The scheme emphasizes making ITIs more aspirational, industry-managed, and equipped with modern infrastructure to meet the demands of emerging sectors such as electronics, automotive, and renewable energy. It aims to skill 20 lakh youth through industry-aligned courses and adopts an industry-led Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model for greater collaboration between educational institutions and industry. Additionally, the initiative will focus on improving trainer quality by upgrading infrastructure at NSTIs and providing training to 50,000 trainers, thereby addressing infrastructure gaps and outdated curricula that have historically impacted employability and perceptions of vocational training.

Aligned with Prime Minister’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision for 2047, the scheme seeks to position vocational education as a core driver of inclusive growth and global competitiveness. With India currently hosting over 14,600 ITIs serving 14.4 lakh students, the initiative aims to create a future-ready workforce that can support the country’s industrial expansion and economic development, fostering a more skilled, employable, and industry-relevant talent pool.

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Bengaluru, February 10, 2025: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the continuation and restructuring of the Central Sector Scheme ‘Skill India Programme (SIP)’ till 2026 with an overlay outlay of ₹8,800 crore from the period 2022-23 to 2025-26. This decision underscores the government’s commitment to building a skilled, future-ready workforce by integrating demand-driven, technology-enabled, and industry-aligned training across the country.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0), the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS), and the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme – the three key components, are now combined under the composite Central Sector Scheme of “Skill India Programme”.   These initiatives aim to provide structured skill development, on-the-job training, and community-based learning, ensuring that both urban and rural populations, including marginalized communities, have access to high-quality vocational education. Under the three flagships schemes of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, more than 2.27 Crore beneficiaries till date.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0

PMKVY 4.0 scheme provides NSQF aligned skill development training through Short-Term Training (STT) including Special Projects (SP) and reskilling and upskilling through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) with its target beneficiary being 15-59 years of age. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0) has undergone transformational changes to make skill development training industry oriented, aligned with national priorities with increased accessibility. A key shift under the scheme is the integration of On-the-Job Training (OJT) within short-term skilling programs, ensuring that trainees gain real-world exposure and industry experience. To keep pace with evolving industry demands and advent of new age technology, 400+ new courses on AI, 5G technology, Cybersecurity, Green Hydrogen, Drone Technology, have been introduced, focusing on emerging technologies and future skills.

The blended and flexible learning model now incorporates digital delivery, making training more flexible and scalable. To provide targeted, industry-relevant skills, enabling learners to upskill, reskill, and enhance employability in high-demand job roles, the program introduces micro-credential and National Occupational Standards (NoS)-based courses ranging from 7.5 to 30 hours.

To maximize ensure cross utilization of existing infrastructure and to expand access to quality training, Skill Hubs have been established across premier academic institutions, including IITs, NITs, and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), Kendriya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), PM Shri Schools, Toolrooms, NILET, CIPET etc. PMKVY 4.0 ensures industry-aligned training with curriculum available in multiple regional languages, making skilling more inclusive and accessible. Over 600 trainee and trainer handbooks have been translated into eight regional languages to enhance learning outcomes.

To strengthen quality training and assessments, a national pool of one lakh assessors and trainers is being developed, ensuring standardization and expertise across training centers. Industry partnerships ensure access to employment opportunities through Recruit Train Deploy (RTD) training.

Additionally, the scheme places a strong emphasis on international mobility, ensuring Indian workers are equipped with globally recognized skills. Ministry has Mobility Partnership Agreements (MMPAs) and MoUs with various countries and has conducted necessary sectorial skill gap studies. Under the scheme, enablement of training in domain skills, joint certifications, language proficiency, and soft skills have been initiated to enhance the international mobility opportunities for our workforce.

Under PMKVY 4.0, a whole-of-government approach has been adopted to drive inter-ministerial convergence, ensuring the seamless execution of skilling initiatives across sectors. The scheme caters to the skilling components of various skill development and entrepreneurship schemes, maximizing impact and resource efficiency. Key collaborations include PM Vishwakarma under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, and the National Green Hydrogen Mission of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, NAL JAL Mitra etc.

To enhance efficiency, procedural changes have been introduced, including the realignment of the demand assessment strategy to better identify sectoral skill gaps and industry needs. A key reform in PMKVY 4.0 is the “Ease of Doing Business” approach, which has significantly reduced the compliance burden, making participation in the scheme more streamlined and efficient.

PM National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS)

The National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 focuses on apprenticeship as one of the key components for creating skilled manpower in India. Apprenticeship training can play a major role for on-the-job vocational training where youth can acquire skills by working at actual workplace and earn some stipend, at the same time, to financially support himself. Apprenticeship is considered, globally as well, as the best model for skill acquisition and earning while learning.

The Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (PM-NAPS) supports seamless transition from education to work, ensuring apprentices gain industry-specific skills through real-world exposure. To support both apprentices and establishments in India, 25% of the stipend, up to ₹1,500 per month per apprentice, will be provided through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) during the training period, provided by the Central Government. The scheme is designed for individuals aged 14 to 35 years, ensuring inclusive access to skill development opportunities across various demographics.

NAPS encourages apprenticeship opportunities in prevailing manufacturing including emerging fields such as AI, robotics, blockchain, green energy, and Industry 4.0 technologies. This aligns skilling initiatives with futuristic job markets and industry trend. The scheme also encourages enrolment of apprentices in small establishments especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and those located in the underserved areas such as aspirational districts and North-East Region.

Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme

The Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme is a community-centric skilling initiative designed to make vocational training accessible, flexible, and inclusive, particularly for women, rural youth, and economically disadvantaged groups and caters to the age group of 15 -45 years of age. By delivering low-cost, doorstep training with flexible schedules, JSS ensures that skilling opportunities reach those who need them the most, fostering both self-employment and wage-based livelihoods. Beyond skill development, the program plays a vital role in social empowerment, creating awareness on health, hygiene, financial literacy, gender equality, and education within communities JSS is linked with key initiatives of the Government like: PM JANMAN, Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS), etc. to promote inclusive skilling.

Aligned with national frameworks, all certifications under the Skill India Program are mapped to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and seamlessly integrated with DigiLocker and the National Credit Framework (NCrF), ensuring formal recognition of skills and enabling smooth transitions into employment and higher education.

With the continuation of the Skill India Programme, the government seeks to reinforce its commitment to lifelong learning, recognizing the importance of continuous upskilling and reskilling in today’s rapidly changing employment landscape. The initiative will directly contribute to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, ensuring that workforce development policies remain aligned with economic and industrial trends.

The Skill India Programme plays a crucial role in equipping India’s workforce with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving global economy. By integrating industry-relevant training, emerging technologies, and international mobility initiatives, the program aims to create a highly skilled and competitive workforce. As a key driver of economic empowerment, Skill India contributes to employment generation, entrepreneurship, and productivity enhancement across sectors. The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) remains committed to strengthening vocational education, expanding apprenticeship opportunities, and fostering lifelong learning, ensuring that India’s workforce is future-ready and positioned as a global leader in skill-based employment.

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a) New Delhi Railway Station;

b) Ahmedabad Railway Station; and

c) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai

Railway Station is an important and central place for any city. Prime Minster Sh. Narendra Modi has given importance to stations development in the transformation of Railways. Today’s Cabinet decision gives a new direction to the station development. Work on redevelopment of 199 Stations is going on. Out of these, tenders have been issued for 47 stations. Master planning and design for the remaining is underway. Work is progressing fast for 32 stations. Today, the Cabinet has sanctioned investment of Rs. 10,000 crore for 3 big stations, namely New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai and Ahmedabad Railway Stations.

The standard elements of station design will be:

Every station will have a spacious roof plaza (36/72/108 m) with all passenger amenities at one place along with spaces for retail, cafeterias, recreational facilities.
Both sides of the city will be connected with the station, with the station building on both sides of Railway tracks.
Facilities like food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children, place for local products, etc will be available.
The stations located within the city will have a city center like place.
To make the stations comfortable, there will be proper illumination, way finding/signages, acoustics, lifts/escalators/travelators.
Master plan has been prepared for smooth movement of traffic, with adequate parking facilities.
There will be integration with other modes of transportation like metro, bus etc.
Green Building Techniques will be used, with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover.
Special care will be taken to provide Divyang friendly facilities.
These stations will be developed on the concept of intelligent building.
There will be segregation of arrival/departures, Clutter free platforms, improved surfaces, fully covered platforms.
The stations will be safe with installation of CCTV and access control.
These will be iconic station buildings.

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