PM-DAKSH Yojana

Context: Recently, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched an online portal and a mobile application to make skill development schemes accessible to the target groups of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and sanitation workers.
About PM-DAKSH Yojana

• It is a National Action Plan for the marginalized persons of SC, OBC, EBC, DNT, Safai karamcharies including waste pickers.
• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E), caters for empowerment of the socially, educationally and economically marginalized sections of the society.
• The focus of the programme would be on providing high quality skills through good quality institutions so that the training can result in finding jobs or self employment ventures.
• The programme also engages with skilling the Safai Karamcharis including Waste Pickers, and Women so that they can engage in self-employment activities.

It would be implemented by the three Corporations:

1. National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC);
2. National Backward Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC); and
3. National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC)

Objectives of PM-DAKSH Yojana

• The main purpose is to increase the skill levels of the target youth by providing for long term and short term skills, followed by settlement in employment/self-employment.
• Under PM-DAKSH Yojana, the upgradation would be of the skill/process/design so that the incomes will dramatically increase within their practicing vocations.

A multi-pronged strategy to enhance the competency level of the target groups and make them employable both in self and wage-employment for their socio-economic development of the following sections of the target group:

• Artisans may improve their revenue generation capacities within their practicing vocations;
• Women may enter into self-employment thereby financially empowering themselves without neglecting their domestic activities; and
• Youth may acquire long-term training and specialization in employable vocations giving them better standing in the job market

Methodology of Implementation of PM-DAKSH

• The DAKSH will be run through an end-to-end IT system that covers the entire ecosystem of the training programmes:
• There will be a DAKSH portal and DAKSH App giving the areas in which training would be imparted.
• The list of training agencies (which are already finalised by the implementing agencies) would be pre-fed into the software.
• The eligible candidates can register for training giving their Aadhaar numbers and specify their area of interest, and also select the institution where he/she would like to take the training.
• All candidates who are found suitable based on the qualifications and the aptitude test would be communicated to the Training Provider on the DAKSH portal automatically.