NEW DELHI, October 6 — Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar on Tuesday launched a nationwide multi-state saturation drive under the Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana across 112 Aspirational Districts, seeking to provide market-linked vocational certifications to 150,000 disadvantaged youth.
The targeted saturation roadmap focuses on eligible candidates hailing from Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), De-notified Tribes (DNT), sanitation workers, and transgender individuals. Curriculum structures have been restructured in convergence with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to prioritise emerging industrial verticals including drone assembly, solar PV maintenance, smart agriculture, electric vehicle diagnostics, and artificial intelligence-assisted digital workflows.
Under the framework, beneficiaries receive fully subsidized training, monthly stipends of up to ₹3,000 to offset opportunity costs during enrollment, and specialized post-training placement link-ups with public and private sector employers. The Ministry deployed an incremental budgetary outlay of ₹450 crore to ensure that non-traditional and forward training centres achieve physical saturation across tribal-majority and backward administrative blocks.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, affirmative skill interventions, the Aspirational Districts Programme governed by NITI Aayog, and statutory welfare corporations are core components of UPSC Civil Services (GS-II: Social Justice & Welfare Initiatives). Candidates should note that the PM-DAKSH Yojana was instituted in 2020-21 and is implemented through three apex corporations: National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC), and National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC).