Lok Sabha Question No. 1229 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-25
Subject: Skill Training to Women
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Sumalatha Ambareesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1229 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2022

## SKILL TRAINING TO WOMEN

## 1229.   SHRIMATI SUMALATHA AMBAREESH:

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

(a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  encourage  women  to  get  skill training  to  take  up  new  works  such  as  start  sustainable,  micro  enterprises  and  if  so,  the details thereof ;

(b) whether the Government has any provision to associate women associated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) to promote skill training and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has made any budgetary provision for Skill Development of women; and

(d) if so, the number of women who benefitted during the last three years along with the details thereof, State and district-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) Under  Skill  India  Mission,  the  Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship (MSDE)  is  implementing  various  programmes  viz.  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana (PMKVY),  National  Apprenticeship  Promotion  Scheme  (NAPS),  Jan  Shikshan  Sansthan (JSS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to encourage skilling and entrepreneurship in the country which aims at stimulating employment opportunities among women of various socio-economic levels and different age groups. Inclusive skill development, with the objective of increased women participation for better  economic  productivity  is  one  of  the  focus  areas  of  the  National  Policy  on  Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, 2015.

In  JSS,  focus  is  given  to  Women,  SC,  ST,  OBC  and  Minorities.  The  Third-Party Evaluation study report conducted by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) during 2020-21 has shown that this scheme is very effective for empowerment of women since the representation of women is around 80%.

Under PMKVY, in order to increase the participation of women, conveyance cost and boarding  &  lodging  facilities  are  being  provided  for  them.  The  priority  group  under  JSS includes women. Under long term skilling, Directorate General of Training (DGT), vocational trades particularly suitable for women are identified and their implementation is planned. The identified  trades  promote  women  wage-employment  in  industry  as  instructors  and  also promotes their self-employment.

National  Skill  Training  Institutes  (NSTIs)  also  offers  courses  under  Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) in 33 NSTIs, (NSTIs General (14), NSTIs Women (19)) across the country and 2 Extension Centers. The NSTIs are offering training in new age courses since 2019  under  Dual  System  of  Training  (DST)  scheme  to  partner  with  Industries  and establishments  for  conducting  training  under  these  technologies  driven  courses  and  fulfil their  skilled  manpower  requirements.  In  addition,  30%  of  the  seats  in  General  Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) are reserved for women trainees subject to the general reservation policy of the respective State.

Directorate General of Training (DGT) under MSDE conducts vocational training for one year duration in  06  courses  namely  Computer  Aided  Embroidery  &  Designing,  Dress Making,  Fashion  Design  and  Technology,  Sewing  Technology,  Cosmetology  and  Spa Therapy under CTS to increase as well as encourage  women  participation in ITIs. Additionally, a compulsory subject 'Employability Skills' has included in curricula of schemes under CTS covering topic mainly 'English Literacy, I.T. Literacy, Communication  Skills  &  Entrepreneurship  Skills with  a  duration  of  90  hours  for  one  year courses for awareness of trainees on  soft skills and entrepreneurial skills.

Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) is a World Bank loan assisted scheme with an agreement between Government of India and the World Bank for $250 million (Rs. 1650 Crore). SANKALP is an outcome based Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  aimed  to  implement  the  mandate  of  the  National  Skill  Development Mission  (NSDM).  SANKALP  aims  to  address  the  ongoing  challenges  like  bringing  about convergence,  infusing  quality  in  skill  development  programs  and  making  them  market relevant and  accessible in the context of short-term training. Under  SANKALP,  till 30.06.2022,  a  total  of  1270  artisans  have  been  skill  trained  in  Golden  Grass  crafts  in Kendrapara,  Odisha.  Further,  under  SANKALP,  3966  candidates  have  been  completed training under Entrepreneurship promotion out of which, 2046 are female. Under Training on Safety of  women at workplace project, 1995 Trainees, 225 Training Professionals and 66 Trainers were trained.

Mahatma  Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF)  programme: It is a two-year programme which combines classroom sessions at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) with an intensive field immersion at the district level to strengthen the district skill administration and  the  District  Skill  Committees  (DSCs).  Phase-I  was  launched  under  SANKALP  in collaboration with IIM Bangalore  as  Academic Partner  on  08.03  2020 wherein 69  Fellows were deployed in 69 districts across 6 States out of which 29 were female. Further, MSDE has  onboarded  18  fellows  from  Phase  I  at  National  Institutions  (NSTI,  RDSE,  IIE  and NIESBUD) for a period of 1 year. The Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Phase II was inaugurated on 25th October 2021 wherein MSDE partnered with 9 IIMs. The fellows are currently deployed in 628 districts of the country under Phase-II out of which 201 are female.

Under the aegis of MSDE, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) has been working for the empowerment, upliftment and development  of  women  across  the  country.  The  institute  conducts  Entrepreneurship orientation programmes, Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes, Entrepreneurship Development  Programmes  (EDP)  and  Entrepreneurship  Skill  Development  Programmes (ESDP),  Women  Entrepreneurship  Development  Programmes  (WEDP),  for  women  who wish  to  become  self-reliant  or  start  innovative  businesses.  The  focus  is  on  encouraging women entrepreneurs through appropriate incentives for women owned businesses under the  public  procurement  process.    NIESBUD  has  designed  Entrepreneurship  Development Programmes  for  the  rural  women  with  the  objective  to  inculcate  entrepreneurial  values, attitude  and  motivation  among  the  rural  women  to  take  up  challenges  to  set  up  an enterprise/group enterprise

Further, MSDE is implementing 'Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and  Start-ups  by  Women'  (WEE)  supported  by  Deutsche  Gesellschaft  fuer  Internationale Zusammenarbeit  (GIZ)  GmbH,  on  behalf  of  the  German  Federal  Ministry  for  Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) - to improve the framework conditions for women-led enterprises in India.  The project aims to pilot incubation and acceleration programmes for women micro entrepreneurs, enabling them to start new businesses and scale up existing enterprises in the States of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and 8 North Eastern  States  of  the  country.  A  total  of  725  women  entrepreneurs  have  been  supported under the project under both incubation and acceleration support programmes.

(b) There is no specific provision to associate women associated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) to promote Skill training. Women from any socio-economic strata and any age group can  get  enrolled  for  skill  training  under  the  initiatives  of  MSDE.  However,  NIESBUD  is implementing  a  project  on  Digital  Marketing  &  Entrepreneurship  Development  for Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) in Odisha for their Capacity building and in order to enable them to access the market through e-commerce platforms. It is piloted in 10 Aspirational districts of  Odisha  namely  Bolangir,  Dhenkanal,  Rayagada,  Malkangiri,  Nabarangpur,  Kalahandi, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Nuapada & Koraput. The project aims to create of a pool of resource persons/Master Trainers in Digital Marketing & Entrepreneurship and Capacity Development of  WSHGs  in  digital  marketing  &  entrepreneurship  to access  the  market  through  ecommerce platforms.

(c) There  is  no  separate  budgetary  provision  specifically  for  the  skill  development  of women; however, under the various schemes of MSDE, maximum participation of women is one of the priorities.

(d) The State-wise and District-wise list of number of women who have been benefitted during the last three years under PMKVY, NAPS, JSS and CTS/ITI are placed at AnnexureI,  Annexure-II,  Annexure-III  and  Annexure-IV respectively.  Since  the  details  in  the  said Annexures are too lengthy, it is available on the website of the Ministry of Skill Development and  Entrepreneurship  at  the  following  link  https://msde.gov.in/en/useful-links/parl-ques/loksabha.

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