Congress claims Skill India Mission falls short, says perishing future of our youth

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has launched a scathing attack on the Union government's flagship Skill India Mission, claiming it has failed to deliver on its promises.
In a post on X, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the mission, launched in 2015 with the ambitious target of training 40 crore (400 million) people by 2022, has only managed to train a meagre 3.5% as of December 2023.
He further alleged that a significant portion of those trained, around 83%, remain unemployed, and 20% dropped out of the program entirely.
Additionally, the Congress President pointed out a 94% reduction in Skill Training Centers since 2015, raising concerns about the program's accessibility.
The Congress leader's post concludes by accusing the Union government of lacking the necessary skills to address the issue, claiming their actions are "perishing the future of our youth."
Earlier, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the interim budget for 2024-25 said that the Skill India Mission trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth.
Earlier on February 15, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the ruling BJP on Thursday, saying that it had not provided the promised number of jobs and that the country's debt situation had deteriorated under its regime.
"I want to ask, where are two crore jobs? Where is Modi's guarantee? Where is that Rs 15 lakh that he promised?" Kharge asked at a public rally in Bihar's Aurangabad during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
"Either the Prime Minister is a liar or you people, because he said that I'd give Rs 15 lakhs to all, but you people are saying that you didn't receive... During UPA time, the government was in debt of only Rs 55 lakh crores, but in Modi's era, we are in debt of Rs 185 lakh crores," Kharge added.