Editorial

For India to capitalise on its demographic dividend, it is critical that the country generate employment channels for its youth before the age-opportunity window begins to close. Creating jobs and self-employment openings has been a persistent challenge, one that is getting thornier still in the age of AI. There is no dearth of government initiatives aimed at coming to grips with the situation, but even the best of schemes and policies need a supportive ecosystem to come good.  

Tata STRIVE, the skill-development powerhouse that’s part of the Tata Trusts, has been providing such support since its inception in 2015. Employability and entrepreneurship are at the heart of the organisation’s multiple and multifaceted programmes, which have thus far reached more than 2.5 million of India’s young and yearning. Our cover story tracks Tata STRIVE’s skilling efforts, from collaborations with governments and a range of industry partners to a tie-up with the extensive network of state-run Industrial Training Institutes.

Our Centre Stage segment highlights the many merits of the Students’ Biennale, which has evolved to become an intrinsic element of the splendid Kochi-Muziris art extravaganza. The latest edition of the Biennale hosted the works of students from 175 art schools across the country, while providing them with the canvas and the means to expand their horizons.

Complementing this are feature stories on the Parag Awards, which honour writers and illustrators working in children’s literature, and on a project that enables disabled people in rural regions to access artificial limbs and other prosthetics. Storytelling of the visual kind plays out in our look at a community-led springshed rejuvenation initiative unfolding in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.

Wildlife conservationist Kartick Satyanarayan, interview personality in the current edition of Horizons, explains the importance of community engagement in animal welfare and why human beings have to reconnect with nature to understand and appreciate the creatures enriching the world we share. Additionally, we have Valay Singh, lead author of the India Justice Report, on how shortcomings in budgetary allocations are undermining justice delivery systems, and sustainability expert Sanjeev Karpe making the case for bamboo, among the most underutilised of India’s natural assets.

Christabelle Noronha

We hope you will help us make Horizons better with your valuable feedback. Please do write to us at horizons@tatatrusts.org.