Lok Sabha Question No. 3728 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Training to Senior Citizen/Retired Government Servant
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Dr. Ganapathy Rajkumar P

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3728

ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## TRAINING TO SENIOR CITIZEN/RETIRED GOVERNMENT SERVANT

3728.  DR. GANAPATHY RAJKUMAR P:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  train  senior  citizen  and  retired Government servant under Skill Development Programme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the  steps taken  by the Government to top talent under Skill  Development Scheme among special category people viz. transgender, physically disabled people and others?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a) & (b)      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  under  various  schemes,  viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan 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. The SIM  aims  at  enabling  youth  of  India  to  get  future  ready,  equipped  with  industry  relevant skills. The brief of these schemes is as under:

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): PMKVY Scheme is for imparting skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT) and up-skilling through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to youth across the country.

Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme: The main target of the JSS is to impart vocational skills  to  the  non-literates,  neo-literates  and  the  persons  having  rudimentary  level  of education up to 8 th  standard and school dropouts' upto 12th standard.    Priority is given to Women, SC, ST, OBC and Minorities.

National  Apprenticeship  Promotion  Scheme  (NAPS): This  Scheme  is  for  promoting apprenticeship training and increasing the engagement of apprentices by providing financial support for payment of stipend to apprentices. Training consists of Basic Training and Onthe-Job Training / Practical Training at workplace in the industry.

Craftsmen  Training  Scheme  (CTS): This  scheme  is  for  providing  long-term  training through  Industrial  Training  Institutes  (ITIs)  across  the  country.  The  ITIs  offer  a  range  of vocational/skill  training  courses  covering  a  large  number  of  economic  sectors  with  an objective to provide skilled workforce to the industry as well as self-employment of youth.

Under  PMKVY  the  eligible  age  group  is  15-45  years  in  Short-Term  Training  (STT) component and  18-59  years  in  Recognition  of  Prior  Learning  (RPL)  component.  Notably, Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) engages retired military personnel in RPL-based certification,  facilitating  civilian  job  transitions.  Under  JSS,  the  eligible  age  group  is 15-45 years, with due age relaxation in case of 'Divyangjan' and other deserving cases.

(c) Training under the skill development schemes of MSDE is provided to all the sections of the society including women, transgender, differently-abled persons and other marginalized groups. To encourage participation of women, differently-abled persons and other marginalized groups in these schemes, special provisions have been made in the Common Cost Norms (CCN), in terms of reimbursement of boarding & lodging and conveyance costs. Under PMKVY, training programs in sectors like Electronics, Retail, Healthcare, Beauty & Wellness, Handicrafts and Apparel are structured to attract higher participation from women. Also, projects are designed to align with local skill demands, creating opportunities for rural women to participate and benefit from skill development scheme. Under the JSS scheme, focus is also being given to women and other vulnerable sections by giving age relaxations.

Additionally, the Skill Council for Person's with Disability, recognized as an Awarding Body (AB) by National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), has developed/adopted  268  qualifications  for  training  of  person  with  various  disabilities  like Speech  and  Hearing  Impairment  (SHI),  Locomotive  Disability  (LD),  Intellectual  Disability (ID), etc. To further support an inclusive skill ecosystem, NCVET has developed and notified 'Guidelines for Provision of Comprehensive Accessibility Standards for Training of Persons with Disabilities" which serve as comprehensive guidelines designed to foster inclusivity and uphold  equal  opportunities  for  individuals  with  disabilities  within  vocational  education, training, and skilling sectors in India.

Also,   following  initiatives  have  been  taken  by  Directorate  General  of  Training  (DGT), MSDE, to encourage Divyang candidates for skilling under CTS:

1.  No tuition fee  from Divyang trainees to take admission in ITIs/ NSTIs.
2.  For visually impaired, one special subject namely 'Psycho-motor skill' is conducted in place of 'Engineering Drawing' for the Engineering trades .
3.  Enhancement  in  the  reservation  of  PWD  quota    from  3  %  to  4  %  for  five (5)  categories of benchmark disabilities

Department  of  Empowerment  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (DEPwD)  is  implementing  the National  Action  Plan  for  Skill  Development  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (NAP-SDP)  for Persons  with  Disabilities  (PwDs)  in  the  age  group  of  15  to  59  years,  through  various Government and Non-Government Organizations.  PwDs with at least 40% disability having Unique Disability Identity card are eligible to avail skill training programme. DEPwD has also launched  a  portal  namely  PM-DAKSH-DEPwD  for  effective  implementation  of  National Action  Plan  for  Skill  Development  of  PwDs  (NAP-SDP)  which  also  caters  to  the  need  of PwDs for skilling and employment by providing a platform to Employers/job aggregators.

Further,  under  Comprehensive  Rehabilitation  for  Welfare  of  Transgender  Persons subscheme  of the  umbrella  scheme , Support  for  Marginalized  Individuals  for  Livelihood  and Enterprise (SMILE), Skill development training is being provided to transgender persons through National institute of Social Defence and also through various Sector Skill Councils (SSCs).

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