Brief Profile of Solapur District

1.
Introduction
Solapur is one of the largest industrial cities in Maharashtra. It was earlier known as the
Temple Town. Later, the history saw it evolving as a market, commercial and an industrial
city. The economy of the city revolves around the cotton textile industry
in mills
polarized in the western part around the railway Station, and power looms, handlooms
and oil industry in the eastern part on the Akkalkot and Hyderabad roads.
Comparison of Solapur district with Maharashtra

Indicato
r

key indicators

Year
2001
2001
2011
2001
2001

Solapur
14,895
4.84%
12
1,138
735,092

Area, in sq.km.
Percentage share in State geographical area,
%
No. of sub-districts
No. of inhabited villages
No. of households
Forest area as a percentage of total
2001
geographical
Area
Source: Census 2001, Census

4%

Maharashtra
307,713
100%
353
41,095
19,576,736
16.94%

2011

2. Socio-economic profile
In this section, we have analyzed the socio-economic profile of the district and made a
few comparisons with the State average as well. The key sub-sections are demography,
economy and status of education.
2.1. Demography
As per Census 2011, Solapur district has a population of 43.15 lakh persons: 3.84 per cent
of the State population. While 57 per cent of the population in the district is in workingage group (15 to 59 years), about 40 per cent is actually working i.e. work participation
rate. This rate is slightly lower than the state average of 42.50 per cent people.
State average of 82.91 per cent
andslightly higher than the All-India average of 74 per cent.
Key demographic indicators

Indicato
r
Population, No.
Decadal growth rate of population, %
Urban population as a percentage of
total
population,
%%
SC population,

Year
2011
2001-11
2011

Solapur
4,315,527
12.10%
3.84%

Maharashtra
112,372,972
15.99%
100%

2011

32%

45%

2001

15%

8.79%

ST population, %

2001

Indicato
r
Sex ratio, No. of females
per 1000
males
Population density, per sq. km.
Literacy rate, %
Main workers, No.
Marginal workers, No.
Working age population* as a
percentage of
total
% rate^, %
Work population,
participation

Year
2011
2011
2011
2001
2001

2%

15%

Solapur
932
290
77.72%
1,485,967
257,074

Maharashtra
925
365
82.91%
34,748,053
6,425,298

2001

57%

59%

2001

40.00%

42.50%

*Working age population is the population in the age-group of 15 to 59 years. ^ Work participation
rate is defined as the
percentage of total workers (main and marginal workers) to total population. Source: Census
2001, Census 2011

The district has a total workforce of about 17.43 lakh persons. Of this, 34 per cent are
cultivators, 29 per cent are agricultural labourers, 5 per cent are workers in household
industry and 32 per cent are other workers.
Solapur districts workers profile as of 2011, in thousands

34%
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

595

29%

5%

32%
563

501

84
Cultivators
Agricultu
ral
labourers

HHI workers

Other workers

HHI: Household
Industry
Source: Census 2001, Census 2011. Numbers are
estimated

Economy
As of 2011-12, Solapur district had Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) in Maharashtra at
th
Rs. 33,437 crore (6 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product). Solapur ranks as 8 out of
the total 35 districts in the state.

25
0
20
0

Gross District Domestic Product, In Rs

33,437 crores, as of 2011-12

22
8

13
5 12
1
55
51

15
0
10
0

36 34 33 32 32
27 22 22 20 20
19

50
18 15 14 13 12 12 12 10
6

Source: Economic Survey of

Maharashtra

Primary sector contributes 14 per cent, secondary sector contributes 25 per cent and
tertiary sector contributes 61 per cent to the GDP of the sector.

As of 2009-10, 100% =Rs. 26,125

cr.

Transport &
Forestry and Logging
Storage
3%
3%
Public

Communication
2%

Administrati
on
Unregistered4M
%FG

Railways
1%

Supply
T1r%ade,
Hotels &
Restaurants
22%

6%
Other
Services
6%

Banking
and
Insuranc
e
13%

Construction
6%

Real estate,
Ownership of
Dwellings,
Business
&
Legal
Services
9%

Eletricity,
Gas and
Water

Agriculture
including
Animal
Husbandry
11%

Registered
MFG
13%

Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Maharashtra

Agriculture: There are major two seasons in Solapur and the major crops are sorghum,
wheat, chickpea, sunflower, pigeon pea and sugarcane. Sorghum occupies maximum
land (79 per cent) followed by wheat (7 per cent) and chickpea (5 per cent). Agriculture
remains the main source of employment in the district with 63 per cent of the labourers
dependent on it for livelihood.
Industry: There are many large and medium scale industries in the district like Birla
Super Cement, Chetan Foundries, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. etc. Solapur is also known for
employing large number of people in handloom and power loom weaving industry. There
are around 6,000 power loom industries operational in the district employing 30,000
workers. Beedi industry is also a prominent industry in
1,725 factory workers in the
district.
Services: As mentioned earlier, services account for 61 per cent of GDDP in Solapur

district. Of all the

accounting for 13 per cent.

