News: Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian on Thursday inaugurated the PM-VIKAS Skill Development and Women Entrepreneurship Programme at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Kottayam.
About Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS)
- It is a flagship ccheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs which converges five erstwhile schemes –
- Seekho aur Kamao
- USTTAD
- Hamari Dharohar
- Nai Roshni and
- Nai Manzil.
- Type: It is a Central sector (CS) scheme.
- It is aligned to the 15th Finance Commission cycle period up to 2025-26 .
- Aim: The scheme focuses on upliftment of six notified minority communities through the following:
- Skilling and Training (Non-traditional and traditional)
- Women Leadership and Entrepreneurship
- Education (through National Institute of Open Schooling)
- Infrastructure Development (through Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram)
- Credit facilities: The scheme also provisions to facilitate credit linkages by connecting beneficiaries with loan programs offered by the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC).
- The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is a knowledge partner of the Ministry under the PM VIKAS scheme to extend support to artisans trained under traditional training components of the scheme.
- Placement criteria: Under the PM VIKAS Scheme, the implementing partners are to ensure placement of 75 per cent of total candidates trained under NSQF aligned skill programs.
