Progress of PMKVY

Statement 1 is Incorrect. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is responsible for PMKVY, not the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Statement 2 is Correct. PMKVY goes beyond technical skills training and incorporates soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and digital literacy to make participants more employable. Statement 3 is Correct. A core objective of PMKVY is to bridge the gap between the skills of the unregulated workforce and industry requirements by aligning them with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). This standardization helps ensure a minimum level of competency and improves employment opportunities.

* The Recognition of Prior Learning Scheme (RPL) is often mentioned in the news with reference to skill development initiatives in India. * Target Audience: RPL focuses on individuals who possess skills and knowledge gained through work experience, informal training, or other non-formal learning avenues. These skills might not be formally documented through traditional educational certificates.
* Process and Benefits: RPL provides a process for assessing the existing skills and knowledge of individuals. If their skills match the requirements of a specific job role or qualification, they can receive a formal certification without necessarily undergoing the entire formal training program. * RPL is implemented under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Career Service is not an initiative of the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India. It is actually implemented by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Employment. Statement 2 is incorrect. The National Career Service has indeed been launched in a Mission Mode, but it is not specifically targeted at improving the employment opportunities for uneducated youth of the country. It is a comprehensive platform providing a wide array of employment and career related services to all citizens of India, aiming to bridge the gap between jobseekers and employers, candidates seeking training and career guidance, and agencies providing training and career counselling.

PMJDY is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all households in the country. The plan envisages: - Universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household.
- Financial literacy.
- Access to credit.
- Insurance and pension facility.

Statement 1 is Correct: The Stand-up India scheme aims at promoting entrepreneurship among women and scheduled castes and tribes. Statement 2 is Correct: The scheme is anchored by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India. - The scheme provides for a refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs, 10,000 Crore. - Stand-Up India Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 Crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a greenfield enterprise.
- This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector.
- In the case of non-individual enterprises, at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either an SC/ST or woman entrepreneur. Hence, option C is the correct answer.

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a government-sponsored crop insurance scheme. Statement 1 is Incorrect: Under this scheme, farmers have to pay a uniform premium of 2% for all Kharif crops, 1.5% for all Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops. The premium rate is not uniform for all crops in all seasons. Statement 2 is Correct: The scheme does cover post-harvest losses arising out of cyclones and unseasonal rains. Hence, option B is the correct answer.

With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana, here's the breakdown of the statements: * Statement 1:  Incorrect. The eligible age group for enrolment in the scheme is 18 to 40 years, not 21 to 40 years. This allows younger workers to join early and contribute for a longer period. * Statement 2: Correct. Beneficiaries are required to make age-specific monthly contributions, which increase with age. For instance, contributions start at ₹55 for an 18-year-old and go up to ₹200 for a 40-year-old. * Statement 3: Correct. Subscribers will receive a minimum pension of ₹3,000 per month after attaining 60 years of age. This provides social security for workers in the unorganized sector. * Statement 4: Incorrect. Family pension is available only to the spouse, who will receive 50% of the pension amount after the subscriber's death. Unmarried daughters are not eligible for this benefit.

Statement 1 is Incorrect: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act was passed by the Parliament of India in 2016, not 2018. It aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and places a legal obligation on governments to ensure non-discrimination and accessibility. It also mandates reservations for PwDs, such as increasing the quota to 4% in government employment and 5% in higher education. Statement 2 is Correct: The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) was launched in 2015 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). It focuses on achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities across three key domains: built infrastructure (barrier-free public buildings), transport systems (accessible railways, airports, and roads), and information and communication technology (accessible government websites and digital ecosystems). Statement 3 is Incorrect: The National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC) is a Central Public Sector Undertaking registered as a not-for-profit company to provide concessional financial assistance to promote entrepreneurship, self-employment, and higher education among PwDs. However, it was set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, not the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Therefore, the correct option is B.

The Central Government introduced the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 1, 2004 (except for armed forces). Subsequently, various State Governments adopted this architecture and implemented NPS with effect from different dates. Eligibility to join
- Any citizen of India, whether resident or non-resident, subject to the following conditions.
- Individuals who are aged between 18 60 years, including NRIs.
- After attaining 60 years of age, you will not be permitted to make further contributions to the NPS accounts

Statement 1 is incorrect. The India Sanitation Coalition was launched on June 25, 2015, at FICCI, New Delhi. ISC is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together the private sector, government, financial institutions, civil society groups, media, donors/bilateral/multilateral, experts, etc., to work in the sanitation space to drive sustainable sanitation through a partnership model. It is not funded by WHO. Statement 2 is incorrect. The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is India’s premier urban think tank, shaping the urban narrative since its establishment in 1976, it not an apex body. It is an autonomous body under the Societies Registration Act.

The article clearly states that PMKVY is delivered under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission (SIM). It is implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), not the Ministry of Finance. Its objective is to equip youth with industry-relevant skills, not direct financial subsidies to industries. The scheme covers both Short Term Training (STT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) candidates, not exclusively RPL.

The article explicitly states: 'An independent third-party impact evaluation of the PMKVY 4.0 has been conducted by Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), an autonomous Institution of Ministry of Finance, Government of India.'

The article mentions: 'The scheme adopts a robust monitoring framework, accredited and affiliated training centres, standardized assessment and certification processes, and mandatory Training of Trainers (ToT) and Training of Assessors (ToA) programmes to improve training quality.' It also states: 'The scheme also incorporates technology-enabled monitoring mechanisms, including Aadhaar/face-authentication-based attendance, integration with digital job platforms and periodic studies and stakeholder consultations to assess skill gaps.' All three statements (1, 2, 3) are directly supported by the text. Statement 4 is not mentioned as a feature of PMKVY 4.0 in the provided text.