Govt rolls out Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana for entrepreneurs

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship today announced launch of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana to scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters.
"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," an official statement said.
"It will also include easy access to information and mentor network, credit, incubator and accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth."
Speaking on the occasion, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana has national and international best practices of learning in entrepreneurship education.

Besides, the minister said two institutions under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) 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 entrepreneurial skills till date.
"We have seen success so far and we are determined to create more opportunities of employment for our youth through this initiative," Rudy 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 per cent of the states making their representations.
MSDE has plans to disburse around Rs 7,000 crore to states to help align them with the Centre's skill development agenda.
Addressing the conference, Secretary MSDE Rohit Nandan said skills cannot be compromised and the states should partner with the Centre to verify and grade industrial training institutes (ITIs) and training partners to maintain standards.
"The Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) will work closely with the local authorities and industries towards job aggregation. Those who perform well will be incentivised while those who do not perform will have to exit," he said.

The guidelines provide a framework for the state
government's role and processes, the funding support and the scheme's implementation and monitoring mechanism.
MSDE has allocated around Rs 3,000 crore of 25 per cent from the funds earmarked for the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to the states to achieve its target of training 10 million people over 4 years.
The ministry also unveiled the lab guidelines for standardisation of lab equipment across skill development training centres in India.
Emphasising on the importance of being self-sustainable, MSDE announced the institutionalisation of National Entrepreneurship awards for first generation achievers below 30 years. The entrepreneurship awards are proposed to be given on January 16, 2017.

"We believe that this initiative will motivate first generation entrepreneurs to improve and excel in their entrepreneurial pursuits and inspire those who are part of the country's entrepreneurship ecosystem to excel even further," Nandan said.