Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey takes charge as Cabinet Minister of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, the newly elected Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship today took charge of his office at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in Shram Shakti Bhawan, New Delhi. Shri R. K. Singh, Minister of State, MSDE, was also present on the occasion along with former Minister of Skill development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, who congratulated Dr Pandey on taking up the new assignment.

In his first review meeting with senior officials at the ministry, the Hon’ble Minister decided to waive off the fee for SC/ST candidates, who join vocational training under Jan Sikshan Sansthans (JSS) operating under the aegis of MSDE.

Highlights

• Announces fee waiver for SC/ST candidates of Jan Sikshan Santhan (JSS)
• Emphasises on the “importance of mapping continuity of job in a candidate’s lifecycle and ensure sustainable growth.”

This decision follows the recent comprehensive reforms brought in January 2019 for Directorate of Jan Shikshan Sansthan (DJSS), which was formerly under the Ministry of Human Resources Development and was transferred to the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in 2018. These decisions aim to further strengthen the skill ecosystem benefiting those in the underprivileged sections of society.

Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey assumes office as Cabinet Minister of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Addressing the media persons on the occasion, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “I am extremely humbled that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has given me this responsibility to steer India’s Skill Mission and we will ensure that we deliver on his expectations. If there was ever a time to reap India’s demographic dividend, it is now. Our endeavor will be to deliver world class skill training so that our youth can reap the benefits both within the country and in the international markets. It has been the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister to make India the skill capital of the world and it is with this objective that this ministry was created, and we shall work towards achieving its goals.”

“MSDE under the last NDA government, has made some great achievements and has been able to ensure smooth coordination and convergence across entities working for skill development across the country. With the support of my colleague Shri R K Singh and officials of MSDE, I am certain that we will be able to scale up through new initiatives and take Skill India to its next level. Our primary focus will be to create opportunities of employment for the youth with due support and participation from the industry. Also, it is imperative to map the continuity of employment in a candidate’s lifecycle and entrepreneurship will be one of the critical elements in it. It is important that these employment opportunities are sustainable and regular in nature,” he further added.

The National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) over the last 5 years has been steadily making progress and today more than One Crore youth are being presently imparted skills training annually under various programs of the Central Government. NSDM has been able to ensure convergence, coordination and harmonization of the fragmented skilling efforts of various Ministries in Government of India and other key stakeholders like State Government, Industry, Training ecosystem etc. through the instruments of Common norms, implementation of National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), data integrations through the Skill India Portal and quality assurance through the SMART (Skill Management and Accreditation of Training Centre) portal.