Government Increases Budget for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programs

Under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission (SIM), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) delivers skill, re-skill and up-skill training to youth through an extensive network of skill development centres/institutes under various schemes viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country.

Details of the expenditure incurred under various schemes of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) during last five years up to 2023-24 are as under:

Day-to-day administration as well as financial control in respect of ITIs lies with the respective State Governments/ Union Territory Administration.

Skill gap studies are conducted from time to time which provide information on the skills needed and the skill gaps in various sectors. Such studies guide the interventions of the Government aimed at preparing the workforce as per the industry needs. Further, District Skill Committees (DSCs) are mandated with formulating District Skill Development Plans (DSDPs) to promote decentralized planning and implementation at the grassroots. The DSDPs identify sectors with employment opportunities as well as the associated demand for skilling in the district, and map the available facilities for Skill Training. Skill Development Programmes of the Government are designed and implemented to bridge identified skill gaps across sectors.

In order to meet skilling requirement for future workforce, improve the quality of skilling and align the training programs with the changes in the economy and technology to meet the needs of the industry, following steps have been taken by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE):

i. The training programmes offered under the schemes of MSDE are developed in collaboration with industries, keeping in view market demands. 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) which are mandated to identify the skill development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards.

ii. Future ready job-roles addressing the requirement of Industry 4.0, emerging sectors like Drone, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Mechatronics, etc., have been prioritized under PMKVY 4.0. Under CTS also, new age courses have been developed to meet the demand of futuristic job roles in emerging technologies.

iii. The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has been set up as an overarching regulator establishing regulations and standards to ensure quality in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) space.

iv. The Awarding Bodies recognised by NCVET are expected to develop the qualifications as per the industry demand and map them with the identified occupations as per the National Classification of Occupation, 2015, of Ministry of Labour and Employment and obtain industry validations.

v. Directorate General of Training (DGT) is implementing Flexi MoU Scheme and Dual System of Training (DST). These initiatives are meant to provide training to ITI students in industrial environment.

vi. Courses aligned to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) also have components of On Job Training (OJT) and employability skills.

vii. DGT has also signed MoU with IT Tech companies like IBM, CISCO, Future Skill Rights Network (erstwhile Quest Alliance), Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft to ensure industry linkages for the institutes at the state and regional levels under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

viii. NSDC, under the Market led program, provides support to training providers that collaborate and align skill courses with industry demand.

ix. Under NAPS, apprenticeship training and increasing engagement with industrial establishments for undertaking apprenticeship programmes is promoted.

x. Government of India has signed Migration and Mobility Agreement with ten countries viz., U.K.; France, Germany, Israel, Taiwan, Austria, Mauritius, Australia, Portugal and Finland for aligning skilling with demand in these countries.

xi. Government of India has announced setting up of 30 Skill India International Centers for catering to the demand for skilled workers for foreign countries.