Lok Sabha Question No. 5771 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Entrepreneurship Initiatives under PMKVY 4.0
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Shri Narayan Tatu Rane

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5771

ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026

## ENTREPRENEURSHIP INITIATIVES UNDER PMKVY 4.0

## † 5771. SHRI NARAYAN TATU RANE:

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

- (a) the entrepreneurship-centric initiatives implemented under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 4.0), Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and other allied schemes during the year 2025 and the current year;
- (b) the number of youth who have established enterprises or have been provided structured entrepreneurship support so far;
- (c) the role of institutional partnerships with Startup India, financial institutions and incubation centers in enabling enterprise creation and expansion; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes any targeted incentives, sector- specific support or convergence measures to further strengthen sustainable youth entrepreneurship outcomes and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) and (b): The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has taken various initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in the country. During the year 2025, multiple entrepreneurship  focused  initiatives  were  implemented  with  the  objective  of  promoting  selfemployment, enterprise creation and sustainable livelihoods, particularly among youth, women, SHGs and aspiring micro entrepreneurs. These initiatives were aligned with the Skill India Mission under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 4.0), Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN), Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.

The Ministry through its autonomous organizations, namely, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) has implemented various Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) and Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programmes (ESDPs) under various schemes to promote entrepreneurship amongst  all  sections  of  the  society.  These  EDPs  and  ESDPs  are  designed  to  impart entrepreneurial,  financial  and  managerial  skills  and  also  to  offer  post-training  support  through mentorship, handholding, and access to credit/finance, market linkages and incubation facilities.

Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0, the emphasis is on empowering trained candidates to pursue diverse career pathways by providing appropriate orientation, with a strong focus on entrepreneurship and livelihood creation through On-the-Job Training (OJT) embedded industry-relevant skill courses.

Also,  Skill  India  Digital  Hub  (SIDH)  platform  has  been  launched  as  a  one-stop  platform  that integrates skilling, education, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystems to provide a lifelong array  of  services  targeting  a  wide  range  of  stakeholders.  Details  of  the  trained  candidates  are available on SIDH portal for connecting with potential employers. Through SIDH, candidates can have  access  to  jobs,  apprenticeship  opportunities  and  other  facilities,  including  loans  for entrepreneurship.

Job  role -wise  details  of  candidates  trained  under  PMKVY  4.0  in  FY  2025 -26,  related  to entrepreneurship, are given below:

| Sl. No.   | Job Role Name                     | Trained / Oriented   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------|----------------------|
| i.        | Dairy Farmer/Entrepreneur         | 159                  |
| ii.       | Green Hydrogen Plant Entrepreneur | 336                  |
| iii.      | Handloom Entrepreneur             | 31                   |
| iv.       | Processed Food Entrepreneur       | 108                  |
| v.        | Street Food Vendor - Standalone   | 2,105                |
|           | Total                             | 2,739                |

Additionally, a number of project proposals have been approved under PMKVY 4.0 in FY 2025 -26 with overall target of  81,825 spreading across various entrepreneurship related job roles such as Street Food Vendor -Standalone , Dairy Farmer Entrepreneur , and Livestock Green Management Promoter .

Under  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  4.0  (PMKVY  4.0)  the  key  Entrepreneurship Development Programme funded as special projects during 2025 and the enterprises created/ Van Dhan Kendras established/ Jan Poshan Kendras established are placed at Annexure-I.

In addition, there are various initiatives being implemented by NIESBUD and IIE for promotion of entrepreneurship in the country. The details of such initiatives including the number of youth who have  established  enterprises  or  accessed  structured  entrepreneurship  support  are  placed  at Annexure-II.

The number of youth who have established enterprises or benefited from structured entrepreneurship support are placed at Annexure-III.

