ESDP sees nearly 400% jump in trainees in 2020

Skilling, Labour, and Talent for MSMEs: The scheme aimed to encourage youth including scheduled caste and scheduled tribe men and women, differently-abled, and below poverty line people apart from ex-servicemen to become entrepreneurs.

Skilling, Labour, and Talent for MSMEs: So far, the number of trainees joining the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP), among key schemes by the Modi government to promote entrepreneurship in India, has observed a jump of 378 per cent during the current  year. Based on the data available on the Development Commissioner (MSME) portal for ESDP,  out of 3,535 programmes involving 49,548 trainees around January this year, 7,629 programmes were organised involving 2,37,192 trainees till December 22, 2020. Additionally, the total expenditure incurred so far stood at nearly Rs 27.90 crore while total revenue was Rs 2.91 crore.

While talking to Financial Express Online, Vishwanath, Co-chairman, Industry Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry had stated: “While the steps taken by the government are welcome but one has to look at the on-ground impact of the scheme. There doesn’t seem to be much currently. It is not about the trainees entering the programme but enterprises being set-up by them after the programme. One has to also look at further support provided to acquire land, capital, talent, etc. to launch an enterprise. Even if 40,000-50,000 are able to become entrepreneurs that will immediately have an impact on the ecosystem in India.”

The scheme aimed to encourage youth including scheduled caste and scheduled tribe men and women, differently-abled, and below poverty line people apart from ex-servicemen to become entrepreneurs. Last year in November, the government had issued guidelines on up- scaled ESDP involving multiple activities viz, a two-day Industrial Motivational Campaign (IMC), two-week Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP), Entrepreneurship-cum-Skill Development Programme (E-SDP) for six weeks, and Management Development Programme (MDP) for one week. The programmes have an intake capacity of 50-100 people in IMC for youth, 30-60 people in IMC for clusters, associations, and chambers; and 25 people in EAP, E-SDP, and MDP each.

“In order to help youth to become an entrepreneur, and to help them procure prerequisite skills, the government had sanctioned over Rs 135 crore under the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP) for organizing various skill development programs along with state government, industry bodies, social enterprises, etc. In 2019, 3,000 such programs were conducted and sanctioned. The industry bodies and various other elements of the society have also taken the onus of partnering in the program and run their own skill development units to help achieve the goal,” wrote Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, the President of ASSOCHAM & NAREDCO & MD, Hiranandani group in an article for Financial Express Online earlier this year.

Significantly, the government had eased the registration process for new entrepreneurs setting up their enterprises in July this year. It had launched a new online portal -Udyam registration- to let small businesses register paperless and based on self-declaration. Small businesses now don’t have to upload any documents or proof except the Aadhaar number for registration. The MSME Ministry has also organized a single-window system at Champions Control Rooms (set up at MSME Development Institutes across India) and district industries centres for facilitating the process.