Parliament Question: Investments in India's Skilled Workforce

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2526 ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025 INVESTMENTS IN INDIA'S SKILLED WORKFORCE 2526. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) the steps taken by the Government to invest in skills and capacity building schemes and programmes for youth along with to enhance entrepreneurship to promote employment opportunities; (b) the details of key skill development areas identified by the Government; and (c) the steps taken by the Government to address the issue of skills gap and underqualification? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (c): 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 through an extensive network of skill development centres 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), to all the sections of the society across the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. The brief on the schemes are as under: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): PMKVY Scheme is for imparting skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT) and up-skilling and re-skilling through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to youth across the country. Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme: The main target of the JSS is to impart vocational skills to the non-literates, neo-literates and the persons having rudimentary level of education and school dropouts up to 12th standard in the age group of 15-45 years, with due age relaxation in case of “Divyangjan” and other deserving cases. Priority is given to Women, SC, ST, OBC and Minorities in the rural areas and urban low-income areas. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS): This Scheme is for promoting apprenticeship training and increasing the engagement of apprentices by providing financial support for payment of stipend to apprentices. Training consists of Basic Training and On-the- Job Training / Practical Training at workplace in the industry. Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS): This scheme is for providing long-term training through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country. The ITIs offer a range of vocational/skill training courses covering many economic sectors with an objective to provide skilled workforce to the industry as well as self-employment of youth.Further, to promote an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem through entrepreneurship education, training, and advocacy, Government of India has inter-alia taken the following initiatives: (i) Implementation of schemes/programmes for the entrepreneurship promotion like PM’s Employment Generation Programme; MSE-Cluster Development Programme; Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries; A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship; Startup India; Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program; PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises; Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs Scheme, etc. (ii) With intent to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation, startups and encouraging investments in the Startup ecosystem of the country, the Government launched the Startup India initiative on 16th January 2016. The flagship Schemes namely, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) support Startups at various stages of their business cycle. (ii) MSDE through its autonomous institutions, i.e, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Noida and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati conducts Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP) and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) to promote entrepreneurship across the country including special areas like northeastern region and aspirational districts. (iv) MSDE in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog, launched the Swavalambini - a Women Entrepreneurship Programme in February 2025 in the Northeastern States of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and also in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The programme aims to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among female students through EAP and EDP to be implemented through NIESBUD, Noida and IIE, Guwahati. Skill Gap studies are conducted from time to time which provides 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 Through National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) conducted a National Skill Gap Study on seven high-growth sectors to establish a robust methodology for analyzing sector-specific skill demands. The seven sectors include – (i) Growing of cereal, leguminous crops and oilseeds; (ii) raising of cattle and buffaloes; (iii) weaving of textiles; (iv) manufacture of motor vehicles, parts & accessories of motor vehicles; (v) electric power generation using solar energy and other non-conventional sources; (vi) retail sale of food, clothing, footwear and leather articles in specialised stores and maintenance & repair of MVs and; (vii) computer programming activities. The study has identified job roles which are facing and are likely to face demand shortage in the seven sectors. To ensure that the skills training are aligned with the current industry requirements and thereby improve employability of the youth, following specific steps have been taken by MSDE:(i) 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. (ii) 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 Occupations, 2015 and obtain industry validations. (iii) 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up which are mandated to identify the skill development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards. (iv) Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the aegis of MSDE is implementing Flexi MoU Scheme and Dual System of Training (DST) which are meant to provide training to ITI students in industrial environment as per their requirements. (v) Under PMKVY, the new age/future skills job-roles have been specially aligned with Industry 4.0 requirements in areas like AI/ML, Robotics, Mechatronics, Drone Technology, etc. for upcoming market demand and industry requirements. (vi) DGT has introduced new age /future skills courses in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) under CTS to provide training in emerging areas such as 5G Network Technician, Artificial Intelligence Programming assistant, Cyber Security Assistant, Drone Technician etc. (vii) DGT has signed MoU with IT Tech companies like IBM, CISCO, Future Skill Rights Network, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft to ensure industry linkages for the institutes at the state and regional levels under CSR initiatives. These partnerships facilitate the provision of technical and professional skills training in modern technologies. (viii) Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) established at Ahmedabad and Mumbai, in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode, provide training to create a pool of industry-ready workforce for Industry 4.0, equipped with cutting-edge technology and hands-on training. (ix) MSDE has launched Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) a unified platform that integrates skilling, education, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystems to provide a life- long array of services. The details of the trained candidates are available on SIDH portal for connecting with potential employers. Through SIDH, candidates can have access to jobs and apprenticeship opportunities. (x) MSDE organises Rozgar Melas and Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Melas (PMNAMs) to facilitate the placements and apprenticeship opportunities to the certified candidates. *****