Parliament Question: Assessment of Skill Gap in Tribal Areas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2521 ANSWERED ON 03.08.2026 ASSESSMENT OF SKILL GAP IN TRIBAL AREAS 2521 DR. MALLU RAVI:

Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to

state:

(a) whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of standardized skilling programmes in Scheduled and tribal areas, including the Nallamala region of Telangana, where many tribal communities possess traditional expertise in forestry, non-timber forest produce, livestock, fisheries, medicinal plants and eco-conservation but they are given the training that is often unrelated to their livelihood needs;

(b) whether the Government has conducted any skill-gap and livelihood mapping to align training with indigenous knowledge, local resources and seasonal occupations district-wise;

(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce region-specific, community-designed courses in collaboration with Tribal Research Institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and industry under Skill India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY);

(d) whether Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and entrepreneurship support is likely to be expanded for tribal youth; and

(e) if so, the details thereof, State and district-wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): Under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission (SIM) , the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) delivers skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres / institutes under various schemes, viz.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), to all the sections of the society across the country including scheduled and tribal areas of Nallamala region of Telangana. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana: MSDE is implementing Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0 as a part of Skill India Program for imparting skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT), up-skilling and re-skilling through Recoginition of Prior Learning (RPL) to the youths across 111 aspirational districts. PMKVY aims to enhance the employability of youth within their local regions and thereby reduce distress migration.

Under PMKVY 4.0, implementation is being decentralized with a focus on District Skill Committees (DSCs) and Skill Hub Institutions to increase last-mile reach, enhance local employability and reduce inter-state migration. The scheme adopts targeted measures,including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for informal workers in remote and tribal border areas, enabling them to obtain formal certification and improved livelihood opportunities.

Under PMKVY, as on 30.06.2026, a total of 58,510 beneficiaries have been trained/oriented in the Nallamala region of Telangana in various sectors.

Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the scheme Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM) through Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) to facilitate and promote livelihood opportunities and entrepreneurship for the tribal population by facilitating the value addition, branding, and marketing of Minor Forest Produces and local agricultural goods. TRIFED has sanctioned 4172 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVKs) under the scheme, associating 12,48,067 members across the country.

Tribal Research Institutes: The Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), functioning as the state- level research arms of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, serve as knowledge and research hubs for tribal development, preservation of tribal cultural heritage, evidence-based planning and legislation, capacity building of tribal communities and associated institutions, and dissemination of information and awareness. These institutes, supported by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, work alongside national initiatives to strengthen tribal welfare and development.

Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) and Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyaan (PMJANMAN): The Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) and Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyaan (PMJANMAN) are flagship missions of the Government of India dedicated to holistic development and benefit saturation across tribal regions. DAJGUA envisions the comprehensive development of tribal areas and communities by addressing critical gaps in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and livelihoods through 25 interventions coordinated across 17 Ministries/Departments. Under DAJGUA, 30 Tribal Skilling Centres (TSCs) have been established by this Ministry in 30 tribal districts across 15 states in the country.

Establishment of Skill Labs and Training of Trainers: MSDE has implemented the project “Establishment of Skill Labs and Training of Trainers in 400 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas

(JNVs) and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) for Delivery of Skilling Courses”, funded through National Skill Development Fund (NSDF). The EMRSs established by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, provide quality residential education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, particularly those residing in remote and tribal areas. The project aimed to strengthen the reach of vocational education in schools through the establishment of 1,200 vocational skill labs aligned with the CBSE curriculum across selected JNVs and EMRSs, with two skill labs in each school. To ensure the effective delivery of vocational education, the project also included a capacity-building component for 1,200 skill teachers, with two teachers trained per school.

PM JANMAN: MSDE, through National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), is implementing the skilling and entrepreneurship component of PM JANMAN – a scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs for upliftment of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), since March 2024. The scheme focuses on 11 critical interventions related to 9 key Ministries including MSDE. The Ministry is facilitating skill and entrepreneurship developments in Van Dhan Vikas Kendras

(VDVKs).

