SKILL INDIA MISSION - ARTICLE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 15,2015 on the occassion of the first-ever World Youth Skills Day unveiled the Skill India Logo and launched four landmark initiatives of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, namely -

• National Skill Development Mission
• National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme
• the Skill Loan scheme

PMKVY will incentivise skill tarining by providing financial rewards to candidates who successfully complete approved skill training programmes. Over the next year, PMKVY will skill 24 lakh youth, across India. Loans ranging from Rs. 5,000 - 1.5 lakhs will be made available to 34 lakh youth of India seeking to attend skill development programmes over the next five years. Sanction letters for the first ever Skill Loans were handed out by the Prime Minister to aspiring trainees.

During the function, Modi awarded Skill Cards and Skill Certificates to trainees who had recently completed training through the Pilot Phase of PMKVY, which started in May 2015. Such Skill Cards and Skill Certificates will allow trainees to share their identity with employers. Trainees can use these to share skill qualifications with employers in a quick and reliable way during the job search process.

"Today the world focuses on trade in goods but in future the core issue will be how to get skilled people. We need to work in this direction" - Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, July ,2014.

The new National Policy for Skill Development policy is the country's first integrated national scheme for developing skills and promoting entrepreneurship at a large scale and was recently approved by the Union Cabinet. It acknowledges the need for an effective roadmap for promotion of entrepreneurship as the key to a successful skills strategy.