New Delhi [India], November 30 (ANI): Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita emphasized the Government's unwavering commitment to equipping India's youth with the skills and tools to lead the nation towards a Viksit Bharat.

MoS Margherita highlighted the initiatives of the Ministry of Textiles including the SAMARTH Scheme, which provides training to enhance the employability and productivity of the candidates to meet the demands of the evolving textiles sector, a Textile Ministry release quoted the MoS as saying.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, MoS Margherita underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Skill Development is one of the top priorities of the government, which eventually will take India on the path of development and emphasized the Government of India's vision to achieve a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, and outlined the steps being taken to achieve a 30 trillion dollar economy.

Textile Ministry encourages skilling through Samarth Yojana, providing high-end looms and giving yearns at a subsidized rate. Related to Skill development, HMoST emphasized that the Textiles Ministry is working very hard to implement the Samarth Yojana and 3.48 lakh beneficiaries have been trained, out of which 79 per cent have been provided placement and a total of 3.6 lakh women beneficiaries have been trained.

In Samarth Program, Textile Ministry also working for Dakshta Aur Kushalta Vikas, and 88% are women beneficiaries, including 26 per cent, ie, 90320 persons are from Scheduled Caste, 12%, ie 42,857 persons from the ST community.

The MoS highlighted the significance of the National Technical Textile Mission and the grant for research and entrepreneurship for aspiring innovates in technical textiles. Textiles Ministry encourages startups to do researchto take initiative in the field of in technical textiles. Along with Skill development department, the Textile ministry also doing Startup initiatives for the development of technical textiles.

For this Textiles Ministry already approved 6.27 crore rupees for 12 Startup projects. HMoST emphasized the importance of 5 'F's- "Farmer - Fiber - Factor - Fashion - Foreign".

The Minister of State highlighted the consolidation of the skilling ecosystem post-2014 under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and how it was brought under a single umbrella in the form of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), to reshape the skill development landscape in the countryHe aligned the vision of the Prime Minister to make India the "Skill Capital" of the world. The Minister of State also highlighted the limitations of the industry connect prior to 2014. However, post-2014, there are 36 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) representing approximately 40,000 companies along with 978 ITI's with Dual System of Training, 13 Flexi MoUs, and CSR for skilling.

Since 2014, the govt. has initiated various schemes to harness the potential of India's youth and transform the skilling and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the country and now India has got the 3rd largest Startup ecosystem in the world. In 2016 there were 13 Startup unicorns and now we have 118 unicorns worth $ 354 billion, HMoST added. 90% of the districts in ourcountry have recognized Startups and our government's target is to have DPIIT-recognized Startups in all the districts at the end of 2024-25. India with an age of 28.7 years stands as one of the youngest countries in the world and presents a significant opportunity for economic growth and global leadership. In 2016-17, only 17608 establishments engaged apprentices, while in 2022-2024 the number rose to double to 35229, MoS added.

Pabitra also stated that the textile industry is the second largest employer after agriculture, employing approximately 4.5 crore people and the Ministry of Textiles has set a target of achieving 10 crores by 2030.

Further, he also stated that the total market size of the textile industry is approximately USD 165 billion and the Ministry has set itself a target of USD 350 billion by 2030. The Minister of State emphasized on the recently launched PM Internship Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs. 2 lakh crores, which will provide 1 crore internships to youth.

Margherita briefed the media that under PM Vishwakarma Scheme, comprehensive support is being provided to artisans and craftspeople across 18 different trades. (ANI)