The PM-Daksh Yojana, a skill development initiative aimed at empowering marginalized communities, has trained 1,87,305 beneficiaries up to the financial year 2023-24. The scheme, approved for a five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, focuses on short-term training, upskilling, reskilling, and entrepreneurship development programs conducted through government and private training institutes.
According to the guidelines set by the Ministry of Finance, an independent third-party evaluation will be conducted to assess the impact of the scheme before its re-appraisal for the next Finance Commission cycle. The government has allocated ₹80 crore for the scheme in the financial year 2024-25 at the Revised Estimates stage.
A major challenge in the implementation of the scheme has been spreading awareness among the target beneficiaries. To address this, the government has undertaken wider publicity efforts through newspapers and the official website of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The scheme ensures hands-on training through the On the Job Training (OJT) provision, where beneficiaries are associated with private sector industries for practical exposure, as per the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) mandate.
This information was shared by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri B.L. Verma, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
