Dharmendra Pradhan along with Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar launches special skill initiative for North-East Region with financial allocation of Rs360 crore, 2.5 lakh youth to benefit

To create a robust skill-centric and industry ready ecosystem in North-Eastern Region (NER), Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister for Culture, Tourism & Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Shri G. Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics & IT today Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched a special initiative ‘Transforming Lives, Building Futures: Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North-East in New Delhi today.

As part of the initiative, 2.5 lakhs youth of the NER will be provided with industry relevant skill training programmes through a wide array of schemes and initiatives, including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS). The Government has earmarked a substantial fund of Rs360 crore to facilitate inclusive development, nurture entrepreneurial talent, and propel the socio-economic growth of the region. To fuel further growth, the concerted efforts are being made to provide vocational education and skill development programs to cater to the demand for skilled professionals across sectors, including agriculture, tourism, handicrafts, and information technology.

Minister, Public Health Engineering, Skill Development Employment & Entrepreneurship and Tourism; Government of Assam, Shri Jayanta Malla Baruah; MLA, Advisor to Labour, Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Excise Department, Government of Nagaland, Shri Moatoshi Longkumer; Minister, Public health engineering and Water security, Water resources & River Development, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of Sikkim, Shri Bhim Hang Limboo and Secretary, Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari addressed the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the program will create unprecedented skilling opportunities for the youth in line with their interest areas and lead to unlocking the potential of N-E youth. He also said that the north-eastern region of our country is abundant with natural resources and demographic dividend and with a whole-of-government approach, our government has worked to drive unprecedented development of the region. Today’s program will further give impetus to these efforts and lead to socio-economic transformation of the region, he further added. He also said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has envisioned to make India developed and Aatmanirbhar and a robust skill development mission is essential to make this dream a reality. We are working to make India, the skill-capital of the world, he further added.

Lauding the initiative, Shri G. Kishan Reddy said that this initiative of MSDE will benefit more than 2.5 lakh youth in phase one, which will make them job ready for domestic as well as international markets. This is yet another endeavour of Shri Narendra Modi’s government to make the NER the engine of growth.

Shri Rajeev Chandrashekar said that over the past 9 years, our Prime Minister has worked relentlessly to create a conducive skill ecosystem by laying emphasis on education, skilling and innovation. We are now looking into the future with current trends that can shape our skilling strategies. We are one of the youngest countries in the world with a demography that is of great relevance to global economies, he added. With the tremendous number of new opportunities being created in both entrepreneurship and in jobs, the need for skills have heightened. Transforming Lives and Building Future is not just a slogan, this is a mission for our Young Indians of North-East. We believe that the future of New India is bright and skilling is the passport for prosperity, he further added.

The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North-East initiative lays emphasis on alignment of courses with National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), bolstered by a digital infrastructure to develop well-rounded professionals. The event also deliberated on the need of enhancing industry participation in aggregating skill demand, simplifying training modules, curriculum development and augmenting training infrastructure to upgrade their skill sets in ‘earn while learn’ mode.

The special Initiative of “Transforming Lives- Building Futures: Skill and Entrepreneurship Dev in North-East will include:

2 Lakh skill training under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

30,000 Apprenticeship Engagement under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)

20,000 to be skilled under Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS)

Quality enhancement of ITIs under skill strengthening for industrial value enhancement (STRIVE)

Strengthening of Polytechnics

Special projects will be taken up for the special needs of North-East region under SANKALP.

Skill India International Centre to be set up to promote overseas job opportunities.

Over the last nine years, MSDE has increased the network count of ITIs to 106 in north-eastern region. It has trained over 3 lakh beneficiaries and assisted 1000 entrepreneurs through Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE). MSDE has also trained about 12 lakh candidates under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in textile, handloom, construction, apparel, agriculture, electronics and healthcare.

The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has facilitated training to 38,240 candidates across 1,693 establishments in the last 7 years in north-east. Moreover, the centre has achieved significant success in training more 98000 beneficiaries with more than 72% women beneficiaries across JSS which stands as a testament to creating a robust skill ecosystem in the northeast region, empowering youth with domain and employability skills.