Parliament Question: Industry-Aligned Skill Development

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1231 ANSWERED ON 27.07.2026 INDUSTRY-ALIGNED SKILL DEVELOPMENT †1231 SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to

state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that despite various skill development programmes in the country, a large number of youths are unable to secure employment commensurate with their training qualifications;

(b) if so, the details of the youth trained, certified and gainfully employed under major schemes (such as PMKVY etc.) functioning under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship during the last five years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any assessment regarding the gap between the quality of skill training, industry requirements and employability, if so, the major findings thereof; and

(d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to enhance the employability of the youth, strengthen industry-aligned training and increase the effectiveness of skill development programmes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d): As per the latest estimates of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the National Sample Survey Office, the unemployment rate on usual status for person of age 15-59 years has decreased from 6.5 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.4 per cent in 2025.

To improve the employability of youth of the country, 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 Shikshan 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. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future-ready, equipped with industry-relevant skills.

The details of the beneficiaries trained and certified under various schemes under MSDE during the last five years and the current year up to 30.06.2026, State/UT-wise are given at Annexure.

Under PMKVY, placements were tracked in the Short-Term Training (STT) component in the first three versions of the Scheme - PMKVY 1.0, PMKVY 2.0 and PMKVY 3.0, implemented from FY2015-16 to FY 2021-22. Under PMKVY 1.0 to 3.0 a total of 1.11 Crore candidates were certified, out of which 24.38 lakhs were reported placed under the STT component of the scheme.Further, under PMKVY 4.0, the focus is to empower the trained candidates to choose their varied career paths, and they are suitably oriented for the same.

PMKVY: An independent third-party impact evaluation of the PMKVY 4.0 has been conducted by Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As per the 2025 report, PMKVY training has contributed to a measurable shift in employment outcomes for STT candidates. The combined share of employed and self-employed STT respondents increased from 26.6% prior to training to 45.4% after PMKVY training, reflecting an 18.8 percentage point increase. Income-related outcomes also show positive movement, with 41.4% of STT candidates and 48.9% of RPL candidates reporting an increase in income following training and certification. Overall, PMKVY 4.0 has significantly expanded access to formal skill training and certification and has generated measurable improvements in skill confidence, employment participation, and income outcomes for a substantial proportion of beneficiaries.

JSS: A third-party evaluation of the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme was conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, an autonomous Institution of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, in 2025 to assess the scheme’s outreach, effectiveness and livelihood outcomes. The evaluation highlighted significant achievements of the scheme, with

33.94 lakh individuals enrolled, of whom 32 lakh were trained and 31.52 lakh certified, reflecting an overall success rate of 99 percent. Women constituted a dominant 82 percent share of total participants, while 73 percent beneficiaries belonged to marginalized sections, including SC/ST (36 percent) and OBC (37 percent). The livelihood impact has been noteworthy, with 90 percent alumni utilizing acquired skills for income generation, 82 percent becoming economically engaged within six months of training, and 60 percent of previously non-earning individuals starting to earn post-training. The average monthly income of beneficiaries recorded a four-fold increase.

NAPS: A third-party evaluation study of Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PMNAPS-2) from FY 2022-23 to FY 2025-26 (Data up to 30th November 2025) was conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. As per the report, PMNAPS 2 achieved significant scale during the evaluation period, engaging 34.69 lakh apprentices against a cumulative target of 46 lakh, translating into an overall achievement of approximately 75 percent. The institutionalization of DBT has improved financial transparency and predictability.

Cumulative DBT disbursement exceeded ₹1,094 crore, with annual disbursement rising from ₹327.2 crore in FY 2023–24 to ₹500.16 crore in FY 2024–25.

To enhance the employability of the youth, strengthen industry-aligned training and increase the effectiveness of skill development programs, the following 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 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. 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.vi. 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.

vii. 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.

viii. 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.

ix. Kaushal Melas and Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Melas (PMNAMs) are organised to facilitate the placements and apprenticeship opportunities to the certified candidates. x. 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.Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1231 ANSWERED ON 27.07.2026 REGARDING ‘INDUSTRY-ALIGNED SKILL DEVELOPMENT’ Details of the beneficiaries trained and certified under various schemes of MSDE during the last five years and the current year up to 30.06.2026, State/UT-wise:

CTS/ITIs PMKVY JSS NAPS State/UT Trained* Certified** Trained Certified Trained Certified Trained Certified Andaman And Nicobar 3129 1783 1600 1456 8097 8090 566 188 Islands Andhra Pradesh 250950 150491 85101 53954 60263 60171 1,08,595 23,245 Arunachal Pradesh 3270 1881 18258 12245 0 0 443 71 Assam 22354 12609 118895 75944 52376 52185 49,064 8,870 Bihar 559901 329091 171563 116880 197653 193626 34,400 6,327 Chandigarh 4973 2894 2077 1649 9332 9059 6,387 1,233 Chhattisgarh 113569 57830 34819 21230 129809 127701 25,931 14,891 Delhi 48661 27073 27203 18720 29711 29610 1,10,755 9,203 Goa 11026 6396 635 479 9759 9678 46,146 4,065 Gujarat 433939 204900 61863 38903 86745 86145 4,54,358 1,06,241 Haryana 254079 138055 104960 78307 33618 32422 3,47,573 91,408 Himachal Pradesh 102168 70667 32935 25682 92335 91928 45,132 5,188 Jammu And Kashmir 42969 22611 107487 85856 6893 5943 5,137 1,012 Jharkhand 194035 104983 62874 41874 101722 101128 52,068 24,061 Karnataka 354316 184540 87274 61038 114745 114647 4,14,168 57,117 Kerala 164007 107873 32514 22279 88874 88646 67,995 29,481 Ladakh 1661 843 1570 911 1529 717 198 87 Lakshadweep 1588 915 240 52 5177 5097 41 44 Madhya Pradesh 355003 172218 336337 233834 275669 274262 1,32,103 29,991 Maharashtra 609589 353917 121226 79025 203879 201813 12,35,721 2,25,703 Manipur 3203 1212 28522 21139 38419 36401 582 24 Meghalaya 3952 2219 10998 6617 6999 6999 1,047 136 Mizoram 1574 809 13335 8161 7057 7023 468 16 Nagaland 1396 761 11748 6917 9542 9354 161 9 Odisha 293410 148741 55462 34868 267840 265561 54,647 21,858 Puducherry 3621 1815 6506 4426 0 0 16,092 1,759 Punjab 208592 104017 141464 114422 17883 17880 88,713 16,204 Rajasthan 483608 242522 320501 265721 79759 79536 1,04,539 19,285 Sikkim 1701 977 7348 3416 0 0 1,959 114 Tamil Nadu 179286 87432 130696 98964 79551 78898 5,01,962 49,263 Telangana 157277 79767 49939 34652 58117 58050 2,01,648 45,428 The Dadra And Nagar 3680 1976 2118 1591 14447 14243 13,992 700 Haveli And Daman And Diu Tripura 11479 4745 18969 14039 18654 18607 2,072 459 Uttar Pradesh 1578759 722942 544614 412262 461298 459201 3,76,242 63,435 Uttarakhand 51411 26714 47143 32996 76175 75640 1,08,084 12,073 West Bengal 193668 121964 89749 56665 71682 71187 1,41,446 23,449 * Trained data up to FY 2025-26 **Certified data up to FY 2024-25 *****