Cabinet nod for Rs 1,120-cr scheme to train youth

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana targets school dropouts and fresh entrants to labour market

The Cabinet on Friday cleared a scheme to provide skill training to 1.4 million youth, with an overall outlay of Rs 1,120 crore.

The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, to be implemented by the new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation, will focus on fresh entrants to the labour market, especially Class X and Class XII dropouts, a statement said.

“The target for skilling would be aligned to demands from other flagship programmes launched in recent times such as Make in India, Digital India, National Solar Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” it noted.

Training under this scheme will include soft skills, personal grooming, behavioural change for cleanliness, good work ethics, etc. "Sector Skill Councils and the State Governments would closely monitor skill training that will happen under PMKVY," the statement added.

Under the scheme, a monetary reward of about Rs 8,000 will be given to trainees upon certification by third-party assessment bodies.

Skill training would be done on the basis of demand assessed by the NSDC for the period 2013-17.

"For assessment of demand of Central Ministries/Departments/State Governments, industry and business would be consulted," the statement noted, adding that a demand aggregator platform would be launched soon.

APPROPRIATION ACTS (REPEAL) BILL

The Cabinet on Friday cleared a Bill to repeal 758 appropriation Acts, including those of the Railways, enacted by Parliament between 1950 and 2012.

The Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill is in line with the recommendations of the select committee of the Rajya Sabha to have a repeal clause in the appropriation Acts. However, such a clause will be provided when the enactment of the Appropriation Act, 2016, is undertaken.

These Acts have lost their relevance, but they still exist in statute books.

The Commission on Review of Administrative Laws had given its report in 1998, identifying a large body of laws to be repealed.

Recently, the Law Commission of India in its 248th report Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal had observed that a large number of appropriation Acts enacted during the past several years had lost their meaning.

The Lok Sabha had on Wednesday passed a Bill to repeal 35 archaic Acts.

QUOTA FOR WOMEN COPS

To make the police more gender-sensitive, the Centre on Friday announced 33 per cent reservation for women in police forces of Union territories, including Delhi. The reservation will be from the rank of constable up to the level of sub-inspector.

The Cabinet approval comes in the backdrop of widespread demand for concrete action to curb crimes against women, especially after the ghastly Delhi gangrape case in December 2012.