(c) and (d) Institutional  partnerships with Startup India, financial institutions and incubation centres play a critical enabling role in enterprise creation and scalability. The Ministry has been implementing sector specific interventions and convergence measures to strengthen institutional partnerships  and  youth  entrepreneurship  outcomes.  Some  of  the  targeted  sectors  are  Dairy Farmer/Entrepreneur, Green Hydrogen Plant Entrepreneur, Handloom Entrepreneur, Processed Food  Entrepreneur,  Street  Food  Vendor,  Fair  Price  Shops,  Rooftop  Solar,  empowerment  of transgender community etc.

In this context, the specific interventions and convergence measures include-

- I. Promotion of credit and market linkages and handholding and mentoring support ensuring training leads to tangible enterprise outcomes.
- II. Encouragement of formalization including enterprise registration and digital adoption.
- III. Prioritization of high employment and local potential sectors such as agro processing and food value chains; handloom, handicrafts and traditional industries; tourism and hospitality; solar entrepreneurship etc.
- IV. Development of sector aligned skilling and entrepreneurship programmes.
- V. Strengthened convergence with National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under Ministry of Rural Development.
- VI. Further, the Ministry participated in the second edition of the Startup Mahakumbh held in April  2025  ensuring  that  India's  startup  ecosystem  benefits  from  both  entrepreneurship policy support and skill development making Startup Mahakumbh a more holistic platform for startups, innovators and youth participants.

In addition, there are various schemes/ programmes  being implemented by Ministries/ Departments of Government of India with the objective of promoting and supporting entrepreneurs. The  details  of  various  Government  programmes  promoting  entrepreneurship  development  are placed at Annexure-IV.

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  AND  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5771 FOR ANSWER ON 30.03.2026.

The  details  of  various  entrepreneurship  initiatives  funded  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas Yojana 4.0 as special projects are as under:

1. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) -MSDE, through NIESBUD and IIE, is implementing the skilling and entrepreneurship component of Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha  Abhiyaan  (PM  JANMAN) -a  scheme  of  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  for  upliftment  of  Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), since March 2024. The scheme focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including MSDE. One of the key interventions of the Ministry is facilitating skill and  entrepreneurship  developments  in  Van  Dhan  Vikas  Kendras  (VDVKs).  The  project  is  being implemented with support of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) in 15 States across the country under which a total of 500 VDVKs are to be set up.  As on 25.03.2026, a total of 38,386 beneficiaries have been provided with structured entrepreneurship support and a total of 489 VDVKs have been operationalized.
2. Capacity  Building  Programme  for  Fair  Price  Shop  Owners -MSDE,  in  collaboration  with  the Department  of  Food  and  Public  Distribution  (DFPD),  Ministry  of  Consumer  Affairs,  Food  and  Public Distribution, has undertaken a Capacity Building Programme for Fair Price Shop (FPS) Owners. The project is aimed at enabling the FPS owners to run their businesses in consonance with the contemporary practices being adopted by Retail Entrepreneurs. As on 25.03.2026, 315 FPS owners have been been provided with structured entrepreneurship support under this programme, resulting in conversion of 91 Fair Price Shops to Jan Poshan Kendras

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  AND  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5771 FOR ANSWER ON 30.03.2026.

## The details of various initiatives being implemented by MSDE for promotion of entrepreneurship in the country are as under:

1. Swavalambini programme: MSDE in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog, launched the Swavalambini- a Women Entrepreneurship Programme in February 2025 in the NorthEastern States of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The programme aims to  cultivate  an  entrepreneurial  mindset  among  female  students  through  Entrepreneurship  Awareness Training  (EAP)  for  1,200  students,  and  out  of  these  students  providing  Entrepreneurship  Development Programme (EDP) for 600 students. NIESBUD and IIE are the implementing agencies for the program.

Furthermore, Swavalambini aims to recognise and reward successful women entrepreneurs emerging from the  programme  through  the  Award  to  Rewards  Initiative  of  Women  Entrepreneurship  Platform  of  NITI AAYOG. The programme will leverage workshops, seed funding, and structured mentoring to support the growth of women-led enterprises.

