NEW DELHI: Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, on Monday, June 20, launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers. The project has been named National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers (NIPUN).
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), GoI, has launched the Project NIPUN under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM). Under this project, over one lakh construction workers are to be trained through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provide them with work opportunities in foreign nations as well.
During his address at the launch event, Puri said that the transformational impact of the NULM has definitively reduced the vulnerability of urban poor households by providing upskilling and employment opportunities to urban dwellers, especially the youth. He added that the Mission has encouraged and supported the spirit of entrepreneurship by giving urban workers access to self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities.
Puri noted that the Project NIPUN will enable Nirman workers to become more proficient and skilled at their work, while simultaneously making them adopt future trends in the construction industry. It aims to increase their capabilities and diversify their skill sets. Through suitable skilling initiatives such as NIPUN, he said that MoHUA is creating a future labour force for the construction industry, which will propel innovation and large-scale development in the country.
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which is the nodal agency under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, is set to be the implementation partner for the project NIPUN. The project implementation has been divided into three parts – training through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at construction sites, training through Fresh Skilling by Plumbing and Infrastructure Sector Skill Council (SSC), and International Placement through industries, contractors, and builders.
The MoHUA stated that around 80,000 construction workers will receive onsite skill training through industry associations under the RPL certification, co-branded with MoHUA. Meanwhile, around 14,000 candidates will receive fresh skilling through plumbing and infrastructure SSC in trades having promising placement potentials. The courses are aligned with National Skills Qualificaions Framework (NSQF) and will be imparted at accredited and affiliated training centres. It is being envisaged that NSDC will place around 12,000 people in foreign countries such as the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other GCC countries under the NIPUN project. NSDC will remain responsible for the overall execution of training, monitoring and candidate tracking.
The project will also provide trainees with ‘Kaushal Bima’, a three-year accidental insurance with coverage of Rs 2 lakhs, orientation about entrepreneurship, EPF and BOCW facilities, and digital skills such as cashless transactions and the BHIM app.
Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA; Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; Sunil Barthwal, Ministry of Labour and Employment; and Sanjay Kumar, Additional Secretary, MoHUA, were among those present on the occasion.