One of the primitive industries established in India is the textile and apparel industry. From clothing fibers to apparel manufacturing, its entire value chain has a powerful presence within the country. It is the second biggest employment sector after agriculture. To fill the skill gap in the textile industry and promote its efforts initiated through the Special Package for Garments and Made-ups, the government approved the ‘Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector’ (SCBTS).
The SCBTS was approved for the entire value chain of the textile industry except weaving and spinning in the organised sector. The SCBTS was launched with an outlay of Rs.1,300 crore for three years, i.e. from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The SCBTS is currently known by the name ‘Samarth’. The Samarth scheme signifies the broad objective of providing skill to the youth for sustainable and gainful employment in the textile sector.
The interested applicants can apply for the Samarth scheme to undertake training and skilling programmes for better employment opportunities in the textile and apparel industry. The process to apply is as follows:
The implementing agencies select and mobilise the applicants/trainees who have applied for this scheme. The implementing agencies select the trainees in a transparent manner by providing the opportunity to every willing person by keeping in mind the textile industry’s requirements and other stakeholders.
The preference while selecting the trainees is given to the marginalised social groups like SC/ST, women, minorities, BPL category persons, differently-abled persons and 115 aspirational districts notified by the NITI Aayog.
The Samarth scheme targets to provide training to 10 lakh persons, out of which 9 lakh are from the organised sector, and 1 lakh are from the traditional sector. The overall framework for implementing the Samarth scheme, including the costing for capacity-building programmes, is aligned with the policy framework for skill development (NSQF, Common Norms, etc.) adopted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
This scheme includes the Entry-level courses and Training of Trainers (ToT) programme. The list of courses offered under the Samarth scheme is given on the official website. This scheme adopts the following strategy:
The following are the implementing agencies who will implement the skilling programmes under the Samarth scheme:
The textile and apparel industry in India plays a significant role in providing employment opportunities. The 'Samarth' scheme aims to provide skill development for sustainable employment in this sector. Interested applicants can register online for training programs. The scheme prioritizes marginalized groups, aims to train 10 lakh individuals, offers various courses, and enforces strict monitoring and assessment measures. Implementing agencies include textile industry, government institutions, and training organizations.