PIB 19th December

Contents

1. INDIA US 2+2 DIALOGUE
2. PINAKA MISSILE
3. SKILL INDIA PROGRAMME

INDIA US 2+2 DIALOGUE

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met US Secretary of Defense Dr Mark T Esper and Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo in Washington DC

At the Dialogue, both sides also committed to further deepen military-to-military cooperation, including between the Indian Navy and the US Navy Fleets under US Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, and Africa Command and intend to expand similar cooperation between their respective Armies and Air Forces

• The two sides concluded the Industrial Security Annex during the visit.

• Priority initiatives have been identified for execution under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) programme.

PINAKA MISSILE

Pinaka Missile System developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully flight-tested from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast at 1200 hrs today.

• The Pinaka is an Artillery Missile System capable of striking into enemy territory up to a range of 75 kilometres with high precision.

• The Pinaka MK-II Rocket is modified as a missile by integrating with the Navigation, Control and Guidance System to improve the end accuracy and enhance the range

SKILL INDIA PROGRAMME

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is responsible for co-ordination of all skill development efforts across the country, removal of disconnect between demand and supply of skilled manpower, building the vocational and technical training framework, skill up-gradation, building of new skills, and innovative thinking not only for existing jobs but also jobs that are to be created.

1. National Skill Development Mission (NSDM): Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) formed in 2014 to give a fillip and focus to the skill development and entrepreneurship efforts in the country. Because of the efforts under NSDM, more than One Crore youth are being imparted skills training annually under various programs of the Central Government. 
2. Skill India Portal: A strong IT Platform, namely Skill India portal launched to converge the skilling data of various Central Ministries, State Governments, Private Training Providers and Corporates on a single platform. This will now enable data driven decision making by the policymakers and help remove information asymmetry in the skilling ecosystem.
3. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Launched the Flagship Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (1.0 & 2.0) in 2015 to provide free skill training avenues to youths of India. Under the program about 87 Lakhs youth have been trained till date. Under the placement linked program under PMKVY 2016-19, more than 54% have been linked to employment
4. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra: Vocational training needs to be made aspirational to transform India into the skill capital of the world. In line with the same, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship ( MSDE ) intends to establish visible and aspirational Model Training Centres ( MTCs ) in every district of the country. NSDC is the implementation agency for the project.
5. SANKALP: A regional workshop on SANKALP was held in Kohima, Nagaland on 3rd–4th September, 2019. Six States namely Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim participated in the workshop. Workshops with District Officials and trainers were also held alongside the regional workshop. Apart from it, a workshop was also held in Delhi and Maharashtra under SANKALP. Further, a delegation visit to Seoul, Korea was undertaken which was organized by the World Bank and video conferences were held with States/ UTs for reviewing the status of State Incentive Grant (SIG) baseline and submission of State proposal under SANKALP. 
6. STRIVE: The main focus of the scheme is to improve the performance of ITIs. Under phase one, 314 ITIs have been selected & 198 Performance Based Grant Agreements have been signed. The scheme also works towards increasing Capacities of State Governments to Support ITIs and Apprenticeship training. Till date, 31 States have signed MoU i.e. Performance Based Funding Agreement (PBFA). To improve Teaching and Learning techniques, NSQF Trainings are being imparted to training officers, Principals and Instructors across the 36 States and UTs for NSQF