Centre approves continuation of NATS for next 5 years; will provide stipend Rs 3,054 cr to apprentices

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the stipendiary support of Rs 3,054 crore, for the next five years, to apprentices who undergo apprenticeship training under the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS).

While addressing the cabinet briefing today, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur informed that the NATS has been extended for the time period of 2021-22 to 2025-26 (up to March 31, 2026).

"Approximately 9 lakhs apprentices will be trained by industry and commercial organisations. The apprentices who have completed graduate and diploma programmes in Engineering, Humanities, Science and Commerce will be given a stipend of Rs 9,000 and Rs 8,000 per month respectively," informed the press note issued by the Ministry of Education.

The Centre has approved an expenditure of more than Rs 3,000 crore during the next five years which is about 4.5 times the expenditure made during the previous five years. This increased expenditure on apprenticeship is in line with the thrust which National Education Policy 2020 has given to apprenticeship, it said.

Notably, NATS is a well-established scheme of the Government of India which has been demonstrated to enhance the employability of students who have successfully completed the apprenticeship training.

In keeping with the Government emphasis on "SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas, SabkaVishwas, SabkaPrayaas", the scope of NATS has further been expanded to include students from humanities, science and commerce besides students from the engineering stream, noted the government.

"This scheme aims to raise the standards of skill level by strengthening the skill ecosystem and as a result, will provide employment to approximately seven lakh youths in the next five years," the release said.

The NATS will also provide apprenticeships in the emerging areas under 'Production Linked Incentive' (PLI) such as Mobile manufacturing, Medical devices manufacturing, Pharma sector, Automobile sector etc, it added.

( With inputs from ANI )