The Government has decided to organize Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM) in various locations across the country on a monthly basis. States/UTs have been asked to organize PMNAM every 2^nd Monday in 257 districts (1/3 of total districts) with the flexibility for choosing the district/location and the day of Mela based on local conditions/festivals, etc. So far two Melas have been organized in the month of June and July, 2022 during which number of establishments / companies registering was 1,485 and 1,466 with generation of 27,875 and 27,996 contracts respectively. The State-wise number of districts in which PMNAM is being conducted is enclosed at Annexure-1.

It is expected that around 1,000 companies across the sector would participate in the Apprentice Mela.

PMNAM brings dynamic participation of establishments/companies and candidates and provides awareness to the youth on various opportunities existing across the participating companies. The thrust given by the Ministry towards apprenticeship training through reforms (facilitation and process simplifications), awareness workshops, continuous engagement with establishments / employers, apprenticeship Mela, and public reach out to create awareness about apprenticeship training among the students and the establishments are making positive impact. All these initiatives have led to increase in the number of apprentices from 2.90 lakh in 2020-21 to 5.8 lakh in 2021-22 and expenditure from Rs. 120 crore to Rs. 217 crore during the same period, and it is expected that it will lead to number of apprentices engaged to reach 10 lakh in the current year.

To make the Mela successful, wide publicity is given through Government Media Channels like Press Information Bureau (PIB), Doordarshan, Community Radios, All India Radio, social media platforms like MyGov, print media, digital media (SMS), active State/district participation through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) at the local level, through leaflets, mobilizing schools and colleges, publicity drive by Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), Third Party Aggregators (TPAs) and Regional Directorates of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (RDSDEs) and Local Industry Associations. The Government is also organising 250 apprenticeship awareness workshops throughout the country to create awareness about apprenticeship among the students and the establishments / industries and to create opportunities for apprenticeship for youth.  This will lead to greater participation of establishments and candidates converting candidate’s applications / registrations into apprenticeship contracts.

Annexure-1

For RAJYA SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO: 2035 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03-08-2022.

Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM) locations.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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MJPS/AK