Parliament Question: Outcomes and placement rates of major skill development scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1402 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 OUTCOMES AND PLACEMENT RATES OF MAJOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

1402. SHRI JOSE K. MANI:

Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government has reviewed the outcomes and placement rates of major skill development schemes, including PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana);

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) what steps are being taken to align skill development programmes with emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, green jobs, renewable energy and electric mobility; and

(d) what steps are being taken to address regional imbalances in access to skill training, especially in rural, tribal and aspirational districts? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) & (b): 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.

Amongst the schemes of MSDE, placements were tracked under the Short-Term Training component of PMKVY in the first three versions (PMKVY 1.0, PMKVY 2.0 and PMKVY 3.0) implemented from 2015- 16 to 2021-22. Under PMKVY 4.0, the focus is on empowering our trained candidates to choose their varied career path and they are suitably oriented for the same. Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) provides wide range of courses for skill training and facilitates access to jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for the trained candidates are available on SIDH portal. Further, Kaushal Melas and PM National Apprenticeship Melas

(PMNAMs) have been organized to facilitate the placements opportunities to the certified candidates. Under JSS, Livelihood Cell has been set up to orient the candidates for entrepreneurship and livelihood promotion.

Impact of schemes for skill development is also assessed through their third-party independent evaluation.

An independent third-party impact evaluation of the PMKVY 4.0 has been conducted by Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As per the report, PMKVY training has contributed to a measurable shift in employment outcomes for STT candidates. The combined share of employed and self-employed STT respondents increased from 26.6% prior to training to 45.4% after PMKVY training, reflecting an 18.8 percentage point increase. Income-related outcomes also show positive movement, with 41.4% of STT candidates and 48.9% of RPL candidates reporting an increase in income following training and certification.

Overall, PMKVY 4.0 has significantly expanded access to formal skill training and certification and has generated measurable improvements in skill confidence, employment participation, and income outcomes for a substantial proportion of beneficiaries.JSS: A third-party evaluation of the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme was conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India, in 2025 to assess the scheme’s outreach, effectiveness and livelihood outcomes. The evaluation highlighted significant achievements of the scheme, with 33.94 lakh individuals enrolled, of whom 32 lakh were trained and 31.52 lakh certified, reflecting an overall success rate of 99 percent. Women constituted a dominant 82 percent share of total participants, while 73 percent beneficiaries belonged to marginalized sections, including SC/ST (36 percent) and OBC (37 percent). The livelihood impact has been noteworthy, with 90 percent alumni utilising acquired skills for income generation, 82 percent becoming economically engaged within six months of training, and 60 percent of previously non-earning individuals starting to earn post-training. The average monthly income of beneficiaries recorded a four-fold increase.

NAPS: A third-party evaluation study of Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PMNAPS-2) from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-26 (Data upto 30th November 2025) was conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As per the report, PMNAPS 2 achieved significant scale during the evaluation period, engaging 34.69 lakh apprentices against a cumulative target of 46 lakh, translating into an overall achievement of approximately 75 percent. The institutionalisation of DBT has improved financial transparency and predictability. Cumulative DBT disbursement exceeded ₹1,094 crore, with annual disbursement rising from ₹327.2 crore in FY 2023–24 to ₹500.16 crore in FY 2024–25.

ITIs: The Tracer Study report of ITI Graduates published in 2018 by MSDE mentions that 63.5% of total ITI pass-outs got employed (out of which 6.7% are self-employed).

(c) To align skill development programs with the industrial requirements in the emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, green jobs, renewable energy and electric mobility, and thereby improving the employability of the skilled manpower, the 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) NCVET has approved 9026 qualifications as per the industry requirements, out of which 2599 qualifications are valid and active, and 6427 qualifications are archived.

(iv) 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up which identify the skill development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards.

(v) 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.

(vi) 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.

(vii) DGT has introduced new age /future skills courses under CTS to provide training in emerging areas such as 5G Network Technician, Artificial Intelligence Programming assistant, Cyber Security Assistant, Drone Technician etc.

(viii) DGT has signed MoU with IT Tech companies like IBM, CISCO, Microsoft, AWS etc. to ensure industry linkages for the institutes at the state and regional levels. These partnerships facilitate the provision of technical and professional skills training in modern technologies.

(ix) 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, equipped with cutting-edge technology and hands-on training.

(x) Kaushal Melas and Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Melas (PMNAMs) are organised to facilitate the placements and apprenticeship opportunities to the certified candidates.(d): The JSS Scheme aims to provide skill training in a non-formal mode at the doorsteps of the beneficiary through registered Societies (NGOs) with 100% grant from the Government of India. The objective of the scheme is to increase the household income by promoting self/wage employment through skill development training. The priority groups are women, SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities in the rural areas and urban low- income areas.

The Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) and Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyaan (PM-JANMAN) are flagship missions of the Government of India dedicated to holistic development and benefit saturation across tribal regions. DAJGUA envisions the comprehensive development of tribal areas and communities by addressing critical gaps in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and livelihoods through 25 interventions coordinated by 17 Ministries/Departments. Under DAJGUA, 30 Tribal Skilling Centres (TSCs) have been established by this Ministry through convergence initiative under JSS, in 30 tribal districts across 15 states in the country.

MSDE, through National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), is implementing the skilling and entrepreneurship component of PM JANMAN – a scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs for upliftment of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), since March 2024. The scheme focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including MSDE. One of the key interventions of the Ministry is facilitating skill and entrepreneurship developments in Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs). As on 15.01.2026, a total of 38,386 beneficiaries have been trained under Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) and a total of 489 VDVKs have been operationalized.

While the schemes of MSDE cater to the skill training need of all section of the society on pan India basis, special provisions has been made in the common norms for the skill development programs of the central Ministries/Department to specifically cater to the skill training need of the special regions including the north eastern and hilly areas. Department of Rural Development implements Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) for the skill training needs of the candidates of the rural background.

Further, the skill development is one of the critical components covered under the Aspirational Districts/ Aspirational Blocks program of NITI Aayog. *****