PM-DAKSH trained 1.87 lakh, placed 96,162 before PMKVY merger
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment reported on 22 October 2026 that PM-DAKSH trained 1,87,305 candidates and placed 96,162 between 2020-21 and 2023-24. The Central Sector Scheme skilled Scheduled Castes, OBCs, EWS, De-notified Tribes and safai karamcharis. From 2024-25 it has been subsumed under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana to avoid duplication.
Syllabus: GS3 · Inclusive Growth; Prelims · Economy & Social Development; GS2 · Government Policies
Why this matters for UPSC
GS2 welfare schemes for vulnerable sections: Prelims can ask PM-DAKSH's ministry, target groups and implementing corporations, and PMKVY's parent ministry; Mains, about the performance of skilling schemes for Scheduled Castes, OBCs and safai karamcharis.
Why it matters
Take the daughter of a sanitation worker, or a young woman from a de-notified community, who wants a trade that pays better than the work her family has always done. A scheme like this paid for her course and tied the training institute's last payment to whether she actually found a job. On the government's own figures, about one trainee in two was placed, so the gap between a certificate and a steady income is the real test. With the scheme now folded into the general skilling programme, these groups may have to compete for the same seats as everyone else, unless outreach and credit for them are kept alive. The larger issue is whether training alone can lift people out of caste-bound, low-paid work.
Prelims pointers
- NSFDC: set up on 8 February 1989 as a joint corporation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; it serves Scheduled Castes alone since 10 April 2001, after bifurcation.
- NBCFDC: incorporated on 13 January 1992 under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956; it lends through State Channelising Agencies nominated by States and UTs.
- NSKFDC: set up on 24 January 1997, in operation since October 1997; it lends through State Channelising Agencies, Regional Rural Banks and nationalised banks.
- Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 governs not-for-profit companies, the role Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 played; NSFDC is now governed by it.
- PMKVY has two training components: Short Term Training for fresh learners, and Recognition of Prior Learning, which assesses and certifies skills people already have.
- PMKVY training centres are empanelled through accreditation and affiliation on the Skill India Digital Hub, MSDE's unified skilling and employment platform.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the PM-DAKSH scheme, consider the following statements:
1. It is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
2. It was implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
3. Its target groups included De-notified Tribes and safai karamcharis, including waste pickers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. The scheme belongs to the social justice ministry and its three corporations.
Statement 1: correct. PM-DAKSH, launched in 2020-21, is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Statement 2: incorrect. NSFDC, NBCFDC and NSKFDC of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment implemented it, not NSDC.
Statement 3: correct. It covered SCs, OBCs, EWS, De-notified Tribes and safai karamcharis including waste pickers.
Eliminate: statement 2 credits the scheme to the skilling ministry's agency, so every option with 2 goes. Out: (a), (b), (d).
Trap: Swapped attribution. PM-DAKSH used PMKVY-empanelled institutes, which tempts a student to credit it to MSDE's corporation.
Remember: PM-DAKSH: social justice ministry, three finance corporations, training through PMKVY institutes.
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