MSDE launches Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojna

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi: Marking the second Foundation Day of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), minister of state (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy,  on November 9 launched the Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana, MSDE’s flagship scheme on entrepreneurship education and training.

The scheme spans over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of Rs 499.94 crore and will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes. It will also include easy access to information and mentor network, credit, incubator and accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth, according to a PIB release.

Speaking on the occassion , the minister said with this the government has taken important strides to scale up entrepreneurship in the country. He said Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana has national and international best practices of learning in entrepreneurship education. He said MSDE’s two institutions dedicated to entrepreneur education and training – NIESBUD and IIE- have trained more than 7 lakh trainees including 2,600 persons from more than 125 countries in the field of entrepreneurial skills till date. After becoming a part of this ministry, these two institutes are now focusing on mentorship of budding entrepreneurs across the country, he said.

The institutes under the PM’s YUVA Yojana include 2,200 Institutes of Higher Learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 ITIs and 50 Entrepreneurship Development Centres, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

The announcement on scheme was made at a day-long national conference of state ministers on “Skilling with quality” which saw more than 80% of the states making their representations. The conference emphasised on the need for strengthening institutional mechanisms for skill development at the state level and bringing in a more robust framework ensuring quality output, outcome and impact on the youth of our country. The MSDE communicated that it has plans to disburse around Rs 7,000 crore to states to help align them with the centre’s skill development agenda and work in conjunction with them to ensure a robust ecosystem.

Addressing the conference, Secretary MSDE, Rohit Nandan, said skills have to maintain a certain baseline standard and we should not get caught in the numbers.

Emphasising on the importance of being self-sustainable, MSDE announced the institutionalisation of National Entrepreneurship awards for first generation achievers below 30 year, for the very first time. The Entrepreneurship Awards are proposed to be given on January 16,2017. States like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh participating in the conference lauded the Centre’s endeavour to bring about convergence across regions and also shared their best practices on Quality Assurance for others to follow.