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Cover Story

Skill India Mission

n the first-ever World Youth Skills Day (July
15, 2015), the BJP-led NDA government
launched the Skill India Mission. A National
OSkill Development Mission and a new Na-
tional Policy for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
(NPSDE) 2015 are the main features of the initiative. The
Skill India Mission set a target of skilling 400 million
people by 2023.
While the Skill India mission highlighted the critical
importance of skilling for national development, prog-
ress has been slow. In her budget 2024-25 presentation,
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that un-
der the Skill India Mission’s various initiatives including
the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan
Shikshan Sansthan, National Apprenticeship Promotion
Scheme, and Craftsmen Training Scheme through ITIs,
as of February 2024, the mission had trained 14 million
youth, and upskilled and reskilled 5.4 million. That’s 380
million short of the 400 million target.
See www.educationworld.in Archives (‘India awakes to
vocational education’ — February 2010, ‘India’s belated
skilling revolution’ — April 2014, ‘Skilling reskilling, up-
skilling fever raging countrywide’ — August 2024)

72 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2025