Skill Development Ministry extends Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship to all districts

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on Saturday said it is rolling out the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme in all the districts of the country.

So far the programme was working across 69 districts, and the ministry "is now expanding MGNF to all remaining districts in the country," the ministry said in a statement.

Fellows under MGNF will acquire academic expertise and technical competency in understanding the overall skill ecosystem along with being attached to District Skill Committees, it added.

The ministry has also partnered with Kerala Institute of Local Administration to conduct capacity building programmes for district officials from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.

"Our partnerships going forward will be more focused on strengthening the overall quality of skill training. With the recent launch of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 and today’s academic partnerships with IIMs, IITs, GIZ-IGVET, KILA under our SANKALP scheme, together we will empower the districts ensuring demand-driven skilling," Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said.

SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion) is a World Bank loan assisted programme to strengthen the district skill administration and the District Skill Committees (DSCs).