The Special Projects component of PMKVY envisages the creation of a platform that will facilitate trainings in special areas and/or premises of Government bodies, corporates or industry bodies, and training in special job roles, not defined under the available Qualification Packs (QPs)/National Occupational Standards (NOS). Special Projects require some deviation from the short-term training guidelines under PMKVY. A proposing stakeholder can be institutions of Central or State Government(s), an autonomous body/statutory body or any other equivalent body or a corporate that wants to provide training to candidates.

The objective of Special Projects under  PMKVY 3.0 (2020-21) is to undertake project-based skilling interventions, primarily to meet the skilling needs of marginalised or vulnerable groups (to mean hereafter such as Scheduled Castes and Tribes, transgender, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), women, economically backward people, any other category which identifies as marginalised/vulnerable and is recognised by the Government of India and State Government(s) and those from difficult/remote geographies, hard to reach areas (such as Left Wing Extremist (LWE) areas, aspirational districts, J&K, Ladakh, North East states, Island territories), which may not meet all the parameters as laid down in the guidelines of Short-Term Training (STT) of PMKVY 3.0 due to special circumstances

Special Projects also envisages to cover short- term skilling initiatives undertaken by reputed industry bodies offering captive placement opportunities; projects with innovative strategies; projects offering local livelihood through creative market linked entrepreneurship, and/or projects assuring international placements

By its very intent, the projects falling under the Special Projects of PMKVY 3.0 are required to be dynamic in approach and need to go beyond the routine short-term skilling to enhance the all-round competency and adeptness of the marginalised sections of the country

The targets under Special Projects will constitute 12% in Centrally Sponsored Centrally Managed (CSCM) component of the total allocated targets under STT of PMKVY 3.0. Such projects will be approved by PMKVY 3.0 Executive CommitteeDuring PMKVY 2.0, states were also permitted to utilise 15% of their targets towards Special Projects. Similarly, in PMKVY 3.0, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) permits States to implement 15% of their STT targets as per these Special Project guidelines, within the state STT budget. Such projects will be approved at the State level by State Empowered Committee

Type of projects to be taken up under Special Projects of PMKVY 3.0:

Projects targeting marginalised and vulnerable groups

  • Special focus may also be given to rural artisans, women, jail inmates, inmates of juvenile homes, members of the transgender and beggar community with an aim to provide income generation opportunity and elevate their social acceptance
  • Project proposals from organisations primarily Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (DPOs), various development agencies working for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), and other similar organisations, which are already working and have established some model for supporting these groups. These organisations in the course of their work with vulnerable/marginalised communities should have skilled them leading to their economic upliftment. Such organisations should be awarded or recognised for their work by the State Governments, Government of India or international organizations linked to UN, etc. Further, recognised organizations/NGOs/Government bodies under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), who have provided niche training to the marginalised communities, tribal forest areas shall also be considered as Special Projects Implementing Agency (SPIA)
  • Project proposals submitted by industry bodies, Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), sponsored organisations or reputed industry associations at the national/state-level, committing 90% captive placement shall be a SPIA for their projects. Training will be conducted within the premises of SPIA or premises hired by them
  • Project proposals through Government organizations, would include Central and State Government including Union Territories (UTs), their ministries/departments, institutions, organisations, autonomous bodies, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and similar agencies, to be considered under Special Projects. Government organizations would be permitted to submit proposals for skilling in their respective domains including skill trainings in institutional settings like jails, juvenile homes, police stations and similar other institutions. The Government organizations can opt to become a SPIA themselves or implement the project through Training Providers (TPs) as SPIAs. However, the overall responsibility of the project will remain with the concerned Government Department/organization. The selection of TPs in such cases should be done through a competitive and transparent process
  • Targeting difficult geographies such as tribal areas, LWE, aspirational districts which have very remote access shall be considered under Special Projects
  • Micro-entrepreneurship projects which provide end-to-end linkages from skilling to market connect/self-employment opportunities for local artisans and candidates belonging to the marginalised communities, and have an established model of promoting entrepreneurship for such groups could include setting-up of training-cum-production centre and employing certified candidates in such centres or providing support to candidates  to produce goods and market them, shall be considered as Special Projects
  • Projects involving job roles which are not there in STT of PMKVY 3.0 shall be considered under Special Projects provided they are catering to uplift the standard of living of the marginalised communities/special groups. However, non-PMKVY confirming job roles will not be the sole criterion for considering as Special Projects. Exceptional projects may also be considered by the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee on merit for such job roles catering to the need of a specific local culture or economy
  • To train the marginalised communities or backward-societies, any other type of proposals may be considered with the approval of Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee
  • Organisations providing international placements or innovative skill projects will also be permitted under Special Projects

Type of Organisations, Who Can Apply:

Specialist Organisations: Such organisations could be NGOs, research labs, educational or financial institutions and other expert organizations, who are experienced and specialize in working with and skilling of marginalized communities or specialize in working in proposed difficult geographies