State of Education
As of 2011-12, Solapur district had 4,443 schools. Of this, 54 per cent were primary
schools, 25 per cent were upper primary schools and the remaining 20 per cent were
secondary and higher secondary schools. Total student enrolment in all the schools was
672,923 while the student-teacher ratio was high at 30 students per teacher. The
student-teacher ratio was equal to the average ratio for the State at about 30 students
per teacher.
School education infrastructure in Solapur district

Particular
s

No. of students

No. of institutes

Schools
General colleges
Technical education*

672,92
3
48,100

4,443
89
55

15,362

Source: Directorate of Higher Education, Pune; Directorate of Technical Education; Mumbai; *excluding
non-AICTE diploma
course
s

The number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) is 32 with a seating capacity of 6,432.
The quality of
Government ITIs is good. Students prefer to study in government ITIs because of low fees.

Key ITI indicators in Solapur district, as of October 2012

Indicato
Total Number of ITI isr
Number of Government ITI is

Value
32
12

Number of Private ITI is

Total Seating capacity

20
6,432

Source: Department of Employment & Self Employment, Government of Maharashtra

In addition to the above, the district has training infrastructure for different trades
set up by both Government and Private Institutions. The Government Departments
offer courses in multiple trades some of which are welder, carpenter, plumber, auto
(centre of excellence), mason, wireman, cutting and sewing, hair and skin care, mechanic
tractor, information technology etc. Private ITI offer courses in trades like welder,
computerised operator programming assistant, welder, dress making, horticulture, and
fashion technology, driver cum mechanic, plumber, and electrician.
2.4.
Aspiration

Youth

In the process of identifying the growth engines for the Solapur district, we also held a
discussion with a youth group in the district to understand their aspirations. They key
points are summarised below:
Willingness to pursue higher education: More number of students wants to
pursue higher education in the district. They feel that it will lead to higher paying
jobs.
Entrepreneurial zeal: The youth is not inclined towards starting their own business,
as they are
highly risk averse. The preference is to go for Government or private jobs only, as
they provide a secure source of income. Only one to two percent of the students are
willing to start a business of their own.
Migration trends: Students want to work in Pune or Mumbai. They are only willing to
move if their
stay and food costs are taken care of by the
company.
Satisfaction with existing education infrastructure: Even though there is high
preference to study from Government educational institutions, the youth feel that
these institutions are not equipped with even the basic infrastructure such as
drinking water and working toilets.
Demand for additional training / courses: There is demand for working in auto
sector and
electronics
sector.
3.

Developmental concerns

Based on our primary survey and discussions with the key stakeholders in the district, we
have identified the following issues and challenges for the district:
Lack of entrepreneurship spirit: The students are looking to work and do not have
a mindset to open a firm or a shop of their own. Risk taking ability is lacking in
students as the only thing on their mind is how to get a decent job. The teachers
must encourage the students to venture out on their own.
Lack of good educational institutes: There is a severe dearth of good educational
institutes in Solapur. Development of any sector is only possible with good
talented individuals and that is only possible if there are good institutes within

the district itself. Government needs to establish educational institutes which

cater to needs of the local industry of power loom etc.

SWOT analysis
Based on the diagnostics of the Solapur, we have prepared a SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, which is presented below.
SWOT Analysis of Solapur District

Strengths

(1) Good connectivity

Opportunities

(2) Unskilled labour

easily available

(1 )Powerloom
industry (2) Agro
based industries (3)
Tourism

(1)Lack of good
educational institute

(1)Lack of
entrepreneurship
mindset

(2) Weak infrastructure

(2 )Lack of skilled people

(3) Losing good people
to nearby districts
like Pune.

