Skill India Mission has trained over 3.73 crore learners; details on PMKVY, ITIs, NAPS, JSS

Ziraat Times News Desk

New Delhi — The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) told Parliament on Monday that India’s Skill India Mission (SIM) has trained a total of 3.73 crore candidates across its flagship and partner schemes, according to a written reply by Minister of State (Independent Charge) Shri Jayant Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha.

The figures — compiled from programmes running under MSDE — cover training, apprenticeship and trades education delivered through schemes including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) via Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Key numbers (cumulative, as provided to Parliament)

• PMKVY (since inception to 31 Oct 2025): 1,64,33,033 candidates

• CTS (ITI enrollments, sessions 2014–15 to 2024–25): 1,37,44,062 candidates

• NAPS (apprentices engaged since 2021–22 to 31 Oct 2025): 39,58,151 apprentices

• JSS (since 2018–19 to 31 Oct 2025): 32,53,239 candidates

Combined, these schemes account for 393.8 million? — Correction: combined total reported by the Ministry equals 3,73,88,485 trained candidates across MSDE schemes (sum of the figures above).

Performance, placements and independent evaluations

The ministry said that placement tracking was explicitly conducted for the Short Term Training (STT) component of PMKVY in its first three editions (PMKVY 1.0–3.0). Under PMKVY 4.0, the policy emphasis shifted toward empowering trainees to pursue diverse career paths, with tools such as the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) supporting employability and career choices.

MSDE cited independent third-party evaluations to underline scheme impacts:

• PMKVY (NITI Aayog evaluation, Oct 2020): About 94% of surveyed employers said they would hire more PMKVY-trained candidates; over half of those placed under the RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) component reported better salary prospects than uncertified peers.

• JSS (2020 evaluation): Training reportedly nearly doubled household incomes for beneficiaries, with high participation from women (79%) and rural trainees (50.5%). The study found 73.4% saw better employment outcomes and 89.1% reported higher incomes.

• ITI Tracer Study (2018): The study found 63.5% of ITI pass-outs were employed (wage or self-employed), with 6.7% specifically self-employed.

• NAPS (2021 evaluation): The scheme improved on-the-job training and industry participation; MSDE noted adoption of DBT (direct benefit transfer) for apprentices under the newer scheme iteration to streamline reimbursements.

Ministry’s position and next steps

In his reply, Shri Jayant Chaudhary said the government assesses the impact of skill programmes through independent evaluations and is reorienting schemes (for example, PMKVY 4.0) to broaden career options for trainees rather than focusing solely on placement counts. MSDE also highlighted digital tools such as SIDH as platforms to link trained candidates with opportunity pathways.

What this means in practice

MSDE’s data point to large-scale delivery of training and apprenticeship but also reflect a policy shift: from measuring programme success mainly by placement numbers toward enabling varied employment pathways, self-employment and improved livelihoods. Independent evaluations cited by the ministry indicate positive outcomes—higher employability, income gains and employer acceptance—while also driving changes to payment and monitoring mechanisms (for example, DBT for apprentices).

This information was provided to the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in a written reply on 1 December 2025.