Schemes Driving Skill Development and Empowerment
Introduction
India’s Skill India Mission (SIM), driven by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, is equipping youth with essential industry-relevant skills through various programs like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS). These initiatives focus on skill development, re-skilling and up-skilling, empowering millions with the tools needed for sustainable careers. By bridging the skill gap, fostering innovation, and creating new job opportunities, SIM is paving the way for a self-reliant and developed India (Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat).
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
Launch Date: PMKVY was introduced in 2015, and its 4.0 version is being implemented from FY 2022 to 2026.
Objective: To encourage and promote skill development in the country by providing free short-duration skill training and incentivizing youth for skill certification.
Key Achievements:
- PMKVY 1.0 successfully trained over 19.86 lakh candidates.
- Since 2015, the scheme has trained/oriented 1.48 crore candidates by 30th June, 2024.
Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS)
Launch Date: Transferred from Ministry of Education (erstwhile Ministry of Human Resource Development) to Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in July, 2018.
Objective: Aims to provide vocational training to non-literates, neo-literates as well as school drop-outs in rural regions by identifying skills that have a relevant market in that region.
Key Achievements:
- 4,29,762 beneficiaries enrolled, with 2,45,239 trained, 2,38,048 assessed and 2,37,729 certified under JSS.
- 32 States & UTs, 283 districts, 289 JSS, and 11,338 JSS sub-centers engaged in FY 2024-25. (Data pertains to FY 2024-25 as of 28.01.2025).
PM Vishwakarma Yojana
Launch Date: 17th September, 2023
Objective: The Scheme aims to provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople of 18 trades who work with their hands and tools. The Scheme components include recognition through PM Vishwakarma Certificate and ID Card, Skill Upgradation, Toolkit Incentive, Credit Support, Incentive for Digital Transactions and Marketing Support. PM Vishwakarma will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Government of India, with an initial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore and is set to run for five years, until 2027-28.
Key Achievements:
- As of January 28, 2025, a total of 2,64,97,537 applications have been submitted under the PM Vishwakarma Yojana, with 27,01,087 applications successfully registered.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)
Launch: 25th September 2014.
Objective: DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth.
Key Achievements:
- Under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), 65% of the candidates have been placed in gainful employment after completing their training. From FY 2014-15 a total of 16,90,046 candidates have been trained and 10,97,265 candidates have been placed till November, 2024.
Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs)
Launch: January 2009
Objective: The scheme envisage framework for imparting good quality residential free training and post training follow up with credit linkage for sustained motivation among the trainees for promoting entrepreneurship among the rural youth. As RSETIs are Bank lead institutions they are prefixed with the name of the respective sponsor banks to give distinct identity.
Key Achievements:
- A total of Rs. 89,639.09 Lakh has been released for RSETI from FY 2014-15 to FY 2024-25.
- As of January 1, 2025, a total of 54,03,231 candidates have been trained in the 2024-25 financial year, compared to 22,89,737 candidates trained in the 2016-17 financial year.
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