Lok Sabha Question No. 335 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-05
Subject: Programmes to Promote Skill Development in Rural and Underserved Areas
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Dipsinh Shankarsinh Rathod, Mohanbhai Kalyanji Kundariya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 335

ANSWERED ON 05.02.2024

## PROGRAMMES TO PROMOTE SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS

335.   SHRI DIPSINH SHANKARSINH RATHOD: SHRI MOHANBHAI KALYANJI KUNDARIYA:

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

- (a) whether any initiatives or programmes have been undertaken by the Government to promote skill development across different sectors and industries;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  collaborate  with  educational  institutions  and industries to align skill development programmes with the evolving needs of the job market;
- (c) the details on geographical reach of skill development programmes and whether there are any targeted efforts for rural and underserved areas;
- (d) whether  there  is  any  success  stories  or  case  studies  that  showcase  the  impact  of India's skilled workforce in international markets; and
- (e) whether the Government has any mechanism/plans to address potential challenges, such as the rapid advancement of technology that may impact the relevance of existing skill sets?

## ANSWER

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

(a) Under the Govt. of India's Skill India Mission (SIM), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) delivers skill, re-skill and up-skill training to youth across the country  through  an  extensive  network  of  skill  development  centres/institutes  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). Apart  from MSDE, more than  20 Central Ministries/  Departments are  implementing  skilling  /  upskilling  training  programmes through schemes,  such  as  Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY),  the Rural  Self  Employment  Training  Institutes  (RSETI)  under  Ministry  of  Rural  Development, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, etc. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills.

- (b) MSDE in  co-ordination  with  Ministry  of  Education  launched  the  Skill  Hubs  Initiative (SHI) as a pilot project under PMKVY 3.0. The Skill Hub Initiative focused on introducing skill training programme in education ecosystem as envisioned in the National Education Policy

(NEP), 2020. The Skill Hub Initiative utilized existing infrastructure at Educational Institutes to impart vocational training to the target candidates which assisted in vocational learning being introduced at an early stage with multiple well-defined pathways for candidates to continue with their chosen vocations.

PMKVY 4.0 also aims to synergize vocational and educational streams and increase network  of  quality  training  providers  by  increasing  partnership  of  educational  institutions through  Skill  Hubs.  Skill  Hubs  can  be  setup  in  Central  and  State  Government  Schools, Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs), Colleges, and Universities (including Skill Universities) with requisite infrastructure for providing Short Term Trainings under PMKVY.

In addition, the Government has taken following steps to align skill development programmes with the evolving needs of the job market:

- i. The  training  programmes  offered  under  the  schemes  of  MSDE  are  developed  in collaboration  with  industries,  keeping  in  view  market  demands.  36  Sector  Skill  Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up by National Skill Development  Corporation  (NSDC)  which  are  mandated  to  identify  the  skill  development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards.
- ii. Future ready job-roles addressing the requirement of Industry 4.0, emerging sectors like  Drone,  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI),  Robotics,  Mechatronics,  etc.,  have  been  prioritized under PMKVY 4.0.  Under CTS also, new age courses have been developed to meet the demand of futuristic job roles in emerging technologies.
- iii. The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has been set up as an overarching regulator establishing regulations and standards to ensure quality in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) space.
- iv. The Awarding Bodies recognised by NCVET  are expected to develop the qualifications as per the industry demand and map them with the identified occupations as per the National Classification of Occupation, 2015, of Ministry of Labour and Employment and obtain industry validations.
- v. Directorate General of Training (DGT) is implementing Flexi MoU Scheme and Dual System of Training (DST). These initiatives are meant to provide training to ITI students in industrial environment.
- vi. Courses  aligned  to  National  Skills  Qualification  Framework  (NSQF)  also  have components of On Job Training (OJT) and employability skills.
- vii. DGT  has  also  signed  MoU  with  IT  Tech  companies  like  IBM,  CISCO,  Future  Skill Rights  Network  (erstwhile  Quest  Alliance),  Amazon  Web  Services  (AWS)  and  Microsoft to ensure industry  linkages for  the  institutes  at  the  state  and  regional  levels  under  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
- viii. NSDC,  under  the  Market  led  program,  provides  support  to  training  providers  that collaborate and align skill courses with industry demand.
- ix. Under  NAPS,  apprenticeship  training  and  increasing  engagement  with  industrial establishments for undertaking apprenticeship programmes is promoted.
- x. Government of India has signed Migration and Mobility Agreement with ten countries viz.,  U.K.;  France,  Germany,  Israel,  Taiwan,  Austria,  Mauritius,  Australia,  Portugal  and Finland for aligning skilling with demand in these countries.
- xi. Government of India has announced setting up of 30 Skill India International Centers for catering to the demand for skilled workers for foreign countries.
12. (c) All the Schemes under MSDE are implemented across the country  including rural and underserved areas.  Further, MSDE through DGT is implementing Skill Development in 48 Districts Affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) scheme supports establishment of 48 ITIs in 48 districts affected by LWE. Also, scheme for Enhancing Skill Development Infrastructure in North Eastern States is being implemented by upgrading 22 existing ITIs.
13. (d) In  the  past  few  years,  India  has  provided  skilled  talent  to  various  countries  to  help them  address  market  demands.  Skilled  youth  of  India  are  contributing  significantly  to  the economies  of  the  most  developed  countries  like  the  US,  Japan,  Germany,  and  Australia. Moreover, India's large talent pool comprises of technology professionals who are propelling India's growth trajectory and making a mark in global IT market. A study conducted in 2022 maps 16 high priority destination countries- Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Romania,  Singapore,  Sweden,  UK,  USA  (developed/high  income  countries);  and  Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE (GCC) . Till date more than 25,000 candidates have been  deployed  in  different  countries  namely  Saudi  Arabia,  Japan,  Qatar,  Oman,  United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.

The  success  of  India's  skilled  workforce  in  international  markets  was  recognised  as  India secured  11 th position  in    WorldSkills  competition  2022  as  compared  to  29 th position  in WorldSkills competition 2015.

(e) Changes and advancement in technology is a continuous process. To keep pace with such  changes  in  terms  of  meeting  the  skilled  manpower  requirement  of  industries  the Government has taken various steps,  details  of which  are  given in  reply  to  part  (b)  of  the question.

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