Yogi Govt's big initiative for youth: 'AI for All' and

futuristic courses become mandatory

Classes to begin from August 1 in second phase of SSDF

scheme

CCTV surveillance will be carried out; strict action against

negligence

Lucknow, 02 July (HS): The Uttar Pradesh government, under

the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is committed to making the

state's youth employable and skilled to meet future needs. In this regard, the

Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission has released the target allocation for

the second phase of short-term skills training under the State Skill

Development Fund (SSDF) scheme for the fiscal year 2026-27.

Kapil Dev Agarwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge)

for Vocational Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship, stated that

Uttar Pradesh is becoming a leading state in the country in the field of skill

development, realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Skill India

vision. In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's vision, a four-hour

AI for All and soft skills module has been mandated in every batch

to make youth tech-savvy. The maximum duration of the courses has been set at

900 hours, and a minimum of eight hours of classes per day will be mandatory at

residential centers.

For transparency, CCTV installations have been mandated

throughout the center, as per established standards, to allow direct monitoring

from headquarters. Additionally, to enhance youth's general knowledge, each

center will be required to have one Hindi and one English newspaper available

daily. New centers will be required to be inaugurated by the local MLA.

Institutions will only be able to select job roles listed on the NCVET/NQR

portal, and batches will only be approved after thorough scrutiny by the DPMU.

To make skill training completely transparent and

result-oriented, the Yogi government has used the Kaushal Darpan AI

dashboard in the target allocation process this time. Targets have been

assigned to all 936 providers based on the center capacity verification report

received from the District Program Management Unit (DPMU). He stated that all

providers will be required to complete the allocated targets as per the

guidelines issued by the Mission and obtain approval for all batches. Given the

demand from modern industries, special priority has been given to new-age

sectors such as healthcare, electronics, AI, IT-ITES, food processing, apparel,

and handicrafts. New-age training providers will be mandated to conduct

training programs only in futuristic job roles.

Minister Kapil Dev Agarwal clarified that meeting targets

does not equate to commencement of work. DPMU will not grant permission to form

batches until training providers enter into a written agreement with the

Mission and confirm it. The Mission reserves the right to increase or decrease

targets based on budget and needs. If any institution fails to begin classes on

time or receives complaints from the ground, strict legal and administrative

action will be taken against them without delay under the Yogi government's

zero-tolerance policy.

Mission Director Pulkit Khare informed that a total of 936

training providers have been assigned the responsibility of training more than

1 lakh youth. Of these, 831 private, government and start-up training providers

have been given the training target of 91,425 youth and 105 industrial/new-age

training providers have been given the training target of 14,650 youth. Earlier

in the first phase in April, 957 training providers were allotted the target of

training more than 99 thousand youth, whose training is currently being

conducted smoothly.

The primary objective of the SSDF scheme is to provide

employment-oriented training to the state's youth, tailored to local needs and

industry demand. By mandating the use of the Kaushal Darpan AI

dashboard and new-age and futuristic modules like AI for All, we

are preparing the youth of Uttar Pradesh for the global markets of the future.

He stated that selected institutions must begin classes by August 1, 2026. A

strict 17-step timetable has been issued, covering deadlines for center

selection, verification, awareness camps, batch approval, and placement. After

completing the course, only students with 70% or more attendance will be

eligible to participate in the job fair, and placements must be secured within

90 days of the results. Even after securing a job, tracking will continue for

365 days.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi