With rapid growth in the national economy and a young India, our youth need development of relevant skills, both for their own growth and for enabling overall development. Chhattisgarh has recognised this growth imperative and is the first state in India and only the second government after the South-African Government to give its youth the right to skill. The Chhattisgarh Right of Youth to Skill
Development Act, 2013 grants every person between the ages of 14 and 45 the right to develop her or his skills from among notified skills, subject only to meeting eligibility requirements, and District Skill Development Authorities set up under District Collectors are bound to provide skill development training within 90 days of receiving any demand in this behalf. Since 1st April 2013, over 1.8 lakh youth have been trained in various courses approved as Modular Employable Skills (MES) by the Directorate General of Employment and Training under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. These courses are recognised by the National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT) and, after appraisal by a nationally empanelled third party appraiser, those trained are eligible to receive an NCVT certificate. Government of Chhattisgarh is also conscious of the need to expand residential training facilities to secure the exercise of this right by those living in remote and under-served areas. A unique initiative in the form of a Livelihood College was successfully piloted in Dantewada district in South Bastar. Youth in this predominantly tribal and Naxal violence afflicted district are being provided training in a range of skills since 2011. Out of about 4,500 youth trained there till September 2014, over half have been established in either wage or self employment. However, they will achieve full scale in a calibrated manner, complete with physical infrastructure, by 2017-18, with each college having an annual training capacity of about 1,000 youth. To place the Livelihood College initiative on a robust foundation with strong employment linkage, and to create a network of such Livelihood Colleges to provide a range of livelihood opportunities for students from across the State including in partnership with the private sector, the State Government has established the State Project Livelihood College Society. The Governing Council of the Society is chaired by the Chief Minister and its Executive Committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary. Over a dozen stakeholder departments are represented on these bodies. Government of India has supported the initiative through a one-time Additional Central Assistant of Rs. 196 crore for meeting the infrastructure costs. The recurring costs are being borne by the State Government, with training costs being met from the State’s unique skill development convergence scheme, Mukhya Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, in which skill development schemes and funds from 27 streams of 15 departments are being converged.