Captive Placement: Corporates, industry bodies, associations, and Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) on behalf of/by aggregating demand from industry clusters sponsored organisation with assurance of providing 90% captive placement/placement

Government organizations/departments: With the domain support of Government schemes and institutional settings, Ministries, Government departments or organisations or private training institutions on behalf of Government departments, can propose for training programmes

Organisations already providing/proposing innovative models of skilling linked to entrepreneurship and those providing international placements

Entities or Training Providers, who have skilling as their primary business and/or, which are already skilling in STT of PMKVY 3.0 can implement programmes on behalf of and under ownership of various ministries and Government departments. Similarly, SSCs are encouraged to implement the programmes through industry bodies/ associations for captive placements

Permissible Flexibility:

Special Projects shall follow the STT guidelines of PMKVY 3.0. However, some Special Projects may not fit to the strict guidelines of PMKVY 3.0 STT and flexibility may be required. Thus, relaxations may be permitted by the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee on the merit of the projects

Particularly, the modalities of mobilization, counselling, registration, enrolment, training, assessment, certification and placement of candidates, monetary benefits to candidates, duration of training programmes, inclusion of soft skills, digital literacy, English, Employability & Entrepreneurship (EEE) module, will be as per STT Guidelines of PMKVY 3.0unless an exception is approved for a project by PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee

Infrastructure

  • All Training Centres (TCs) should apply and qualify the process of Skill Management and Accreditation of Training Centres (SMART), for accreditation and affiliation under PMKVY 3.0
  • Certain relaxation in terms of lower space available/not meeting exact space specifications in the infrastructure of TCs may be provided as per the need of the project or as decided by the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee
  • However, all TCs should have the mandatory equipment and machineries as specified by the respective Sector Skill Councils (SSCs)

Unique Identification of the Candidate

  • Additional IDs may be permitted by PMKVY Executive Committee in exceptional cases such as jail inmates. The permissible ID and/or authorized signatory will be approved by the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee

Trainer

  • Flexibility in terms of required qualification for trainers and relaxations in terms of Training of Trainers (ToT) may be extended in cases, where the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee decides that trainers are qualified enough and do not require any such ToT. Any relaxation or flexibility is to be vetted and certified by the concerned SSCs

Assessment

  • Awarding bodies permitted under PMKVY 3.0 will be able to do assessment in Special Projects

Additional Benefits to Candidates

  • Additional services such as conveyance, boarding & lodging and transportation may be extended by the PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee for a project beyond the criteria laid down under the guidelines of Short-Term Training (STT) of PMKVY 3.0

Teaching Methodology (Pedagogy)

  • Flexibility may be provided in pedagogy (promoting innovative ways of training/using attractive aids during training, other ways would be permitted on merit basis)

Process for Special Projects:

The overall process for Special Projects of PMKVY 3.0 comprises of the following steps, as specified below. Steps from mobilisation to placement remain the same as laid down in the guidelines for Short-Term Training (STT) of PMKVY 3.0

  • Submission of projects and its approval
  • Mobilisation and Training
  • Assessment and Certification
  • Placement
  • Post-placement Support

Target Beneficiary:

The candidates must fulfil other criteria, as defined by the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) for the respective job roles. Relaxations in required qualifications may be proposed by the SSCs and approved by PMKVY 3.0 Executive Committee/State Empowered Committee, if deemed fit

In case of projects under captive placement, candidates should not be an employee (either regular or contractual or outsourced staff) of any company or organization

Curriculum and Standards:

All job roles are required to be aligned with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). SPIAs are required to follow the course curriculum as prescribed by the concerned SSCs/awarding body for the job role

In case the SPIA wants to train under a new job role, they may connect with SSCs at their level before applying for Special Projects under PMKVY 3.0. The applications for Special Projects of PMKVY 3.0 will be accepted only after the job roles are approved by National Skill Qualification Committee (NSQC), and when the course/curriculum is ready

Registration and Enrolment of Candidates:

After creation of projects, SPIA will be able to enrol candidates for training. SPIA is expected to conduct mobilisation and counselling of candidates prior to enrolment. A manual is available on the Skill India Portal (SIP) website (https://skillindia.nsdcindia.org) for understanding the process. SPIAs shall be responsible for entering details of the candidates on Skill India Portal (SIP).

Monitoring:

Implementation of training by an SPIA will be subjected to the monitoring STT guidelines of PMKVY 3.0

Projects which do not commence within three months from the date of approval, will be automatically cancelled

The project will be evaluated against certain timelines and if the progress is not satisfactory, one or all the following will be adopted as per the penalty matrix:

  • Revocation of targets
  • Deduction from pay-outs as a monetary penalisation
  • Closure of the project
  • The SPIAs will abide by all monitoring and audit related instructions

Impact Assessment:

NSDC/SSDM may empanel external impact assessment agencies which will conduct the baseline and end-line survey of the approved projects. The cost for impact assessment will be deducted from the project cost of the SPIA. Report submitted by the agency will be used to assess the impact of the project and future allocation of targets, if any.