalating demand on S&T infrastructure and the prohibitive cost of highly skilled manpower has brought in this new trend. The skilled manpower and the reasonably developed S&T infrastructure have been drawing MNCs to the shores of India for setting up their dedicated R&D centres. Presence of foreign R&D will have some impact on the host country; it could be negative or positive. As more and more R&D centres are being allowed to operate in India, we presume that foreign R&D has been allowed here expecting some positive impact (or benefits) on our innovation system. The benefits to India, however, is the grey area. The available literature suggests that the presence of foreign R&D centres can trigger the spillover effect onto the host country's innovation system depending on the ability, preparedness and conducive policy package of the host country. This article proposes the need for a detailed investigation into the dynamics of interaction between foreign R&D centres and the Indian production and R&D system, to understand the positive impact. This would help in developing a conducive policy package for maximizing the benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]