As  on  25.03.2026,  a  total  of  559  candidates  have  been  provided  with  Entrepreneurship  Development programme. The programme has resulted in creation of 11 enterprises.

2. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme NIESBUD under MSDE  in  collaboration  with  the  Ministry  of  New  and  Renewable  Energy  (MNRE)  is  organizing Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs) on Solar Entrepreneurship under the flagship initiative, PM  Surya  Ghar  Muft  Bijli  Yojana.  This  programme  aims  to  promote  rooftop  solar  adoption,  empower entrepreneurs,  and  create  sustainable  livelihood  opportunities  by  fostering  and  mentoring  budding  and existing  entrepreneurs  in  the  field  of  solar  entrepreneurship.  As  on  15.03.2026,  a  total  of  30,928 beneficiaries have been imparted training under the initiative, out of which 4,225 are women and 6144 enterprises have been established..
3. Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) - DAJGUA is a scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs wherein the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been assigned two specific interventions of establishing Skilling Centres in 30 tribal districts and providing training for capacity building and business development of 1000 VDVKs and tribal groups. As on 15.03.2026, a total of 12,746 beneficiaries have been provided with structured entrepreneurship support under the initiative.
4.  Establish, Develop and Manage Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDC) and Incubation Centers (IC) in North East Region's Educational Institution -Under this Project, IIE is mandated to Establish, Develop and Manage EDC and Incubation Centers (ICs) in North East Region's Educational Institutions. The key features of the project include establishing, developing and managing 30 EDCs and 4 ICs in 8 states of NER, identifying and training 600 mentors from 30 target districts, identifying and training 3600 youth from 30 target districts, incubating 100 business ideas in 4 ICs, supporting 900 business ideas in 30 EDCs through convergence and Seed fund for top 50 incubates in 4 ICs.
4. As on 15.03.2026, 30 EDCs are fully functional across all 8 North Eastern states and trained 677 mentors.

943 participants have been trained under EDP and 150 entrepreneurs have been selected for incubation.

5. Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) for Transgender Persons -EDP for transgender programme  is  being  implemented  by  NIESBUD  under  the  SMILE  (Welfare  of  Transgender  Persons) Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The  programme  focuses  on  skill  development,  enterprise  creation,  and  financial  empowerment  of transgender beneficiaries, while ensuring compliance with scheme guidelines, outcome assessment, and performance reporting requirements. As per the programme status data, multiple EDP batches have been conducted  across  locations  such  as  Delhi  and  Mumbai.  Till  15.03.2026,  NIESBUD  has  conducted  5 programmes in which around 125 transgender participants have participated. Approximately 20% of the trained candidates have established their enterprises and have participated in various exhibitions with the support of the Institute, such as the International Trade Fair and Surajkund Mela.

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  AND  (B)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5771 FOR ANSWER ON 30.03.2026.

The number  of youth who  established enterprises and benefited from Entrepreneurship Development Programs in last 3 years is as under:

