PM Launches Youth-Focused Skill and Apprenticeship Initiatives at Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh
SDG 4: Quality Education | SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth
Institutions: Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship | National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
On 04 October 2025, Prime Minister addressed the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh via video conference, launching a suite of youth-centric skilling and apprenticeship initiatives under the Skill India Mission.
The new programmes include:
Apprenticeship Scheme 2.0, to expand industry partnerships and hands-on learning opportunities for students;
A National Credit Framework (NCrF)-linked skilling track, integrating vocational training with academic progression;
and a Skill India Digital Portal upgrade, offering unified access to courses, certifications, and job matching.
In his address, the PM urged industry and training institutions to collaborate on bridging the “degree-to-deployment gap,” noting that India’s demographic advantage will convert into economic strength only if young people gain future-ready and globally recognised skills.
The initiatives advance the government’s vision of “Skilling for Global Opportunities”, aligning education, training, and employment under the Skill India Mission and National Education Policy (NEP 2020). The focus on apprenticeships, credits, and digital integration supports seamless mobility across academic and vocational streams, key to workforce adaptability and productivity.
What is Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh? → A national convocation-style event celebrating graduates of skill-training programmes and marking the launch of new skilling initiatives under the Skill India Mission. It matters because it symbolises the transition from training to employability in India’s vocational ecosystem.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
How can the new apprenticeship framework ensure deeper industry participation-especially from MSMEs and emerging sectors like renewables, EVs, and digital services-so that India’s youth gain experience aligned with evolving job markets?
Follow the full speech here:
English Rendering of PM’s Address – Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh (PIB)