Skill India Mission

Through this initiative, the government aimed to train >40 crore (400 million) people in India in various skills. 

Key skills:

• Apprenticeship training – The programme was launched to enhance apprenticeship opportunities in the country by providing post-education job training to graduates/diploma holders in engineering.
• Technical intern training programme (TITP) – This programme encourages international cooperation by facilitating the transfer of skills, technology, and expertise among the participating countries and thereby, assists in developing human resources. The program provides opportunities to students for professional development courses in Japan's industrial society for a set period (3-5 years).
• Online skilling – The ‘e-Skill’ India portal links B2C e-learning sites that operate digitally and build & source e-learning content.

Key departments
Under the Skill India Mission, the government established key departments to govern and support various skill development programmes.

Key schemes

In addition, the government has introduced numerous key schemes to ensure that the ‘Skill India Mission’ programmes is implemented throughout the county.

The details of the skilling network across the country as follows: -

Details of trained candidates and financial outlay under MSDE’s schemes across the country is given as under:

Apprenticeship Training

• Presently, approximately 7.09 lakh apprentices are active in various establishments nationwide.
• As of November 29, 2023, 24,74,714 apprentices have been enrolled.
• There are 1,82,057 registered establishments on the apprenticeship portal (https://www.apprenticeshipindia.gov.in).
• The expectation for the current financial year is to engage 15 lakh apprentices under the Apprenticeship Training program.
• Post-graduation programs offer 6-12 months of on-the-job training.
• Significant reforms have been implemented in BTP, NAPS Guidelines, optional trade course rationalization, examinations, and portal procedures, with eleven Office Memorandums issued to support these reforms.
• A total of 9,25,260 apprentices have completed their training to date.
• A pilot Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative has been ongoing since July 2022, with over 2.41 lakh DBT transactions totalling Rs. 35.02 crore (US$ 4.02 million).
• Pan India DBT was launched on August 11, 2023, with Rs. 117.59 crore (US$ 14.05 million) disbursed through DBT.
• The introduction of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has transformed the apprenticeship landscape by ensuring that stipends are directly deposited into the apprentices' bank accounts. This initiative aligns with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making skilling through apprenticeships aspirational, while also promoting earning while learning as outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP).

Skill India Mission – Recent Developments

• On July 1, 2024, Coca-Cola India, in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), launched the Superpower Retailer Program, empowering over 14,000 retailers, including women, in Odisha in just seven months. Launched on October 15, 2023, the program provides industry-specific skills such as customer and financial management through a mix of classroom training and online certification, promoting accessibility and adaptability in the retail sector.
• On  August 7, 2024, Canon India inaugurated two Skill Development Centres in Kapashera, Delhi, and Andheri East, Mumbai, aimed at training Below Poverty Line (BPL) youth aged 18 to 25. This initiative seeks to achieve a 70% job placement rate in high-demand sectors, positively impacting over 2,500 individuals over the next five years.
• On February 20, 2024, Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated Odisha's first Skill India Centre (SIC) in Sambalpur. With a focus on trades like Media & Entertainment, Leather, Tourism & Hospitality, and IT-ITeS, the centre aims to upgrade the skills of over 1200 students, aligning with PM Modi’s vision. Equipped with modern facilities and infrastructure, it offers a blend of classroom and work-based learning, ensuring industry-relevant skills. NSDC oversees program implementation, ensuring quality standards. This initiative aims to foster rural development, local entrepreneurship, and socio-economic growth.
• On October 15, 2023, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) partnered with Coca-Cola India to launch the Superpower Retailer Program, aimed at empowering retailers in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh over three years, providing 14 hours of industry-specific training to 1.40 crore retailers nationwide through the Skill India Digital Portal.
• On September 17, 2023, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Rs. 13,000 crore (US$ 1.56 billion) 'PM Vishwakarma Scheme,' a Central Sector Scheme aimed at providing end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades. The scheme offers benefits such as recognition through certificates and ID cards, skill upgradation with stipends, toolkit incentives, credit support, incentives for digital transactions, marketing support, and integration into the formal MSME ecosystem, ultimately aiming to enhance their work quality, accessibility, and sustainable livelihoods while preserving traditional skills for future generations.
• On September 13, 2023, Skill India Digital (SID) was launched, offering an innovative digital platform focused on Skills and Jobs, built on the robust framework of India Stack Global for top-notch security and scalability. The platform features advanced AI/ML technology for skill set discovery and recommendation, a digital job exchange connecting job seekers with opportunities, and digitally verifiable credentials for authentic skill certifications. SID promotes convergence by integrating various government initiatives and economic indicators, enhancing access to skilling, credit, and markets. It introduces a Digital Skill Card for lifelong learning, supports flexible online/blended skilling with AR/VR/XR technologies, multimedia learning, online assessments, and provides digital discovery of courses and centres through an interactive map interface for convenient access to learning resources.
• In April 2021, the government conducted a regional workshop in Gangtok, Sikkim, including all Northeast states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura—to empower State Skill Development Missions (SSDMS) and District Skill Committees (DSCs) and successfully implement the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
• In February 2021, the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) launched SAKSHAM (Shramik Shakti Manch), a work portal for mapping skills of ‘Shramiks’ (labour) vis-à-vis the demand from MSMEs for better alignment and placement of 10 lakh blue-collared positions.
• In January 2021, the Union Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Japan on the basic framework for a partnership for proper operation of the system involving ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ (SSW).
  • This MoU will provide an institutional framework for both countries to encourage movement of skilled workforce from India to Japan, who have the requisite abilities (including proficiency in the Japanese language) to work in 14 distinct sectors in Japan.

Skill India Mission – Budget allocation

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government allocated funds worth Rs. 3,517.3 crore (US$ 422 million) to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. From the total amount, the government reserved funds for the following initiatives:

Source: Indiabudget.gov.in