India's beauty and wellness sector has a market potential of Rs 80,000 crore and can provide employment opportunities to lakhs of people, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey said on Tuesday.

He said skilling youngsters in beauty and wellness centres can be an important tool for women empowerment. After training, students can set up their own centres by availing easy loans from Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank and generate gainful employment opportunities.

With a fast-growing economy, the country will need more than 70 lakh skilled manpower in coming months, said Pandey. More than 62 per cent of the population is young and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India as one of the largest skilled economies in the world, he said at the 18th Annual Convocation Ceremony of VLCC Institute of Beauty and Nutrition.

The National Skill Development Mission (Skill India Mission) launched on July 15, 2015 has been steadily making progress. Nearly one crore youth are being trained per year under various schemes, he said.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has also taken initiative to set up model skill centres called Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs) in several districts of states across the country. A total of 837 PMKKs have been allocated covering 717 districts and 543 parliamentary constituencies.

Out of allocated PMKKs, 610 PMKKs have already been set up, said Pandey, according to a statement.

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