Parliamentary Committee questions Skill Development Ministry’s data on training of migrant workers under GKRA

Ravi S Singh

New Delhi, August 9

A parliamentary Committee hasquestionedthe data prepared bythe Union Skill Development Ministry with regard to skill development training imparted to migrant workers under Centre’s Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan (GKRA), andsubsequent job placements to them.

The migrant workers referred to, are those who had returned to their natives states during outbreak of Covid-19 pandemics but have now returned to their workplaces.

“The Committee are not satisfied with the reply of the ministry as the data regarding number of migrants imparted skill development training and got placement out of 2.64 lakh shortlisted candidates in 93 Districts out of the 116 identified Districts of 6 States has not been furnished,” noted the Standing Committee of Labour, Textiles and Skill Development in its report, which was table in Parliament in the last week during it Monsoon Session, which concluded yesterday.

It further said that the reply of the Skill Development Ministry is also “silent” about the steps taken to ensure that the remaining 23 District Administrations identify and shortlist the returnee migrants in their respective districts.

It askedthe Skill Development Ministry to iron out the bottlenecks and hand-hold the defaulting district administrations to identify and shortlist the returnee migrants for skilling/upskilling so as to enable them to earn sustainable livelihood opportunities.

In its earlier report, with regard to implementation of Social Security Code in the context to dislocated migrant workers during the pandemic, the committee had asked the Labour Ministry tocollect and collate data from the states and ministries on the migrant workers who are, in the main, employed in unorganized sector.

In fact, implementation of ‘Social Security and Welfare Measures for Inter-State Migrant Workers’ relating to the Ministry of Labour and Employment and some other Ministries/Departments concerned, was the core area of study of the Committee.

The Skill Development Ministry, in its “Action Taken” notestated to the committee that the skill training of migrant workerscommenced in 116 districts of 6 States namely Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh under the Centrally Sponsored Centrally Managed (CSCM) Component of PMKVY 2.0.