Union Cabinet extends Skill India Programme till 2026

The Union Cabinet in a meeting held in New Delhi on 7th February 2025 and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has restructured and extended the central sector scheme “ Skill India Programme” till 2025-26. 

The Skill India Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 to create a trained workforce in India to meet the needs of the industry and help in the economic development of the country.

The government of India later launched various schemes to realize the objectives of the Skill India Mission. 

Three key skilling schemes of the central government -Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS), and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan Scheme have been consolidated into a comprehensive “Skill India Programme”.

Outlay for the Skill India Programme

The Outlay for the Skill India Programme from the period 2022-23 to 2025-26  is Rs 8,800 crore.

Which Ministry implements the Skill India Programme?

The Skill India programme is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

The Ministry came into existence on 9 November 2014.

Components of the  ‘Skill India Programme”

The components of the Skill India Programme are -Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS), and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0:

• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) was launched by the government of India in 2015.
• The PMKVY scheme has been rebooted by the government depending upon the needs of industry and the economy. 
• The PMKVY 4.0 was announced in the Union Budget of 2023-24 and it is being implemented from 1 April 2022 till 31st March 2026.
• The scheme emphasizes job training, industry partnership, and alignment of courses with the needs of the industry. 
• The PMKVY 4.0 focuses on new-age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.

PM National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS)

The government of India launched the Prime Minister National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) in August 2016. Presently the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)-2 is under implementation.

The scheme is for individuals aged 14 to 35 years.

Objectives

• To promote apprenticeship training in the country, by providing partial stipend support to the apprentices engaged under the Apprentice Act, of 1961 by an industry or establishment.
• The apprentice during on-job training gains valuable knowledge and the country gets a skilled workforce.
• The government of India provides 25% of the stipend, up to Rs.1,500 per apprentice to the Industry or the established through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme:

The Scheme of Jan Shikshan Sansthan was launched as Shramik Vidyapeeth in 1967.

It was renamed as the Jan Shikshan Sansthan in 2000 and it was transformed from the Union Ministry of Education to the  Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2018.

The Jan Shikshan Sansthan is implemented through a network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The scheme is a community-centric skilling initiative, to make vocational training accessible, for women, rural youth, and economically disadvantaged groups and caters to the age group of 15 -45 years of age.

Objectives

• improve the occupational skills and technical knowledge of the non/neo literates and persons having a rudimentary level of education up to 8th standard and other school dropouts beyond 8th standard i.e. up to class 12th.
• to raise their efficiency, increase their productive ability, and enhance their livelihood opportunities.
• To identify and promote traditional skills in the districts through skilling/upskilling
• To create a pool of master trainers working across the department/agencies of skill development through a training/orientation programme.