New Delhi. The government has now given a new impetus to the skill development efforts that have been going on for nine years under various restrictions. The kind of skill courses that are required for employment in the new era of technology cannot be done in Rs 1.5 lakh.

Realising this practical problem of the youth from weaker sections and the drawbacks of the skill loan scheme, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has now launched the Model Skill Loan Scheme by increasing the loan limit to Rs 7.5 lakh. So that banks do not hesitate in giving such a loan, the government itself has taken the responsibility of guaranteeing 70 to 75 percent of the loan amount, so that students can get employment by doing expensive skill development courses.

There were many problems in the first scheme

This time in the budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Model Skill Loan Scheme. Two days later, on Thursday, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Jayant Chaudhary launched this scheme in a program organized at Kaushal Bhawan. The skill loan scheme was running since 2015, but there were many practical problems in it. First of all, the maximum loan limit was only Rs 1.5 lakh. This loan could also be availed only for those courses which were included in the National Skill Qualification Framework.

The right to distribute loans was also given only to banks. This is the reason that in nine years a total loan of Rs. 115.75 crore could be distributed to only 10,077 youth. However, now the scheme has been amended and the loan limit has been increased to a maximum of Rs. 7.5 lakh. In this, 75 per cent guarantee will be given by the government on loans up to Rs. 4 lakh and on loans from Rs. 4 to 7.5 lakh. Along with banks, Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and Small Finance Banks have also been included in the category of lenders.

It has also broken the restrictions of the National Skill Qualification Framework. Now this loan will be given on all those courses which are displayed on the Skill India Digital Hub platform of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The government believes that with this, the youth will now be able to do all the new technical and expensive courses including AI, Robotics as per the future needs. This will make their chances of getting employment much stronger. Since the government is guaranteeing the loan, banks or NBFCs will also not hesitate in disbursing the loan.

While launching the scheme, Jayant Chaudhary also said that the workforce could not be prepared as per the requirement of the market. Not many youth could take advantage of the previous loan scheme. There were many limitations in the scheme. Now if we overcome these challenges together, then positive results will also emerge.

Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari said that such a scheme was needed because many skill development courses are very expensive. With this idea in mind, work was going on on this scheme for one and a half years. During this, AICTE Chairman Prof. TG Sitaram, senior economic advisor of the ministry Nilambuj Sharan, NSDC Chairman Vedmani Tiwari and Indian Bank Association Deputy Chief GM Bhagat were also present.