Weaknesse
s

Threats

4. Employment Potential
In this section, we have forecasted the demand and supply of human resources in the
district for the next ten years (2012-22). The demand forecasts show that the district is
likely to generate demand / jobs for about 2.92 lakh persons between 2012 and 2022.
Sectors which will drive demand are expected to be building, construction and real
estate, BFSI sector, agriculture and allied, education and skill development and
healthcare. These are the supporting sectors which will generate demand not just in
Solapur, but in the entire Maharashtra, as each and every district grows in the next 10
years.
Sectors which are unique to Solapur and where skilling interventions will be
required are food processing and textile and clothing. Based on our primary survey, we
found that these sectors, though

currently small in size, have high potential to grow, due to availability of raw material in
the district. If the sectors are provided thrust by the Government and both public and
private investments flow into them, the demand numbers will be much higher than
what we have forecasted as of now.
Incremental demand of human resources in Solapur

Sector
Agriculture and allied
Auto and Auto component
Banking and Financial Services Insurance
Building, Construction industry and Real Estate
Education and Skill Development
Food Processing
Healthcare Services
Textile and Clothing
Transportation, Logistics, Warehousing and
PackagingTravel, Hospitality & Trade
Tourism,
Other manufacturing
Others*
Total

2012-17
27,736
1,700
18,453
33,014
16,866
3,054
9,330
1,383
8,868
10,613
6,324
241
137,582

by sector

2018-22
14,134
2,693
29,663
45,818
8,416
3,941
12,769
1,753
10,053
15,453
10,410
275
155,378

2012-22
41,870
4,393
48,117
78,832
25,282
6,995
22,099
3,135
18,921
26,066
16,733
516
292,961

Source: IMaCS
Analysis
. *Other sector include chemicals and pharmaceuticals and furniture and
furnishings.
Incremental demand of human resources in Solapur

by skill level.

Others
* Other
manufacturing
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality &
Trade Transportation, Logistics, Warehousing
and Packaging Textile and Clothing
Healthcare Services
Food
Processing
Education and Skill
Development Building, Construction
industry and Real Estate BFSI
Auto and Auto component
Agriculture and allied
-20%
100%

0%

Minimally skilled

20%
Semi skilled

Source: IMaCS
Analysis

40%
Skilled

60%

80%

*Other sector include chemicals and pharmaceuticals and furniture and

furnishings.

We have estimated incremental supply of human resources in the district at 3.59 lakh
persons for the period 2012-22. Based on the incremental demand estimates, we find
that the incremental supply will be more than the incremental demand in the district.
Thus, indicating that all the people will not get absorbed in the district and will have to
migrate out to other districts / States (as is reflected by current trends also). However,
the incremental supply is leaning more towards minimally skilled workers, as against
high demand for skilled workers in the district. Thus, indicating that significant skilling
and up- skilling efforts are required in the district to meet the demand of skilled
personnel going forward. All the stakeholders need to work in conjunction to meet the
skill shortage in the district.
Demand supply gap of human resources in Solapur

100%
=

100%

292,96
1

by skill level

359,77
3

90%
80%
70%
60%

108,83
2

91,28
4

50%
40%
30%
20%

126,254
101,15
6

10%
0%

142,235
82,97
3
Demand
Minimally skilled

Supply
Semi skilled

Skilled

Source: IMaCS
Analysis
Note: The supply numbers do not include migrant data and includes local supply alone. For analysis on
migrant data, please refer to the State profile.

5. Skill mapping
Based on our field surveys in Solapur district, we have found out that sectors
where skilling interventions are required are agriculture and allied sectors, food
processing, textiles and clothing and unorganised sector.

Sectors where interventions are required in Solapur comparison with

Maharashtra

(Sectors highlighted in green are the sectors present in the

district / state)
High Growth Sectors identified by NSDC
Solapur
Agriculture
Auto and Auto component
Banking and Financial Services Insurance
Building, Construction industry and Real Estate services
Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals
Construction Materials and Building Hardware
Education and Skill Development Services
Electronics and IT hardware
Food Processing
Furniture and Furnishings
Gems and Jewellery
Healthcare Services
IT & ITES
Leather and Leather goods
Media and Entertainment
Organised Retail
Textile and Clothing Power loom and Handloom
Transportation, Logistics, Warehousing and Packaging
Tourism, Travel, Hospitality & Trade
Unorganised sector Beedi factories

Maharashtra

Source: IMaCS
Analysis

The shortlisted sectors are at different stages of development and market evolution.
Based on that, each one of them has separate skill requirements. While some require
only skill up-gradation, some require new skills and even speciality skills. Sector wise
details are given in the table below.
5.1. Agriculture and allied
Sorghum occupies maximum land (79 per cent) followed by wheat (7 per cent) and
chickpea (5per cent) during the rabi season. While during the kharif season sunflower,
pigeon pea and sugarcane are grown. Around 63 per cent of the population of Solapur
is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture including animal
husbandry is the fourth largest contributor to the GDDP of Solapur contributing 11
per cent to the GDDP.
Based

on

our

Unaware of the different uses for a crop.