| Sl. No.                                                                | Name of Project                                                                                                                               | No. of Enterprise Created                                              | Benefited from Entrepreneurship Development Programs                   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)                             | Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)                                                                                                    | Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)                             | Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)                             |
| 1                                                                      | Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan - PM JANMAN                                                                                 | 30                                                                     | 1702                                                                   |
| 2                                                                      | Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA)                                                                                           | 6                                                                      | 1200                                                                   |
| 3                                                                      | Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) Project                                                                         | 1361                                                                   | 14000                                                                  |
| 4                                                                      | Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana - PMVDY (under Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission - PMJVM)                                                 | 358                                                                    | 107400                                                                 |
| 5                                                                      | SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries)                                                                            | 54                                                                     | 30000                                                                  |
| 6                                                                      | Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)                                                                               | 13                                                                     | 2993                                                                   |
| 7                                                                      | Formation and Revival of Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs)                                                                           | 25                                                                     | 4661                                                                   |
| 8                                                                      | Comprehensive Entrepreneurship & Skill Development Training Program (CESDTP) for Tribal Artisans under SANKALP Scheme                         | 1000                                                                   | 10000                                                                  |
| 9                                                                      | ESDP Scheme under DC-MSME                                                                                                                     | 76                                                                     | 20063                                                                  |
| 10                                                                     | Startup Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)                                                                                             | 4092                                                                   | 28111                                                                  |
| Total                                                                  | Total                                                                                                                                         | 7015                                                                   | 220130*                                                                |
| National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development | National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development                                                                        | National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development | National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development |
| 1                                                                      | Strengthening Entrepreneurial Climate through Capacity Building, Incubation Support, Mentoring, and Handholding under SANKALP Scheme          | 21629                                                                  | 62825                                                                  |
| 2                                                                      | Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PMJANMAN)                                                                                  | 459                                                                    | 36684                                                                  |
| 3                                                                      | Swavalambini Women Entrepreneurship Programme                                                                                                 | 11                                                                     | 302                                                                    |
| 4                                                                      | Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) Project                                                                         | 1022                                                                   | 32091                                                                  |
| 5                                                                      | Capacity Building Programme for Fair Price Shop Owners                                                                                        | 91                                                                     | 315                                                                    |
| 6                                                                      | Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA)                                                                                           | 0                                                                      | 11546                                                                  |
| 7                                                                      | Rastriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana on Pilot Basis for PM Svanidhi Beneficiaries                                                               | 194                                                                    | 1704                                                                   |
| 8                                                                      | Entrepreneurial Climate through Training of Trainers (ToTs) and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) in Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) | 1463                                                                   | 3969                                                                   |
| 9                                                                      | Pilot Project on Entrepreneurship Development in Holy Cities                                                                                  | 747                                                                    | 8023                                                                   |
| 10                                                                     | Organising Workshops in Artisan Melas and Haats                                                                                               | 330                                                                    | 592                                                                    |
| 11                                                                     | Pilot Project for Entrepreneurship Development Program                                                                                        | 1917                                                                   | 5000                                                                   |
| 12                                                                     | Entrepreneurship based Skill Development Program on Solar Entrepreneurship PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana                                    | 6144                                                                   | 30928                                                                  |
| Total                                                                  | Total                                                                                                                                         | 34007                                                                  | 193979**                                                               |

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (C)  AND  (D)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5771 FOR ANSWER ON 30.03.2026.

The details of various other measures/schemes being implemented by the Government to support entrepreneurship are as under:

1.  Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  &  Medium  Enterprises: Ministry  of  MSME,  through  Khadi  and  Village Industries Commission (KVIC), is implementing the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).

## Number of Microenterprises assisted across the country under PMEGP during FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25 is given below:

| Financial Year   | No. of Units Assisted   | MMSubsidy (Rs. Cr)   | Estimated Employment Generated   |
|------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2022-23          | 85,167                  | 2,722.17             | 6,81,336                         |
| 2023-24          | 89,118                  | 3,093.87             | 7,12,944                         |
| 2024-25          | 59,708                  | 2,202.00             | 4,77,664                         |

2. Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) - Rural Skills Division is implementing the following two welfare schemes in the field of skill development for rural poor youth for their gainful employment with a view to eradicate poverty in the country under the umbrella scheme of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). A brief on the Schemes is as under :-
- A. Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY) is  a  placement-linked  skill development  program  for  rural  poor  youth  in  the  age  group  of  15-35  years.  DDU-GKY  2.0  includes provisions for self and gig employment, with training activities having commenced recently.
- B. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) is a Bank lead - Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)  funded  training  institutions  established  by  the  Sponsoring  Banks  in  their  Districts,  to  provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development. Under RSETI, the number of youth trained during the 2025-26, along with the number of youths settled (established enterprises or benefited) is furnished below:
3. Ministry of Textiles - Samarth (Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector) of Ministry of Textiles provides demand driven, placement-oriented skilling programmes to supplement the efforts of the industry in  creating  jobs  in  the  organized  textile  and  related  sectors,  covering  the  entire  value  chain  of  textiles, excluding Spinning and Weaving in organized sector on pan India basis. Under the Scheme, a total of 5.95 lakh beneficiaries have been trained till 05.03.2026.
4. Department For Promotion Of Industry And Internal Trade (DPIIT) -The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) was approved for a period of four years starting from 2021-22 with a corpus of Rs. 945 crore. The Scheme is implemented from 1 st  April 2021 under the Startup India initiative. Under the Scheme, financial  assistance  is  provided  to  eligible  startups  through  incubators  for  activities  such  as  proof  of concept  and  validation  of  ideas,  prototype  development and product trials, product development and testing and market entry and commercialization. Funds are disbursed by incubators to startups in milestonebased installments, linked to progress in product development and readiness for market launch. Considering the  milestone-based  nature  of  disbursement  and  the  time  required  by  incubators  and  startups  to  utilize sanctioned funds effectively, the Scheme has recently been provided an extension to facilitate continued disbursement of committed funds and to enable incubators and startups to complete approved activities.

|                             | Total     | Total     |
|-----------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| Financial Year              | Trained   | Settled   |
| 2025-26 (till February, 26) | 5.11 Lakh | 3.39 Lakh |

As  on  31st  January  2026,  219  incubators  have  been  selected  under  the  Scheme and the complete corpus of Rs. 945 crore has been committed to these selected incubators and Rs. 575 crore has been disbursed to them. Further, the approved  incubators  have  selected  a  total  of  3,311  startups  for  support  under  the Scheme. Under the Startup India initiative, for ease of credit access, the Government is also implementing the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) for  enabling debt funding to startups through eligible financial institutions [Member Institutions (MIs)]. CGSS is operationalized by the National Credit Guarantee

Trustee Company (NCGTC) Limited and has been operationalized from 1 st  April 2023. As on 31st January 2026, 348 loans amounting to Rs 925.90 crore have been guaranteed to startup borrowers under CGSS.

5. Ministry of Minority Affairs The Ministry of Minority Affairs implements Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan  (PM  VIKAS)  Scheme  as  a  Central  Sector  scheme  which  focuses  on  socio-economic empowerment  of  six  notified  minorities  through  skill  development;  entrepreneurship  and  leadership development of minority women; and education support for school dropouts. A target of over 3,380 women candidates has been allocated under the Women Leadership and Entrepreneurship component of the PM VIKAS scheme.
6. Department of Financial Services (DFS) under Ministry of Finance launched Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) on 08.04.2015 to extend collateral free institutional credit up to Rs.20 lakh by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Any individual, who is otherwise eligible to take a loan and has a business plan for small business enterprise can avail loan under the Scheme for income generating activities in the manufacturing, trading, service sectors including activities allied to agriculture across four loan categories, viz. Shishu (loans upto Rs. 50,000/-), Kishor (loans above Rs. 50,000/- and upto Rs. 5 lakh), Tarun (loans above Rs. 5 lakh and upto Rs. 10 lakh) and Tarun Plus (loans above Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs. 20 lakh). As on 27.02.2026, a total of 57.26 crore loan accounts amounting to Rs. 39.48 lakh crore have  been  extended  since  inception  of  the  scheme.  The  Scheme  is  presently  functioning  and  being implemented across the country.

Stand-Up India Scheme (SUI) was launched on 05.04.2016. The objective of the Scheme was to facilitate loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) of value between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and one-Woman borrower per Bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprise in manufacturing, services or trading sector, including activities allied to agriculture. The Scheme was valid/operational till March 2025.

The Stand Up India scheme has facilitated over 2.75 lakh loans amounting to Rs.62,790 crore to SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs across the country, as on 31.03.2025.

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