What’s in the news?

• The Government of India has launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers called ‘NIPUN’ i.e. National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers. 
• The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1 lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries also.  
• This initiative will enable Nirman workers to be more proficient and skilled while making them adopt future trends in the construction industry by increasing their capabilities and diversifying their skill sets.
• DAY-NULM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, being implemented since 2014-15, with the aim to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households in the country by enabling them to access self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis.
• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) will be the Implementation Partner for the project NIPUN.
• The project implementation is divided into three parts –
  • training through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at construction sites,
  • training through Fresh Skilling by Plumbing and Infrastructure SSC and
  • International Placement through industries/ builders/ contractors.
• Onsite skill training will be provided to approximately 80,000 construction workers through industry associations under the RPL certification, co-branded with MoHUA, while about 14,000 candidates will receive fresh skilling through plumbing and infrastructure Sector Skill Council (SSC) in trades having promising placement potentials.
• The courses are aligned with National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and will be imparted at accredited and affiliated training centres. Under NIPUN, it is also envisaged that NSDC will place approximately 12,000 people in foreign countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE and other GCC countries.
• The construction industry is poised to become the largest employer by 2022 and needs 45 million additional skilled workers over the next 10 years.

Reference

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1835539