Skill India Mission
Launched on 15 July 2015 — World Youth Skills Day — Skill India is the Government of India's umbrella programme to give the country's young people industry-relevant skills, recognised certification and a path to employment or entrepreneurship.
One mission, many schemes
India has one of the youngest populations in the world, yet for decades only a small share of its workforce had any formal vocational training. The Skill India Mission was created to close that gap at scale — by standardising what a skill means, funding training for those who cannot afford it, and connecting trained candidates to employers.
The mission is anchored by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), formed in November 2014, and delivered through an ecosystem of schemes, institutions and partners. The flagship scheme is the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), now in its fourth phase, which funds short-term training and Recognition of Prior Learning across the country. Alongside it sit the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) programme, the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), the Craftsman Training Scheme in ITIs and state-level missions.
Since the launch, the share of young people aged 15–29 with vocational training has climbed from 7.1% in 2017–18 to 26.1% in 2023–24, and the number of Industrial Training Institutes has grown from 9,776 to 14,682.
Skill India in one line: a national framework that funds training, sets quality standards, certifies skills, and connects people to work.
Key facts
- Launched
- 15 July 2015, by the Prime Minister of India
- Nodal ministry
- Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
- Flagship scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 4.0)
- Quality framework
- National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) — Levels 1 to 8
- Digital backbone
- Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH), launched 13 September 2023
- Trained under PMKVY
- 1.64 crore+ candidates certified (to 31 October 2025)
- Apprentices (NAPS)
- 49.12 lakh engaged, 2016–17 to October 2025
Figures: MSDE written reply in the Lok Sabha, 8 December 2025 (Press Information Bureau).
Who does what
Skill India works because each part of the system has a clear role.
MSDE & state missions
Set policy, fund schemes and monitor outcomes. State Skill Development Missions and corporations (such as RSLDC in Rajasthan) run state-sponsored programmes.
NSDC
The National Skill Development Corporation is the implementation arm — it empanels training partners, funds capacity and runs the Skill India Digital Hub.
Sector Skill Councils
Industry-led bodies for each sector — for example the Healthcare SSC and the Apparel, Made-ups & Home Furnishing SSC — that define job roles, curricula and assess candidates.
NCVET & NSQF
The National Council for Vocational Education and Training regulates quality; the NSQF grades every qualification on eight levels so that certificates are comparable nationwide.
Training partners
Organisations like Ezytm Technologies that mobilise candidates, run training centres, deliver the curriculum and arrange placements under scheme guidelines.
Employers
Hospitals, manufacturers, retailers and service companies that hire certified candidates, host on-the-job training and take on apprentices.
From job role to certificate
Every Skill India course is built on a Qualification Pack (QP) — a published standard for one job role that lists the skills a person must demonstrate. Training partners teach to that standard; an independent assessor checks it; the Sector Skill Council certifies it.
Because the standard is national, a General Duty Assistant certified in Rajasthan carries the same qualification as one certified in Kerala — which is exactly what employers need.
Job role & qualification pack
The Sector Skill Council publishes the job role, its NSQF level, the curriculum and the assessment criteria.
Mobilisation & enrolment
Training partners identify eligible candidates, counsel them and register them on the scheme portal with Aadhaar-linked records.
Training
Domain skills, employability skills, digital literacy and on-the-job exposure — in a centre that meets the scheme's infrastructure norms.
Assessment & certification
A third-party assessor evaluates each candidate; successful candidates receive an NSQF-aligned certificate from the Sector Skill Council.
Placement & tracking
Candidates are placed in wage employment or supported into self-employment, and outcomes are tracked for several months.
A decade of skilling
Key moments that shaped the programmes we implement today.
See our programmes- 2014
MSDE formed; DDU-GKY launched
A dedicated ministry for skills is created in November. In September the Ministry of Rural Development launches Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana for rural youth.
- 2015
Skill India Mission & PMKVY
The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the first PMKVY are launched on 15 July.
- 2016 – 2022
PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0
Short-term training scales up nationwide with placement tracking and Recognition of Prior Learning.
- 2023
PMKVY 4.0 and the Skill India Digital Hub
Focus shifts to industry-aligned, future-ready skills; SIDH brings candidates, training providers, assessors and employers onto one platform.
- 2025
DDU-GKY 2.0 guidelines; PM SETU approved
DDU-GKY guidelines are revised for transparency and an end-to-end digital workflow. The Cabinet approves the ₹60,000 crore PM SETU scheme to upgrade 1,000 ITIs.
- 2026
DDU-GKY 2.0 batches begin
Targets are allocated to states for 2026–28 and training batches start across the country from October 2026 — including the programmes Ezytm is implementing.
Official resources
Learn more directly from the Government portals.
Have a question about our training programmes?
Candidates, parents, employers and partner institutions — send us an enquiry and our team will get back to you within one working day.