Funds spent by the skills development ministry on flagship skilling programme drops by over 13%

Funds spent by the skills development ministry on its flagship skilling programme has dropped by over 13% in 2019-20 compared to the previous fiscal, the lowest in last three years, shows data from the skills ministry.

The government had spent Rs 1648.25 crore for skilling youth under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 2.0) compared to Rs 1909.19 spent in the previous fiscal, RK Singh, minister of state for skills development said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The money spent under the scheme in 2017-18 stood at Rs 1721.18. Under PMKVY 2.0, as on 94.17 lakhs candidates have been trained or oriented until April 1, 2020.

Under the Skill India mission, the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship imparts employable skills to the youth through long term and short term training.While the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 2.0) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) is being used for short term training, long-term training to the youth is being provided through industrial training institutes (ITIs).

Meanwhile, the ministry has collaborated with the ministry of education to impart vocational training to students under the umbrella scheme SamagraShiksha, which is an integrated scheme for school education to children in classes IX and XII along with the general education.

“The National Skill Development Corporation under the Ministry has signed memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with eight countries including Japan, UAE, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Russia, Finland and Morocco for cooperation in the field of vocational education and training,” the minister said in a separate reply.

Besides, the ministry had in June this year entered into an MoU with IBM in for a free digital learning platform “Skills Build Reignite” to provide job seekers and entrepreneurs access to free online coursework and mentoring support designed to help them reinvent their careers and businesses.

“Multifaceted digital skill training in the area of cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) is provided to students and trainers across the nation in the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs),” the minister added.

In a separate reply, the minister also clarified that the government is not considering increasing the stipend payable to apprentices.