Lok Sabha Question No. 5127 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-04
Subject: Vocational Training to Women
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Dibyendu Adhikari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5127 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2022

## VOCATIONAL TRAINING TO WOMEN

## 5127. SHRI DIBYENDU ADHIKARI:

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

(a) whether the Government is aware that a recent report has revealed that females have consistently received lesser vocational training than males since 2017 to 2020;

(b) if so, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has formulated a  plan  of action  to address the  gender divide in  skilling  and  to  ensure  females  have  equal  access  to  training  and  skill development programmes therefor;

(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(e) whether the Government is aware that the Economic Survey of India 2021-2022 reported that the rural population receives lesser training than urban population and if so, the reasons therefor; and

(f) whether the Government has formulated a plan of action to address the urban-rural divide and ensure equitable and fair access of training and skill development programmes to rural and urban populations thereto?

## ANSWER

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

(a) &(b) Yes Sir. The Economic Survey of India (ESI) 2021-22 refers to Annual PLFS Reports,  which show that vocational/  technical  training  is  increasing  across  both  males and females, though the percentage of females is less than that of males.

Table : Distribution of Persons received formal vocational/technical training (in percent)

| Period Labour Force   | All India (Age Group- 15-59 years)   | All India (Age Group- 15-59 years)   | All India (Age Group- 15-59 years)   |
|-----------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Survey (PLFS)         | Male                                 | Female                               | Total                                |
| PLFS 2017-18          | 2.3                                  | 1.7                                  | 2.0                                  |
| PLFS 2018-19          | 2.8                                  | 2.0                                  | 2.4                                  |
| PLFS 2019-20          | 3.5                                  | 2.9                                  | 3.2                                  |

Source: Period Labour Force Surveys

However,  vocational/technical  training  is  becoming    an  aspirational  achievement  for women  who  are  coming  out  in  higher  numbers  than  ever  before  to  get    themselves trained  in  vocational/technical  training  and  going  into  self-employment,  or  going  as  an employee, or going into entrepreneurship.

(c)& (d) Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing  various  programmes  to  encourage  skilling  (including  vocational/technical training)  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 Jan Sikshan Sansthan scheme, 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%.

The  Directorate  General  of  Training  (DGT) of  MSDE,  under  its  Craftsmen  Training Scheme (CTS), meant for the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) has imparted long-term vocational training. The government has made a provision of 30% reservation of seats for women candidates all over the country in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training  Centers  (ITCs).  The  vocational  training  to  women,  is  implemented  through  a network of 19 National Skill Training Institutes for Women (NSTI-W).

Special Provisions are also made to support the female candidates in Common Norms governing implementation of skilling schemes of the Government of India.

It may also be pointed out here that vocational/technical training does not encompass the entire gamut of skilling and the Government has many initiatives for skilling the women through different schemesand running courses favoured by women for skilling themselves, some of which are mentioned above.

(e) The Government is aware of such findings as reported in the Economic Survey of India 2021-22, reproduced from the annual  Periodic labour Force Survey (PLFS) Reports 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, on the basis of surveys conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). No specific reasons are cited in this survey and it  is  seen  that the survey is presenting estimates in terms of formal vocational/technical training.

(f) Under Skill India Mission, MSDE  is delivering skills through various skill development schemes/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) for entire India including rural population. Since 2015-16, more than 351 lakh candidates have been trained  by  MSDE  under  these  schemes  including  those  from  rural  areas.  Apart  from MSDE, Ministry  of  Rural  Development  is  running  schemes  viz.  DeenDayal  Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) Scheme. RSETI, an initiative of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to have dedicated  infrastructure  in  each  district  of  the  country  to  impart  training  and  skill  up gradation  of  rural  youth  geared  towards  entrepreneurship  development.  RSETIs  are managed  by  banks  with  active  co-operation  from  the  Government  of  India  and  State Governments.  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.  From  2018-19  to  2020-21,  total 10,42,838 candidates have been trained.

DDU-GKY is uniquely focused on rural youth between the ages of 15 and 35 years from poor  families.  As  a  part  of  the  Skill  India  campaign,  it  plays  an  instrumental  role  in supporting the social and economic programs of the government like the Make In India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Start-Up India, Stand-Up India campaigns. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, total 5,26,975 candidates have been trained

The Central Government and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare have introduced various  central  schemes  /  programmes  to  impart  and  promote  skilling  in  agriculture through Agriculture Skill Council of India. Imparting of skills is essential to improve on the traditional agriculture skills,  as also, to infuse new  skill sets  and  techniques  for sustainable growth and development. The skills in farming agriculture are imparted to the rural youths and farmers in agriculture and allied sectors including women in Agriculture Sector.

Focussed agriculture segments : Agriculture Crop Production, Seed Industry Segment, Farm Mechanisation & Precision Farming, Production Horticulture, Amenity Horticulture and Landscaping, Post - Harvest, Supply Chain Management, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Farm Management, Poultry Farm Management, Fisheries and other allied segments.

Currently, MSDE is delivering skills through more than 718 PMKKs, 304 JSSs, 14, 722 ITIs to rural and urban population. The Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS) initiative is one such step  in  the  direction  of  realizing  the  unique  demographic  potential  of  urban  slums  and rural India. The main target of the JSS is to impart vocational skills to the non-literates, neo-literates  and the person having rudimentary level of education of 8th standard i.e., upto  class  12th  in  the  age  group  of  15-45  years  with  due  relaxation  in  case  of 'Divyangjan' and other deserving cases. The scheme is women dominated and catering to the mandated target group. Under the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme, the NonGovernment  Organisations  (NGOs)  engaged  as  the  JSS  go  to  the  rural  areas  for outreach programmes for skill training. More than 50% of JSS beneficiaries are from rural areas  and  it  has  many  number  of  skill  training  programme  in  agriculture  and  related areas.

Further,  District  Skill  Committees  (DSCs),  under  the  guidance  of  respective  State  Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), are playing a key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing  demand  at  the  district  level  including  in  rural  areas.  The  DSCs  have  been entrusted with the development of District Skill Development Plans (DSDPs) to promote decentralized  planning  and  implementation  at  the  grassroots.  To  build  capacity  of  the DSCs and to help  them manage skill  development  planning  and  program  delivery,  the Ministry  of  Skill  Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) attaches Mahatma Gandhi National Fellows with the district administration. The Fellows are posted as part of their academic programme in premier management institutes, which has an in-built component of  on-ground  practical  experience.  So  far,  more  than  510  DSDPs  have  been  received from  31  States/  Union  Territories.  The  DSDPs  identify  sectors  in  which  employment opportunities  and  demand  for  skilling  exists.  These  activities  are  performed  under  the World  Bank  assisted  programme  Skill  Acquisition  and  Knowledge  Awareness  for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) for strengthening of skilling institutions.

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