Explained: Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Phase-II
Recently, the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan launched phase II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF).
At the inauguration, he said "as we are moving towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, tremendous transformation is taking place across sectors, which will create demand for new skills and more skilled professionals. Hence, skill mapping at the district level and directing skill development efforts are the need of the hour."
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan called upon the fellows in line with the requirements of 21st century and local realities to work with worldwide thinking and local approach including integrating local language in the skill development efforts.
Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF): Key Facts
In 2020, IIMB launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship with the support of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India. The programme is designed and delivered by IIMB.
The objective of MGNF, a two-year programme is to provide a unique opportunity for young, dynamic individuals to contribute to enhancing skill development and encourage or promote rural employment at the district level.
Phase-I of MGNF (Pilot): In 2019, it was launched with IIM Bangalore as Academic Partner and currently 69 Fellows are deployed in 69 districts across 6 States.
Phase-II of MGNF (National Roll-Out): It was launched in October 2021 with 661 MGNFs who will be deployed in all the districts of the country. 8 more IIMs have been onboarded taking the total to9 IIMs namely IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM-Jammu, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Nagpur, IIM Ranchi, IIM-Udaipur, and IIM Visakhapatnam.
The programme seeks to combine classroom sessions by its academic partner, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) with an intensive field immersion at the district level to generate credible plans and find or identify barriers in raising employment, economic output, and promoting livelihoods in rural areas.
Under SANKALP, the programme was designed to provide cadre professionals at the District level who have knowledge about governance and public policy in general and also about vocational education.
Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF): Eligibility
MGNF provides an opportunity for young men and women in the age group of 21-30 years, possesses some level of academic or professional expertise for providing catalytic support to the district administration to refine or upgrade the skill development programme delivery.
About SANKALP (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion)
It is a Centrally sponsored scheme. In January 2018, it was launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and is a World Bank loan assisted programme.
Its aim is to operationalise the mission and strengthen the skill training delivery mechanism in the country.
It engages with District Skill Committees (DSCs) to productively reduce the mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled manpower in India and to generate decent opportunities for the youth to work and earn.
Source: pib