TribeX: Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched TribeX, a first-of-its-kind digital learning platform dedicated to tribal arts, culture, traditional knowledge, and skill development, which presently offers 20 free certificate courses across diverse tribal art forms such as paintings, handicrafts, handloom, artefacts and traditional musical instruments, along with five UGC-recognized one- year hybrid diploma programmes—Tribal Language: Santali (Ol Chiki), Sustainable TribalCulture Based Livelihood Practices, Museology & Tribal Museum Management, Tribal Arts & Crafts of India, and Tribal Textiles.

Skill Gap Studies: Skill Gap studies are conducted from time to time to assess the industry demand and the employability of the candidates trained under various Skill India initiatives in various sectors. Such studies guide the interventions of the Government aimed at preparing the workforce as per the industry needs. Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) have undertaken skill gap studies across sectors such as Electronics, Logistics, Advance Manufacturing, etc.

providing demand–supply assessments and manpower projections.

Further, to synergize initiatives of skill development in the country and to fulfil the regional skill requirements, the schemes of MSDE focus on implementation of training interventions with participation of States and Districts through State Skill Development Mission (SSDMs) and District Skill Committees (DSCs). DSCs identify sectors with employment opportunities as well as the associated demand for skilling in the district, and map the available facilities for Skill Training. Skill Development Programmes of the Government are designed and implemented to bridge identified skill gaps across sectors. The SANKALP (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) scheme also supported a National Skill Gap Study by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), that provided a standardized, data- driven framework to assess skill gaps across seven high-growth sectors including computer programming activities under the IT sector. The skill gap studies help the Government to align the skilling initiatives with industry demand and future workforce needs across the country To reduce employability gap of candidates trained under skill development programs, the

following specific steps have been taken by MSDE: i. National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has been set up as an overarching regulator establishing regulations and standards to ensure quality in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) space.

ii. The Awarding Bodies recognized by NCVET are expected to develop the qualifications as per the industry demand and map them with the identified occupations as per the National Classification of Occupations, 2015 and obtain industry validations.

iii. 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), led by industry leaders in the respective sectors, have been set up which identify the skill development needs of respective sectors as well as to determine skill competency standards.

iv. Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the aegis of MSDE is implementing Flexi MoU Scheme and Dual System of Training (DST) which are meant to provide training to ITI students in industrial environment as per their requirements.

v. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 envisages greater integration of vocational education with mainstream education and promotes seamless mobility between academic and vocational pathways. In line with this vision, the Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP), developed in collaboration with UGC and AICTE, enables students enrolled in degree and diploma programmes to undertake apprenticeship training as an integral part of their curriculum. The programme enhances employability, promotes outcome-based learning, strengthens industry-academia linkages and facilitates acquisition of industry-relevant skills.

vi. Under PMKVY, the new age/future skills job-roles have been specially aligned with Industry 4.0 requirements in areas like AI/ML, Robotics, Mechatronics, Drone Technology, etc. for upcoming market demand and industry requirements.

vii. DGT has introduced new age /future skills courses under CTS to provide training in emerging areas such as 5G Network Technician, Artificial Intelligence Programming assistant, Cyber Security Assistant, Drone Technician etc.

viii. DGT has signed MoU with IT Tech companies like IBM, CISCO, Microsoft, AWS etc. to ensure industry linkages for the institutes at the state and regional levels. These partnerships facilitate the provision of technical and professional skills training in modern technologies.ix. Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) established at Ahmedabad and Mumbai, in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode, provide training to create a pool of industry-ready workforce for Industry, equipped with cutting-edge technology and hands-on training.

x. Kaushal Mahotsavs and Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Melas (PMNAMs) are organised to facilitate the placements and apprenticeship opportunities to the certified candidates. xi. The Government has launched PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs), a centrally sponsored scheme with an investment of Rs.60,000 crore. The scheme envisages the upgradation of 1,000 Government ITIs across the country in a hub-and-spoke model comprising 200 hub ITIs and 800 spoke ITIs. PM-SETU focuses on improving employability outcomes through industry-led governance, and indirectly supports self-employment and entrepreneurship by enabling learners (including early-stage enterprises and first-time entrepreneurs) to acquire industry-relevant skills, gain exposure to real work environments, and access career guidance, placement support, and self-employment support through strengthened institutional systems and industry linkages.

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