Parliament Question: National Apprenticeship and Training Schemes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5026 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING SCHEMES 5026. DR. C M RAMESH: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) the details of total number of apprentices enrolled under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) during the year 2025 in the country, State/UT-wise including Andhra Pradesh; (b) the details of the sectors and industries with the highest apprenticeship engagement along with the role of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) therein; (c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to improve completion rates, stipend support and transition of apprentices into regular employment; and (d) whether the Government proposes any further incentives or regulatory simplifications to expand participation in apprenticeship programme in the country, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise, particularly in the said State? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) The Government of India, under the Apprentices Act, 1961, implements two flagship Central Sector schemes namely National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), launched in August 2016 and continued as NAPS-2 from 2022-23 by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) launched in 1973 by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and approved for its continuation up to 2025-26. Together these schemes, support apprenticeship engagement in the country. In the year 2025, apprentices engaged under NAPS and NATS are 11.84 lakh and 5.23 lakh respectively. The details of the number of apprentices under NAPS and NATS during the year 2025, State-wise (including Andhra Pradesh) is at Annexure. (b) In both the schemes, apprenticeship participation is significantly strong in industries falling under top 13 sectors namely Automotive, Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Electrical (including New and Renewable Energy), Electronics, IT/ITeS, Life Sciences, Logistic and Supply Chain, Production and Manufacturing, Retail, Rubber, Service sectors (Education, Health Care, Professional services) and Tourism & Hospitality. Role of MSMEs under Apprenticeship training is to provide on-the job training to apprentices. Establishments including MSMEs that have engaged apprentices are 25,423 and 16,400 under NAPS-2 and NATS respectively. (c) Both NAPS and NATS support apprenticeship engagement across the country by providing partial stipend support through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) directly to the apprentices engaged under the Apprentice Act, 1961. The Government share of stipend provided to apprentices under NAPS is limited to 25% of prescribed minimum stipend (up to a maximum of Rs.1,500 per month, per apprentice) and under NATS is limited to 50% of theprescribed minimum stipend (up to Rs.4,500 per month per apprentice). The Government recognises the successfully completed apprentices by issuing nationally recognised National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) under Designated trades of NAPS, Certificate of Proficiency (CoP) for Optional trades of NAPS and NATS. In addition, the government has issued letters considering the training period undergone by an apprentice as an experience under NAPS (for ITI graduates). All these efforts support completion outcomes and are translating apprenticeship training to employment. The third-party evaluation reports from AJNIFM (Arun Jaitley National Institute of Finance Management) on NAPS and NILERD (National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development) on NATS indicates apprentices being engaged in a full- time employment on completion of their training at 72% and 74% respectively. Further, the 38th meeting of the CAC (Central Apprenticeship Council) held on 26th May 2025, marked a significant advancement in modernizing the country’s apprenticeship framework. Key decisions included a 36% increase in apprentice stipends, with future revisions linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This acts as an impetus for apprentices to complete the training. (d) The Government is implementing the following measures to expend the participation in Apprenticeship programme in the country including Andhra Pradesh. The Council in the CAC meeting approved the introduction of Apprenticeship Embedded Degree/ Diploma programme (AEDP) under the ambit of the Act encouraging degree apprenticeships and promoting flexible delivery modes such as online and blended learning, and enabling apprentices to train at client locations within India and even abroad. Further, inclusive measures—such as dedicated provisions for persons with benchmark disabilities—were introduced. If the prescribed training places for fresher apprentice and skill certificate holder apprentice cannot be filled, then the establishments may fill the same with other categories of apprentices. The scope of apprenticeship training was also expanded to include emerging sectors under the NIC-2008 classification (e.g., IT, biotechnology, and renewable energy). In addition, the Council recommended the establishment of new regional apprenticeship boards beyond the existing ones in Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata, and Mumbai. These decisions, made in consultation with the CAC, have been duly approved by the Hon’ble Minister and notified through Gazette of India. Under NAPS, to promote apprenticeship engagement in North-Eastern Region (NER), a focused pilot initiative was launched on 20.05.2025, that facilitates an additional incentive upto ₹1,500 per month to NER candidates undergoing Apprenticeship in any other state other than their domiciled State. This is over and above the government share of stipend upto ₹1,500 under NAPS.Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5026 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 REGARDING “NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING SCHEMES” The details of the number of apprentices under NAPS& NATS during 2025, State-wise (including Andhra Pradesh) is given below: Apprentices Apprentices S State / UT Name Engaged under Engaged under No. NAPS NATS 1. Andaman And Nicobar Islands 222 18 2. Andhra Pradesh 26,193 3,696 3. Arunachal Pradesh 165 17 4. Assam 8,811 1,721 5. Bihar 6,855 16,565 6. Chandigarh 1,732 2,053 7. Chhattisgarh 6,426 2,342 8. Delhi 30,153 9,727 9. Goa 12,769 957 10. Gujarat 1,09,832 15,817 11. Haryana 80,573 44,274 12. Himachal Pradesh 10,672 2,350 13. Jammu And Kashmir 1,249 471 14. Jharkhand 10,309 10,158 15. Karnataka 1,10,555 27,456 16. Kerala 15,243 18,152 17. Ladakh 22 0 18. Lakshadweep 8 2 19. Madhya Pradesh 31,871 6,777 20. Maharashtra 3,03,763 1,14,127 21. Manipur 178 116 22. Meghalaya 276 39 23. Mizoram 272 72 24. Nagaland 25 42 25. Odisha 13,195 28,279 26. Puducherry 5,861 748 27. Punjab 23,069 2,034 28. Rajasthan 29,260 15,100 29. Sikkim 515 651 30. Tamil Nadu 1,33,189 56,112 31. Telangana 45,520 35,604 32. The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman AND Diu 4,157 511 33. Tripura 518 295 34. Uttar Pradesh 1,00,553 21,706 35. Uttarakhand 29,014 9,172 36. West Bengal 31,406 75,863 Total 11,84,431 5,23,024 *****