4.2 million to be skilled under 19 schemes over 5 years

The skill development and entrepreneurship ministry plans to train more than 4.2 million candidates under 19 central government schemes, spread across 15 ministries, in the next five years to create a pool of skilled workforce to cater to the global demand and ensure smooth implementation of these schemes on the ground.

Of these, the highest number of candidates, around 3 million, will be trained and certified under the PM Vishwakarma scheme by 2027-28 in association with the micro, small and medium enterprises ministry, as per an internal document prepared by the ministry, a copy of which has been seen by ET.

Another 1.16 million candidates will be trained by 2029-30 for the National Green Hydrogen Mission under the new and renewable energy ministry.


"This is the biggest convergence programme between different ministries, aimed at fast-tracking skills training in the country and creating a pool of skilled workforce for new-age technologies and schemes to ensure their effective implementation," a senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, special targeted courses are being developed for each scheme and training is imparted in a time-bound manner under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).

The cumulative number of candidates trained under the identified 19 schemes could surpass 4.5 million, with the ministry still assessing demand for skilled workforce in 11 out of 19 schemes, though the majority of them are small schemes. The training will be partly funded by the skill development and entrepreneurship ministry and partly by the ministry involved in the implementation of a particular scheme, and the share of contribution varies from project to project.

In February, the Union cabinet had approved ₹8,800 crore for the Skill India Programme for 2022-23 to 2025-26, paving the way for industry-aligned skills training across the country, with a major chunk of ₹6,000 crore going to PMKVY 4.0.