**Executive Summary**
This report outlines the Government of India’s initiatives under the Skill India Mission (SIM) to create a globally competitive skilled workforce. It details regulatory definitions from 2025, current training statistics from 2023-24, and the implementation of various infrastructure and entrepreneurship schemes. Key focus areas include the modernization of 1,000 ITIs under the PM SETU scheme and the expansion of women’s entrepreneurship programs through 2025-2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Regulatory Framework and Training Statistics**
* **Skilled Occupation Definition:** As per the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025, a "skilled occupation" is defined as one requiring skill and competence gained through job experience or training as an apprentice in a technical/vocational institute.
* **Current Training Status:** According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, 4.1% of persons aged 15-59 have received formal vocational training, while 30.6% received informal training.
**Institutional and Infrastructure Development**
* **National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC):** Operates as a PPP model under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to promote an industry-responsive skilling ecosystem.
* **PM SETU Scheme:** Aims to upgrade 1,000 Government ITIs (200 Hub and 800 Spoke ITIs) with smart classrooms, modern labs, and industry-aligned courses.
* **National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs):** Capacity augmentation is planned for five NSTIs located in Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana, including the setup of National Centres of Excellence.
**Entrepreneurship and Employment Initiatives**
* **Swavalambini Programme:** Launched in February 2025 in collaboration with NITI Aayog to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets among female students in North Eastern States, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana.
* **Cluster Development:** The MSME Ministry implements the Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP); notably, a Common Facility Center in Chandauli, UP, was approved with a project cost of Rs. 15.00 crore.
* **Incubation Support:** Multiple ministries (Agriculture, Electronics & IT, Food Processing) support start-ups through specialized incubation centres like Agri-Business and Atal Incubation Centres.
* **Employment Schemes:** Continued implementation of Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM Vishwakarma, and various Livelihood Missions (DAY-NRLM, DAY-NULM) to promote wage and self-employment.
**Impact Analysis**
**Indian Youth (Aged 15-59)**
**Impact**
They gain access to industry-relevant, future-ready skills and formal vocational training through a nationwide network of institutes.
**Action Required**
Enroll in various schemes such as PMKVY, NAPS, or upgraded ITIs to transition from informal to formal skill sets.
**Female Students (North Eastern States, UP, and Telangana)**
**Impact**
Targeted support to foster entrepreneurial mindsets through Entrepreneurship Awareness Training (EAP) and Development Programmes (EDP).
**Action Required**
Participate in the Swavalambini – Women Entrepreneurship Programme to develop self-employment ventures.
**Government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)**
**Impact**
Selected ITIs receive significant infrastructure upgrades, including digital content and modern labs, through the Hub and Spoke model.
**Action Required**
Institutional heads must implement new courses aligned with industry needs and manage the transition to smart classroom environments.
**State/UT Governments**
**Impact**
Opportunities to address common needs of existing industrial clusters through central grants and schemes like MSE-CDP.
**Action Required**
Identify local industrial clusters and submit proposals for Common Facility Centers (CFC) to the Ministry of MSME.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE): The nodal ministry responsible for delivering skill, re-skill, and up-skill training through various national schemes and institutes.
Skill India Mission (SIM): The flagship government initiative aimed at enabling Indian youth to get future-ready and equipped with industry-relevant skills.
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): A public-private partnership and implementation arm of the government that promotes an industry-responsive skilling eco-system.
Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025: The regulatory framework that provides the official legal definition of 'skilled occupation' based on experience and vocational training.
PM SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs): A scheme focused on upgrading 1,000 Government ITIs into a Hub and Spoke model to enhance the quality and relevance of vocational training.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
SKILLED LABOUR FORCE
Posted On: 30 MAR 2026 4:03PM by PIB Delhi
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 / institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan 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, including the state of Rajasthan. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get
future-ready and equipped with industry-relevant skills.
As per Chapter 1, para 2(p) of the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2025, published vide notification No.
GSR 936 (E) dated 30th December,2025,“skilled occupation” means an occupation which involves skill
and competence in its performance through experience on the job or through training as an apprentice in a
technical or vocational institute.
Further, as per the latest official estimates of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the
National Sample Survey (NSS) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (PLFS) 2023-24,
4.1 per cent of the person of age 15-59 years have received formal vocational/technical training, while
another 30.6 per cent received training through informal sources.
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), established by the Ministry of Finance,
Government of India on 31.07.2008, is a not-for-profit public limited company operating under the
provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (corresponding to section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). It was
conceived as a unique model through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and is currently under the aegis of
the MSDE. NSDC works with the private sector to promote an industry responsive skilling eco-system
and also serves, as required, as an implementation arm across various schemes of the Government of India
to further the mandate and vision of the Government of creating a globally competitive skilled workforce.
Some additional initiatives of the Government to promote wage and self-employment include:
i. To enhance the overall quality and relevance of vocational training in the country, Pradhan Mantri
Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM SETU) scheme inter-alia
aims to upgrade 1,000 Government ITIs (200 Hub ITIs and 800 Spoke ITIs) in a Hub and Spoke
model, wherein upgradation includes smart classrooms, modern labs, digital content, and new
courses aligned to industry needs. Also, it aims to augment capacity of five NSTIs located in
Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana, including setting-up sector-specificNational Centres of Excellence for skilling, with focus on advanced training of trainers with global
partnership.
ii. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) implements Entrepreneurship
Development Programmes (EDPs) and Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programmes (ESDPs)
through its autonomous institutions viz. the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small
Business Development (NIESBUD), Noida and the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE),
Guwahati, to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment ventures. Also, MSDE in collaboration
with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog, launched Swavalambini - a Women
Entrepreneurship Programme in February 2025 in the North Eastern States of Assam, Meghalaya,
Mizoram and also in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The programme aims to cultivate an
entrepreneurial mindset among female students through Entrepreneurship Awareness Training
(EAP) and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP).
iii. Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) is implementing Micro and Small
Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) across the country. This is a demand driven &
Central Sector Scheme. The proposals under the scheme are received from the State/UT Governments to
address the common needs of existing cluster in their States/UTs. Under MSE-CDP Scheme, the proposal
for setting up of Common Facility Centers (CFC) in Rice Mill Cluster, Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh was
approved at a total project cost of Rs. 15.00 crore with GoI grant of Rs. 12.0 crore during financial year
2021-22.
iv. The incubation centres for supporting start-up /new enterprises are being supported by various
initiatives/schemes like Agri-Business Incubation Centres by Mo Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Next
Generation Incubation scheme of Mo Electronics & IT, Atal Incubation Centres of NITI Aayog,
Biotechnology Incubation Centres of D/o Biotechnology, PM Formulisation of Micro Food Enterprises of
Mo Food Processing Industries, etc.
v. Further, the Government is also implementing employment generation schemes/programmes like
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-
National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya
Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deen Deendayal
Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NULM), PM Vikshit Bharat Rozgar
Yojana, PM Vishwakarma, and others.
This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Shri Jayant Chaudhary in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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