Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0

With the establishment of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in 2014 the overall objective to promote skilling and entrepreneurship development in India was strengthened. In 2015, MSDE launched its flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), to encourage and promote skill development in the country by providing free short-duration skill training and incentivizing youth for skill certification. 

The Union Cabinet had approved India’s largest Skill Certification Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), on 20th March, 2015. The Scheme was subsequently launched on 15 July, 2015, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day by Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. PMKVY is implemented by the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) under the guidance of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). With a vision of a Skilled India, MSDE aims to skill India on a large scale with speed and high standards. 

It is the flagship scheme of MSDE implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood.

Short-Term Training (STT) i. This component is imparted at PMKVY Training Centres (TC) according to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). i. It is expected to benefit candidates of Indian nationality who are either school/college dropouts or unemployed Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) i. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a skill certification component to enable Indian youth to take on industry-relevant skill certification, which will help them to secure a better livelihood. j. Individuals with prior learning experience or skills will also be assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Special Projects:
The Special Projects component of PMKVY envisages the creation of a platform that will facilitate training in special areas and/or premises of Government bodies, corporates or industry bodies, and training in special job roles

PMKVY 4.0 has been designed to make the scheme flexible, inclusive, technology enabled, and market driven resulting in better employability through enhanced industy-connect, On-the-Job training with focus on new age skills like Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, AI/ML, AR/VR, Climate Change, Circular Economy, Green Economy, and Energy Transition.

Since its inception, PMKVY has made notable strides across multiple phases. Under PMKVY 1.0 (2015-16), approximately 19.86 lakh candidates were trained, laying the groundwork for future expansion. PMKVY 2.0 (2016–20) significantly broadened the scheme’s reach, establishing a network of over 7,800 training centers and covering 87% of Indian districts, with the goal of skilling one crore individuals. This phase introduced robust quality assurance measures including biometric attendance, online monitoring, and performance-linked funding. Importantly, over 50% of the trained candidates were women, reflecting the scheme’s commitment to inclusive growth. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, the scheme demonstrated adaptability by offering operational support to training partners. The rollout of PMKVY 3.0 and 4.0 (2022–25) has further prioritized future-ready skills, integrated formal education linkages, and partnered with institutions like IITs and IIMs. Special initiatives such as VIKALP, PM SURYAGHAR, and AMBER 2.0 have been launched to cater to niche and sector-specific skill demands. As of April 2025, 15.3 million candidates have been trained and 2.31 million placed, cementing PMKVY’s role in transforming India’s skill development ecosystem.

PMKVY 4.0 has been designed to make the scheme flexible, inclusive, technology enabled, and market driven resulting in better employability. Broad design principles are outlined below:
Enhance industry-connect, greater reliance on On-the-Job Training in short-term training for learning by doing. 
Emphasis on re-skilling, and upskilling under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through innovation in assessment and better monitoring.
Digitalization of training ecosystem through online integrated systems including registration and counselling
Enlisting multiple Assessment Agencies and Awarding Bodies, reengineering IT systems based on requirement of stakeholders
Creation of a national pool of trainers and assessors to ensure their availability and efficient implementation of training and faster assessment.
Focus on New Age Skills like Industry 4.0, Web 3.0, AI/ML, AR/VR, Climate Change, Circular Economy, Green Economy, and Energy Transition etc.

Policy Framework: MSDE will provide the overall policy framework for the implementation of PMKVY 4.0. 
Regulatory framework: National Council of Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) will provide a unified regulatory framework, including recognizing Awarding Bodies (ABs) and Assessment Agencies (AAs) for National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) aligned courses. 
Implementing Agency: National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will support MSDE in effectively implementing the scheme as per approved guidelines by providing technical and knowledge support in various aspects of the scheme as mandated by MSDE. 
Training Providers: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs), PMKVY Training Centres, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), Skill Hubs (Schools, colleges, Higher Education Institutes), training centres of other Ministries/Department, training centres of industry partners and private training providers, etc. for training of candidates. 
Sector Skill Councils: Sector Skill Councils will promote industry connect through skill gap studies, curriculum development, facilitating On-the-Job Training (OJT), Training of Trainers and Assessors and support in overall implementation of the scheme.

The scheme envisaged Training of Trainers and Assessors as a crucial piece for skill training of youth. It aimed to create an effective and enabling ecosystem for providing quality and timely training of trainers and assessors. 
A total of 1,07,000+ trainers and assessors have been certified under the scheme to take up skill trainings and conduct assessments. Compact Training Modules were developed and imparted in residential, online and hybrid modes for Training of Trainers/Assessors. A pool of quality Master Trainers and Master Assessors have also been expanded in all NSQF aligned job-roles ensuring geographic coverage imparting quality training in regional languages.
To meet the increasing needs to trainers and assessors spread, the scheme introduced Training of trainers/ assessors through institutes of eminence, national training institutions, Industries, etc. Institutes like – IITs, Indian School of Mining Dhanbad, Directorate of Indian Army Veterans, Center for Research and Industrial Staff Performance (CRISP), National Academy of Construction, Skill Universities.