As a part of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to boost career opportunities for India’s youth under Skill India Mission, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) will hold the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM) on December 12th, 2022, across 197 locations in 25 states and union territories.

Several local businesses have been invited to be a part of the mela to provide local youth with the opportunity to shape their careers through apprenticeship training. The event will witness the participation of various companies from different sectors. Participating companies will have the chance to meet potential apprentices on a single platform and choose applicants on the spot and provide them with an opportunity to be a part of their organization.

Individuals can register for the mela by visiting https://www.apprenticeshipindia.gov.in/and to find the mela’s nearest location. Candidates who have passed Class 5 to Class 12 and have skill training certificates, or ITI Diploma holders or graduates can apply during this apprenticeship mela. The candidates must carry three copies of their resume, three copies of all the marksheets and certificates, photo ID (Aadhaar card/driving licence etc) and three passport size photographs to the respective venues.

Those who have already enrolled have been requested to reach the venue with all the relevant documents.Through this fair, the candidates will also earn National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET)-recognized certifications, improving their employability rate after the training session.

Expressing his views on the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said “India has often been compared to other developed economies in terms of apprenticeship opportunities for the youth of today. To bridge this gap, we are trying our best to make apprenticeship opportunities reachable to trainees and students. We received a great response during last month’s apprenticeship mela from the potential youth who is eager to work hard, contribute to our economy, and help shape the future of our country. The major purpose of this programme is to encourage companies to hire more apprentices, while also assisting employers in discovering the right talent and developing their potential via training and practical experience. It is also critical to embed apprenticeship in the educational ecosystem besides building credible pathways from apprenticeship to higher education. With our continuous efforts, our goal is to raise apprenticeship opportunities in India to 10 lakhs by end of 2022, and to 60 lakhs by 2026”.

Apprenticeship melas are hosted in the country every month, wherein selected individuals receive a monthly stipend in accordance with government criteria for gaining new skills. Apprenticeship is considered the most sustainable model of skill development, and it has been getting a big boost under Skill India Mission.

The government is striving to train 1 million youth per annum through apprenticeship training and to fulfil this mission, PMNAM is being used as a platform to increase the participation of establishments and students. It is also providing awareness to the youth on various opportunities existing across the participating companies.

In a tragic development, eight-year-old Tanmay Sahu, who was trapped in a borewell in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district died on Saturday after he was pulled out after four days of rescue efforts, ANI reported. Sahu fell into the 400-feet borewell on the evening of December 6, and the rescue operation started shortly after.

State Disaster Response Force, Home Guard and local police personnel were involved in the rescue operation. Sahu’s body was taken to the Betul district hospital as family members protested. “Give me my child, whatever it may be. Would it have taken so much time even if it was a child of a leader or an officer?,” Sahu’s mother said during the long-drawn rescue efforts, ANI reported.

“We immediately rushed to the spot. He was breathing, and we listened to his voice as we inquired. The rescue operation started from 6 pm onwards on December 6,” the boy’s father had said.

The boy was playing in the field when he fell into the borewell. He was stuck at a depth of 35 ft to 40ft, and a parallel tunnel was dug as part of the hectic efforts to rescue him.