Unemployment of the youth in India has been a persisting economic roadblock for decades. To address this issue, the Government of India launched the Skill India Mission in 2015 to train 400 million Indian youths in various industrial skills by the year 2022.

Following is an elaboration on what is Skill India Mission and how it can help to boost the employability and entrepreneurial capabilities of those enrolled under it.

What is the Skill India Mission?

To boost the availability of skilled employees by enhancing their employability, the Skill India Mission plans to achieve its goals by imparting technical and vocational training. 

The Skill India Mission includes several courses under its purview that are designed to propagate the objectives of the campaign. These courses can be classified into 5 categories as follows –

• Development and management programmes – 

These include training enrolled individuals in modern office practices, financial statement analysis, marketing for managers, etc.

• Skill development programmes – 

Under the skill india category of courses, individuals are trained for specific jobs like electroplating, carpentry, dairy-based ESDP, fashion designing and the likes.

• Entrepreneurship development programmes – 

The Skill India mission not only aims to boost an individual’s employability but also sharpen his/her entrepreneurial abilities through targeted courses. Few of the courses introduced for this purpose include the CRR scheme, women EDP, women empowerment, etc. One can easily set up their own venture after developing their entrepreneurial skills under this course and then availing an advance like a loan against property to start the business.

• Training of trainer – 

This particular category of courses allows honing the skills of existing trainers by imparting them knowledge about technology infusion, offering accreditation programmes for EM trainers, etc.

• Others –

This final category of courses includes training modules for cluster development, promotion of micro-enterprises, lending strategies for MSMEs, etc.

There are several programmes that have been developed to proffer these courses under Skill India, as mentioned below – 

1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
2. Apprenticeship training
3. Technical Intern Training Programme
4. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra
5. IndiaSkills and WorldSkills Competitions
6. Online Skilling
7. National Skill Development Corporation or NSDC accredited fee-based courses

Of these mentioned programmes, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana or PMKVY is perhaps the most significant.

What are some of the components included under PMKVY?

PMKVY is the flagship course under Skill India Mission that imparts various types of industrial skill-based training to enrolled individuals. Skills so acquired allow them to secure better job opportunities. The fee for these courses, up to an amount of Rs.8,000, is covered by the government on behalf of trainees. Furthermore, those with prior experience can get certified by enrolling under the courses of PMKVY.

The components of PMKVY are given by – 

• Short term training – 

Under this component, unemployed individuals, as well as, school and college dropouts are trained as per the guidelines of the National Skills Qualification Framework in fields like entrepreneurship, soft skill development and digital literacy.

• Prior learning recognition – 

As its name suggests, individuals with prior working experience can get certified, as well as, enrol under Bridge Course that helps to eliminate knowledge gaps.

• Kaushal and rozgar mela – 

Under this component of PMKVY, an event is held under NSDC to fast track the meeting of various employers and job-seekers. Individuals seeking employment have better access to those offering the same through this event, thus boosting employment opportunities for many.

• Special projects – 

Under this component, individuals belonging to vulnerable and marginalised communities of India are trained in various locations, types, formats, premises and institutional settings of government, industrial and corporate bodies. Through this module, PMKVY intends to reach out to the socially disadvantaged and offer them chances of a better livelihood through employment at any of the above mentioned sectors.

Through these components, PMKVY under the aegis of Skill India Mission intends to maximise job opportunities for the country’s unemployed youth, as well as, encourage them to use a loan against property and such other funding options to set up their own business ventures. This perfectly sums up the answer to the question of ‘what is Skill India Mission’ and its objectives.

How can one set up a business venture?

While individuals can easily develop and sharpen their entrepreneurial abilities through the programmes under Skill India Mission, there remains the more pressing question of how to avail capital to start a business.

In this regard, advances like a loan against property can easily fulfil one’s funding requirements without hassle. 

These unsecured loans are – 

• Available up to a quantum of Rs.3.5 crore.
• Have no end-usage restrictions.
• Proffer you with the advantage to avail tax benefits on your LAP. 
• Come with a flexible tenor of up to 20 years.
• Are easily accessible.

Furthermore, borrowers can look for pre-approved offers from their lenders to make availing these loans faster and easier. These pre-approved offers are available on various products, including loan against property, home loans, etc. You can check your pre-approved offer by providing your name and phone number.

With easy financial backing from such advances, and the know-how to set up a business from Skill India Mission, individuals can venture into their pursuits without difficulty.