Parliament Question: Setting up of Skill Hubs in Tribal Areas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 131 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 SETTING UP OF SKILL HUBS IN TRIBAL AREAS †131. SHRI JASWANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has taken any special initiatives to promote self-employment among youth in tribal dominated aspirational districts, including the Dahod Lok Sabha Constituency of Gujarat under the 'Skill India' scheme; (b) the number of youths provided technical and vocational training through Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Kendra (PMKVY) in Dahod during the last three years and the current year; (c) whether the Government is considering setting up of any special 'Skill Hub' to connect the local tribal products and traditional skills of Dahod with the modern market; and (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the scheme Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM) through Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) to facilitate and promote livelihood opportunities and entrepreneurship for the tribal population by facilitating the value addition, branding, and marketing of Minor Forest Produces and local agricultural goods. TRIFED has sanctioned 4172 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVKs) under the scheme, associating 12,48,067 members across the country. In Dahod-Gujarat, 20 VDVKs have been sanctioned which cover 5,900 beneficiaries. 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. In addition, the MSDE has implemented the project “Establishment of Skill Labs and Training of Trainers in 400 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) for Delivery of Skilling Courses”, funded through National Skill Development Fund (NSDF). The EMRSs established by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, provide quality residential education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, particularly those residing in remote and tribal areas. The project aimed to strengthen the reach of vocational education in schoolsthrough the establishment of 1,200 vocational skill labs aligned with the CBSE curriculum across selected JNVs and EMRSs, with two skill labs in each school. To ensure the effective delivery of vocational education, the project also included a capacity-building component for 1,200 skill teachers, with two teachers trained per school. MSDE is implementing Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0 as a part of Skill India Program for imparting skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT), up- skilling and re-skilling through Recoginition of Prior Learning (RPL) to the youths across 111 aspirational districts including the Dahod district of Gujarat. The total number of candidates trained/ oriented in Dahod Lok Sabha Constituency comprising two districts viz., Dahod and Mahisagar till 30.06.2026 is 2351. Financial year (FY) wise details of candidates trained/oriented in Dahod District under PMKVY 4.0 till 30.06.2026 is as under: Financial Year No. of candidates trained/ oriented 2023-24 201 2024-25 720 2025-26 90 2026-27 0 Skill Hub is an initiative by MSDE where available infrastructure of educational institutions is leveraged for providing skill training under PMKVY. PMKVY 4.0 is a demand driven scheme, wherein training centres are accredited/ affiliated based on the proposals submitted by the Project Implement Agencies, after taking the skill gap into account and based on the skill requirement of a particular district. As on 30.06.2026, a total of six Training Centres have been accredited and affiliated in Dahod district for imparting project based skill training under PMKVY 4.0 in various vocational job roles, including Kisan Drone Operator, Bridal, Fashion and Portfolio Makeup Artist, Electronics Machine Maintenance Executive, traditional tribal skills and other industry-relevant trades. *****