Parliament Question: Youth entrepreneurship support and enterprise creation initiatives

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1395 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT AND ENTERPRISE CREATION INITIATIVES 1395# SHRI BRIJ LAL: SHRI RYAGA KRISHNAIAH: SHRI SADANAND MHALU SHET TANAVADE: SHRI LAHAR SINGH SIROYA: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) the entrepreneurship-focused initiatives implemented during the year 2025 under schemes such as PMKVY 4.0, the Entrepreneurship Development Programme and allied skilling-cum-enterprise support frameworks; (b) the number of youth who have established enterprises or accessed structured entrepreneurship support; (c) the role of institutional partnerships with Startup India, financial institutions and incubation centres in enabling enterprise creation and scalability; and (d) whether the Ministry proposes any targeted incentives, sector-specific support or convergence measures to further strengthen sustainable youth entrepreneurship outcomes and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) and (b): The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has taken various initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in the country. During the year 2025, multiple entrepreneurship focused initiatives were implemented with the objective of promoting self-employment, enterprise creation and sustainable livelihoods, particularly among youth, women, SHGs and aspiring micro entrepreneurs. These initiatives were aligned with the Skill India Mission under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yogana (PMKVY 4.0), Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN), Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. The Ministry through its autonomous organizations, namely, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) has implemented various Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) and Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programmes (ESDPs) under various schemes to promote entrepreneurship amongst all sections of the society. These EDPs and ESDPs are designed to impart entrepreneurial, financial and managerial skills and also to offer post-training support through mentorship, handholding, and access to credit/finance, market linkages and incubation facilities. Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0, the emphasis is on empowering trained candidates to pursue diverse career pathways by providing appropriate orientation, with a strong focus on entrepreneurship and livelihood creation through On-the-Job Training (OJT) embedded industry-relevant skill courses. Also, Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) platform has been launched as a one-stop platform that integrates skilling, education, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystems to provide a lifelong array of services targeting a wide range of stakeholders. Details of the trained candidates are available on SIDH portal forconnecting with potential employers. Through SIDH, candidates can have access to jobs, apprenticeship opportunities and other facilities, including loans for entrepreneurship. Job role–wise details of candidates trained under PMKVY 4.0 in FY 2025–26, related to entrepreneurship, are given below: Sl. No. Job Role Name Trained / Oriented i. Dairy Farmer/Entrepreneur 69 ii. Green Hydrogen Plant Entrepreneur 336 iii. Handloom Entrepreneur 31 iv. Processed Food Entrepreneur 63 v. Street Food Vendor - Standalone 2,105 Total 2,604 Additionally, a number of project proposals have been approved under PMKVY 4.0 in FY 2025–26 with overall target of 41,600 spreading across various entrepreneurship related job roles such as Street Food Vendor – Standalone, Dairy Farmer Entrepreneur, and Livestock Green Management Promoter. Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0) the key Entrepreneurship Development Programme funded as special projects during 2025 and the enterprises created/ Van Dhan Kendras established/ Jan Poshan Kendras established are placed at Annexure-I. In addition, there are various initiatives being implemented by NIESBUD and IIE for promotion of entrepreneurship in the country. The details of such initiatives including the number of youth who have established enterprises or accessed structured entrepreneurship support are placed at Annexure-II. The number of youths who established enterprises or benefited from structured entrepreneurship support are placed as Annexure-III. (c) and (d): Institutional partnerships with Startup India, financial institutions and incubation centres play a critical enabling role in enterprise creation and scalability. The Ministry has been implementing sector specific interventions and convergence measures to strengthen institutional partnerships and youth entrepreneurship outcomes. Some of the targeted sectors are Dairy Farmer/Entrepreneur, Green Hydrogen Plant Entrepreneur, Handloom Entrepreneur, Processed Food Entrepreneur, Street Food Vendor, Fair Price Shops, Rooftop Solar, empowerment of transgender community etc. In this context, the Ministry is implementing sector specific interventions and convergence measures to further strengthen youth entrepreneurship outcomes. These include- I. Promotion of credit and market linkages and handholding support ensuring training leads to tangible enterprise outcomes. II. Encouragement of formalization including enterprise registration and digital adoption. III. Prioritization of high employment and local potential sectors such as agro processing and food value chains; handloom, handicrafts and traditional industries; tourism and hospitality; solar entrepreneurship etc. IV. Development of sector aligned skilling and entrepreneurship programmes. V. Strengthened convergence with MSME and enterprise support institutions; National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under Ministry of Rural Development VI. The Ministry participated in the second edition of the Startup Mahakumbh held in April 2025 ensuring that India’s startup ecosystem benefits from both entrepreneurship policy support and skill development making Startup Mahakumbh a more holistic platform for startups, innovators and youth participants. Further, there are various schemes/ programmes being implemented by Ministries/ Departments of Government of India with the objective of promoting and supporting entrepreneurs. The details of various Government programmes promoting entrepreneurship development are placed at Annexure-IV. .ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) AND (B) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER 1395 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026. The details of various entrepreneurship initiatives funded under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 as special projects are as under: 1. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) – MSDE, through NIESBUD and IIE, is implementing the skilling and entrepreneurship component of Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyaan (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). The project is being implemented with support of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) in 15 States across the country under which a total of 500 VDVKs are to be set up. 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. 2. Capacity Building Programme for Fair Price Shop Owners – MSDE, in collaboration with the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has undertaken a Capacity Building Programme for Fair Price Shop (FPS) Owners. The project is aimed at enabling the FPS owners to run their businesses in consonance with the contemporary practices being adopted by Retail Entrepreneurs. As on 05-02-2026, 315 FPS owners have been trained under this programme, resulting in conversion of 91 Fair Price Shops to Jan Poshan Kendras.ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) AND (B) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER 1395 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026. The details of various initiatives being implemented by MSDE for promotion of entrepreneurship in the country are as under: 1. Swavalambini programme: MSDE in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog, launched the Swavalambini- a Women Entrepreneurship Programme in February 2025 in the North-Eastern States of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The programme aims to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among female students through Entrepreneurship Awareness Training (EAP) for 1,200 students, and out of these students Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for 600 students. NIESBUD and IIE are the implementing agencies for the program. Furthermore, Swavalambini aims to recognise and reward successful women entrepreneurs emerging from the programme through the Award to Rewards Initiative of Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI AAYOG. The programme will leverage workshops, seed funding, and structured mentoring to support the growth of women-led enterprises. As on 15.01.2026, 302 candidates have been trained under Entrepreneurship Development Program and 82 participants have been trained under Faculty Development Programme. The programme has resulted in creation of 11 enterprises. 2. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme - NIESBUD under MSDE in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is organizing Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) on Solar Entrepreneurship under the flagship initiative, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. This programme aims to promote rooftop solar adoption, empower entrepreneurs, and create sustainable livelihood opportunities by fostering and mentoring budding and existing entrepreneurs in the field of solar entrepreneurship. As on 15.01.2026, a total 24,497 beneficiaries have been imparted training under the initiative, out of which 3,044 are women and 740 enterprises have been established. 3. Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) - DAJGUA is a scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs wherein the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been assigned two specific interventions of establishing Skilling Centres in 30 tribal districts and providing training for capacity building and business development of 1000 VDVKs and tribal groups. A total of 6649 beneficiaries have been trained under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme. 4. Establish, Develop and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDC) and Incubation Centers (IC) in North East Region’s Educational Institution - Under this Project, IIE is mandated to Establish, Develop and Manage EDC and Incubation Centers (ICs) in North East Region’s Educational Institutions. The key features of the project include establishing, developing and managing 30 EDCs and 4 ICs in 8 states of NER, identifying and training 600 mentors from 30 target districts, identifying and training 3600 youth from 30 target districts, incubating 100 business ideas in 4 ICs, supporting 900 business ideas in 30 EDCs through convergence and Seed fund for top 50 incubates in 4 ICs. As on 15.01.2026, 30 EDCs are fully functional across all 8 North Eastern states and trained 677 mentors. 943 participants have been trained under EDP and 150 entrepreneurs have been selected for incubation. 5. The Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for Transgender Persons – EDP for transgender programme is being implemented by NIESBUD under the SMILE (Welfare of Transgender Persons) Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The programme focuses on skill development, enterprise creation, and financial empowerment of transgender beneficiaries, while ensuring compliance with scheme guidelines, outcome assessment, and performance reporting requirements. As per the programme status data, multiple EDP batches have been conducted across locations such as Delhi and Mumbai. Till date, NIESBUD has conducted 5 programmes in which around 125 transgender participants have participated. Approximately 20% of the trained candidates have established their enterprises and have participated in various exhibitions with the support of the Institute, such as the International Trade Fair and Surajkund Mela.ANNEXURE-III ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) AND (B) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER 1395 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026. The number of youth who established enterprises and benefited from structured entrepreneurship support since inception of the programmes is as under: Sl. Name of Project No. of Benefited from structured No. Enterprise entrepreneurship support Created Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) 1 Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan – PM 30 1702 JANMAN 2 Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) 6 1200 3 Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) 1361 14000 Project 4 Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana – PMVDY 358 107400 (under Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission – PMJVM) 5 SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional 54 30000 Industries) 6 Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations 13 2993 (FPOs) 7 Formation and Revival of Fish Farmer Producer Organizations 25 4661 (FFPOs) 8 Comprehensive Entrepreneurship & Skill Development Training 1000 10000 Program (CESDTP) for Tribal Artisans under SANKALP Scheme 9 ESDP Scheme under DC-MSME 76 20063 10 Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) 4092 28111 Total 7015 193130 National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development 1 Strengthening Entrepreneurial Climate through Capacity 21629 62825 Building, Incubation Support, Mentoring, and Handholding under SANKALP Scheme 2 Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan 459 36684 (PMJANMAN) 3 Swavalambini Women Entrepreneurship Programme 11 302 4 Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) 1022 32091 Project 5 Capacity Building Programme for Fair Price Shop Owners 91 315 6 Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) 0 5449 7 Rastriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana on Pilot Basis for PM 194 1704 Svanidhi Beneficiaries 8 Entrepreneurial Climate through Training of Trainers (ToTs) and 1463 3969 Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) in Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) 9 Pilot Project on Entrepreneurship Development in Holy Cities 747 8023 10 Organising Workshops in Artisan Melas and Haats 330 592 11 Pilot Project for Entrepreneurship Development Program 1917 5000 12 Entrepreneurship based Skill Development Program on Solar 572 26927 Entrepreneurship PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana Total 28435 183881ANNEXURE- IV ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) AND (D) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER 1395 ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026. The details of various other measures/schemes being implemented by the Government to support entrepreneurship are as under: 1. Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises: Ministry of MSME, through Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), is implementing the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). Number of micro enterprises assisted, margin money subsidy disbursed and estimated employment generated under PMEGP for the last 3 financial year and current year is given below: No. of Units MM Subsidy (Rs. Estimated Employment Financial Year Assisted Cr) Generated 2022-23 85,167 2,722.17 6,81,336 2023-24 89,118 3,093.87 7,12,944 2024-25 59,708 2,202.00 4,77,664 2025-26 (as on 54,648 2,139.10 4,37,184 31.01.2026) 2. Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) - Rural Skills Division is implementing the following two welfare schemes in the field of skill development for rural poor youth for their gainful employment with a view to eradicate poverty in the country under the umbrella scheme of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). A brief on the Schemes is as under: - A. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) is a placement-linked skill development program for rural poor youth in the age group of 15-35 years. DDU-GKY 2.0 includes provisions for self and gig employment, with training activities having commenced recently. B. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) is a Bank lead - Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) funded training institutions established by the Sponsoring Banks in their Districts, to provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development. Under RSETI, the number of youth trained during the FY 2024-25 & 2025-26, along with the number of youths settled (established enterprises or benefited) is furnished below: Total Financial Year Trained Settled 2024-25 621210 467259 2025-26 404307 277041 (till 31-12-2025) 3. Ministry of Textiles - Samarth (Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector) of Ministry of Textiles provides demand driven, placement-oriented skilling programmes to supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors, covering the entire value chain of textiles, excluding Spinning and Weaving in organized sector on pan India basis. Under the Scheme, a total of 5, 75,784 beneficiaries have been trained till 03.02.2026. 4. Department For Promotion Of Industry And Internal Trade (DPIIT) - Under Startup India initiative, the Government is implementing three flagship Schemes, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) to provide funding opportunities and support startups across sectors at various stages of their business cycle. FFS has been established to catalyze venture capital investments and is operationalized by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which provides capital to Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI)-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which in turn invest in startups through equity and equity-linked instruments. SISFS provides financial assistance to seed stage startups through incubators in the form of grants, convertible debentures or debt or debt-linked instruments. SISFS is implemented from 1st April 2021. CGSS is implemented for enabling debt funding to startups through eligible financial institutions by guaranteeing upto a specified limit against credit instruments. CGSS is operationalized by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) Limited and has been operationalized from 1st April 2023. The number of entities which have been recognised as startups by DPIIT as on 31st December 2025 are 2,07,135. 5. Ministry of Minority Affairs - The Ministry of Minority Affairs implements Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme as a Central Sector scheme which focuses on socio-economic empowerment of six notified minorities through skill development; entrepreneurship and leadership development of minority women; and education support for school dropouts. A target of over 3,300 women candidates has been allocated under the Women Leadership and Entrepreneurship component of the PM VIKAS scheme. 6. Department of Financial Services (DFS) under Ministry of Finance launched Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) on 08.04.2015 to extend collateral free credit up to Rs.20 lakh by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Any individual, who is otherwise eligible to take a loan and has a business plan for small business enterprise can avail loan under the Scheme for income generating activities in the manufacturing, trading, service sectors including activities allied to agriculture across four loan categories, viz. Shishu (loans upto Rs. 50,000/-), Kishor (loans above Rs. 50,000/- and upto Rs. 5 lakh), Tarun (loans above Rs. 5 lakh and upto Rs. 10 lakh) and Tarun Plus (loans above Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs. 20 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the ‘Tarun’ category w.e.f. 24.10.2024). Stand-Up India Scheme was launched on 05.04.2016. The objective of the Scheme was to facilitate loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) of value between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and one-Woman borrower per Bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or trading sector, including activities allied to agriculture. The Scheme was valid/operational till March 2025. As on 02.01.2026, a total of 56.31 crore loan accounts amounting to Rs. 38.18 lakh crore have been extended under PMMY since inception. Further, the Stand Up India scheme has facilitated over 2.75 lakh loans amounting to Rs.62,790 crore to SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs across the country, as on 31.03.2025. *****