Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas, announced an innovative scheme for skill training of construction workers dubbed ‘NIPUN,’ which stands for National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman Workers.
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Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas, announced an innovative scheme for skill training of construction workers dubbed ‘NIPUN,’ which stands for National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman Workers.
The NIPUN project is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) as part of its flagship scheme, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), to train over 1 lakh construction workers through new skilling and upskilling programs, as well as provide them with work opportunities in other countries. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs; Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment; Sunil Barthwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas, announced an innovative scheme for skill training of construction workers dubbed ‘NIPUN,’ which stands for National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman Workers.
The NIPUN project is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) as part of its flagship scheme, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), to train over 1 lakh construction workers through new skilling and upskilling programs, as well as provide them with work opportunities in other countries. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs; Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment; Sunil Barthwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Puri claimed that he has been highlighting the importance of strengthening skill sets in the construction business to be adopted on a war footing, but that they have not been able to achieve what they should have. Although the construction sector has invested in skill development, it has not extended horizontally. As a result, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ initiative in this area is commendable and should be expanded to include a more comprehensive number of people. The Minister stated that talent and productivity are inextricably linked, as the Hon’ble Prime Minister recognized from the start. The Ministry also took on technological obstacles that resulted in the realization of six Light House Projects in record time, where technology and indigenous knowledge were combined.
The Prime Minister’s dedication to the nation of the main tunnel and five underpasses of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project in New Delhi highlights the Central Government’s new template showing that world-class projects can be completed in record time, according to the Minister. The Minister also stated that Central Vista Avenue would open next few days. Shri Puri stated that the construction industry contributes significantly to the nation’s GDP and that the country is proud of its world-class building projects. According to him, the NIPUN Project would allow construction employees to seek better employment prospects, raise their earnings, and even seek abroad postings, indicating the emergence of a new ecosystem.
According to the Minister, the urban environment had been neglected before 2014. The Prime Minister recognized it as an opportunity, and as a result, urbanization has changed. Between 2004 and 2014, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs spent around 1.57 lakh crores of rupees on projects, roughly eight times in the past eight years. According to the Minister, the Central Vista will remain in place for the next 250 years. He added that we are establishing a future labor force for the construction sector through appropriate skilling efforts like NIPUN, which will accelerate innovation and large-scale growth in the country.
Training through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at construction sites, training through Fresh Skilling by Plumbing and Infrastructure SSC, and international placement through industries/builders/contractors are the three aspects of the project execution. Approximately 80,000 construction workers will receive onsite skill training through industry associations under the RPL certification co-branded with MoHUA. In contrast, about 14,000 candidates will receive fresh skilling in plumbing and infrastructure trades with promising placement potential through the Plumbing and Infrastructure Sector Skill Council (SSC). The courses will be delivered in recognized and connected training centers and are aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). Under NIPUN, NSDC plans to put roughly 12,000 workers in overseas nations such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Convergence with related line ministries will be facilitated and supported by Project NIPUN. Meanwhile, the NSDC will oversee overall training, monitoring, and applicant tracking. It would give trainees a three-year accidental insurance policy covering INR 2 lakhs, digital skills such as cashless transactions and the BHIM app, entrepreneurial orientation, and EPF and BOCW benefits. To manage and monitor the initiative, a project committee comprising representatives from NSDC and MoHUA will be constituted under the direction of the Additional Secretary-cum-Mission Director, DAY-NULM.
