Samarth Scheme

Context: Recently, the government announced its plans to rope in more industry partners to increase the pace of training under its flagship SAMARTH scheme for skill development in the textile sector.

About the SAMARTH scheme :

• Samarth is a demand-driven and placement-oriented umbrella skilling programme of the Ministry of Textiles.
• The implementation period of the scheme: is up to March 2024.
• The training programme and course curriculum have been rationalized keeping in view the technological and market demand of the domestic and international economies.
• In addition to the entry-level skilling, a special provision for upskilling/ re-skilling programme has also been operationalized under the scheme towards improving the productivity of the existing workers in the Apparel & Garmenting segments.
• Samarth also caters to the upskilling/ re-skilling requirement of the traditional textile sector such as handloom, handicraft, silk and jute.

Objectives :

• to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors, covering the entire value chain of textiles, excluding Spinning and Weaving.

Implementation :

• The Samarth scheme is implemented through Implementing Partners (IPs) comprising of Textile Industry/ Industry Associations, State government agencies and Sectoral Organizations of the Ministry of Textiles like DC/ Handloom, DC/Handicrafts and Central Silk Board.

Advanced features :

• Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), Training of Trainers (ToT), CCTV recording of the training programme, a dedicated call centre with helpline number, mobile app, Web-based Management Information System (MIS), on-line monitoring of the training process etc.
• The State, District, and Training Centre-wise information/ data in the dashboard is available in the public domain.

Source: THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Previous Year Questions

Q.1)  With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements : (2018)

1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things, will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.2) ‘Recognition of Prior Learning Scheme’ is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to (2017)

1. Certifying the skills acquired by construction workers through traditional channels.
2. Enrolling the persons in Universities for distance learning programmes.
3. Reserving some skilled jobs to rural and urban poor in some public sector undertakings.
4. Certifying the skills acquired by trainees under the National Skill Development Programme.