Recent Government Initiatives in Data Science Education and Skilling:
India has one of the most extensive education systems in the world. Though the spending in the education sector in the domestic circuit is not at par with that of developed nations like the USA, UK, Germany, Japan and China, the country is slowly catching up in the race. The Modi government, along with several government educational institutes, has taken significant steps to ensure tech skilling in artificial intelligence and big data. Many universities and organizations are expanding their data science courses and upskill offerings, in recent years. The government’s announcement to create data center parks throughout India, has been acknowledged as a much welcome move under Union Budget 2020. As data science continues to integrate entirely in the core business functions of the organizations, the demand for relevant skills and expertise will rise in the coming years.
Under the Big Data Initiative, the Indian government plans to carry out a gap analysis in terms of skills levels and policy framework. It also plans to develop a strategic road map and action plan clearly defining of roles of various stakeholders like government, industry, academia, industry associations and others with clear timelines and outcome for the next ten years, and carry out market landscape surveys to assess the future opportunities and demand for skill levels in same period. For this the Indian government is trying to understand the present status of the industry in terms of market size, different players providing services across sectors/ functions, opportunities, SWOT of industry, policy framework (if any), present skill levels available etc.