Unable to use the most advanced machinery because of lack of knowledge about their
capability to increase productivity and lack of finance.

The different uses of fertilizer and pesticides are not known to farmers.

5.2. Food Processing

Oils seeds

Edible oil industry is one of the important industries developing in the district because of
an increasing production of oilseeds such as groundnut, sunflower, and safflower in
Solapur district. Presently, there are 98 oil mills in the region employing 645 people.
Total area under oilseeds is 224,100 hectares. Of which, about 40 per cent is under
safflower, and remaining by other oilseeds.
Based

on

ou

Qualified people are difficult to hire in Solapur.

These people would rather work in Pune or Mumbai.
Retaining talented people becomes a big challenge in
Solapur. People with the required skill set are difficult
to
Experienced people prefer to work in Pune.
5.3. Textile and Clothing

Power loom and Handloom

Solapur is the home to handloom and power loom weaving industry which provides
employment to a large number of workers. There are around 6,000 power loom units
operational in the district. Out of these 300 establishments are registered under
Mumbai Shops and Societies Act 1948 and the other
3,000 are registered under Factories Act 194 where 30,000 workers are employed. On
the Jackard
power loom the main production is Chadders, Towels and Napkins. There is a terry towel
cluster in the district which has 47 units functioning and has a turnover of Rs. 2,060
crore employing 40,000 persons while value of exports being Rs. 400 crore. These
products are exported to various countries in the world.

Inadequate knowledge about the machinery used and the kind of tools required to
maintain them. Lack of soft skills to manage people on the shop floor.
No awareness of modern production methods and machine
is limited. Inadequate practical knowledge of tools.
The supervisors have training in particular process and do not have formal
training of other
processes
Lack of knowledge of compliance to quality
Inadequate ability to multi task between different types of machines
Absence of professional approach to work

5.4. Unorganised Industry

Beedi Factory

Beedi industry is the second most important industry in solapur. There are 115 units of
29 various Beedi factories. In these 115 units there are about 70,000 lady workers and
1,725 factory workers in the district.

6. Recommendations
Recommendations in this section are presented for the sectors where skilling
interventions are required.
Key Recommendation for Solapur District - Summary
Sector
Agricultur
e and
allied

Textiles and
clothing Power
looms and
handlooms
Food
processing
- Oil seed

Unorganised
sector
Beedi
manufacturi
ng

Government
Department
of
Agriculture
can
provide training in
allied activities for
improving livelihood
opportunities
Subsidised training can
be
provided in
collaboration with the
industry
n/a

Subside training for

the
Industry

6.1. Government

Private
training
providers
n/a

n/a

Provide training
in
collaboration
with industry

n/a

Industr
y
n/a

Capacity
building
in
collaboration
with
Government
It
can tie up
with
the
private
training
providers
to
provide
training
Training
in
collaboration
with
Government

NSDC
n/a

Interventio
ns
required
through
funding
of
private
Interventio
ns
required
through
funding
of
private
training as well
Interventio
ns
required
through
funding
of
private

Agriculture and allied; The Department of Agriculture needs to conduct camps to

make farmers aware of various schemes run by it. The farmers are not aware of the
schemes and are not able to take advantage of the same. The scope and coverage
of the training programmes held by the Government for the sector, needs to
be improved to bring more farmers in their ambit. However more number of
faculties is also needed to achieve that. For the same the Department of
Agriculture can collaborate with NSDC. The latter can provide the assistance
through its train the trainers programme.
There is also a pressing need to help the farmers market the produce and the
role of the middleman should be reduced to minimum. Government can consider
forming JV with private companies in order to help the farmers market their
produce.
Textiles and clothing - Powerloom and handloom; Training can be subsidised
and can be provided in collaboration with the industry.
Unorganised sector - Beedi manufacturing; Subsidise training for the workers of
the industry.
6.2. Private training providers
Food processing- Oil seeds; The training provided by them should be in
collaboration with the industry.
6.3. Industry
Food processing oil seeds: It can tie up with private training providers to
provide training to workers which could help them to focus on their core
activities.
Textiles and clothing - Powerloom and handloom; Industry can tie up with
Government for
facilitating training programmes of its members and capacity building.
Unorganised sector - Beedi industry; Industry can upgrade the skills of the people
it employs in collaboration with the Government.