Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is an umbrella scheme that converges five of the existing schemes of the Ministry namely Seekho aur Kamao, USTTAD, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and Nai Manzil. It aims to benefit the target group by providing skilling, training, leadership, entrepreneurship, and education support. The scheme has been approved for implementation.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs implements Seekho Aur Kamao, and USTTAD schemes for socio-economic empowerment of minorities in the country. Seekho Aur Kamao scheme (Learn and Earn) is a placement-linked skill development scheme that was launched in September 2013 and aims to upgrade the skills of minority youth (14-45 years) in various modern/ traditional skills. USTTAD scheme was launched in 2015 and targets capacity building and upgrading the traditional skills of master craftsmen/ artisans from the minority communities. The details of beneficiaries of these schemes is tabulated below.

 

Scheme	Number of beneficiaries trained
Seekho aur Kamao	4,68,078
USTTAD	23,130

 

27542. of these schemes are implemented by Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) that are empanelled by the Ministry through a transparent process by inviting RFP (Request for Proposal). It is mandatory for the PIAs to register on the NITI Aayog’s NGO Darpan Portal. To effectively track and monitor the performance, PIAs are also mandated to update scheme specific data on the Scheme portal. PIAs are required to keep biometric attendance records of the beneficiaries. The Ministry has developed a mobile application to capture direct feedback of the beneficiaries of Seekho Aur Kamao scheme. Further, training verification is also conducted by the Ministry through random telephonic calls to the beneficiaries. Fund is released to the PIAs in instalments, as per scheme guidelines, based on satisfactory reports from physical inspection/ monitoring visits conducted at the training Centres.

This information was given by the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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