Learn & Earn, under Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India

Learn and Earn is a scheme implemented by the Government of India since 2013-14 for skill development of minorities. The scheme aims at upgrading the skills of minority youth, especially women in various modern/traditional skills depending upon their qualification, present economic trends and market potential, which can earn them suitable employment or make them suitably skilled to go for self-employment. This project was implemented by AJMAL FOUNDATION for two years. For example, training of tailoring was conducted for helpless women who included widows and college dropouts. Apart from tailoring, training on other trades like retail, hospitality, bedside assistant, security guard and retail were also provided. There were 200 (70 females) beneficiaries in 2014-15 with a placement percentage of 86%. In the year 2016-17 (89 females), 250 beneficiaries were there and the project is still ongoing with more beneficiaries being added.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY), under Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Government of Assam

The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) seeks to provide gainful employment to the urban unemployed or underemployed poor through encouraging the setting up of self employment ventures or provision of wage employment. This programme relies on creation of suitable community structures on the UBSP (Urban Basic Services for the Poor) pattern and delivery of inputs under this programme shall be through the medium of urban local bodies and such community structures. This project was implemented by AJMAL FOUNDATION under Guwahati Municipal Corporation during 2015-16, benefitting 60 beneficiaries, out of which 20 were females.

Directorate of Employment and Craftsmen Training (DECT), Government of Meghalaya

The Directorate of Employment and Craftsmen Training (DECT) was established to ensure a steady flow of skilled workers in different trades for the industry. With the vision of enhancing the Employment and Employability through Employment Services and Systematic Skill Training, it aimed to raise the quality and quantity of industrial production by systematic training of workers. It focuses on reducing unemployment among the educated youth by equipping them for suitable industrial employment. It conducts apprenticeship training under Apprentices Act, 1961 and the trainings are evaluated according to the NVCT norms. This project was implemented by AJMAL FOUNDATION under Guwahati Municipal Corporation during 2016-17, benefitting 120 beneficiaries; out of which 40 were females. Out of the 120, 51 were successfully placed in different sectors.

Nai Manzil, under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India

Nai Manzil aims to engage constructively with poor Minority youth and help them obtain sustainable and gainful employment opportunities that can facilitate them to be integrated with mainstream economic activities. It aims at mobilising youth from minority communities who are school drop-outs and provide them with formal education and certification up to level 8th or 10th through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or other State open schooling systems. As a part of the programme, it provides integrated Skill Training to the youth in market driven skills and provide placements to at least 70% of the trained youth in jobs which would earn them basic minimum wages and provide them with other social protection entitlements like Provident Funds, Employee State Insurance (ESI) etc. This project was implemented by AJMAL FOUNDATION since 2017 and around 1940 candidates have benefitted from the program, out of which 754 were females.

DDU-GKY, under Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India

 DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth. It is uniquely focused on rural youth between the ages of 15 and 35 years from poor families. It plays an instrumental role in supporting the social and economic programs of the government like the Make in India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Start-Up India, Stand-Up India campaigns. Over 180 million or 69% of the country’s youth population between the ages of 18 and 34 years, live in its rural areas. Out of these, the youth from poor families with no or marginal employment is about 55 million.

In order to energize and build mass support as well as create awareness amongst the rural youth, The DDU-GKY projects are market linked and implemented in PPP mode. Industry interactions have emphasised the need for training in soft skills, team working etc., as more important than domain skills, which they learn on the job. To ensure that candidates can perform in their work areas as well as assimilate into the organization and society, DDU-GKY has mandated a minimum of 160 hours of training in soft skills, function English and computer literacy.

The DDU-GKY program is being implemented under AJMAL FOUNDATION since 2017 and so far 302 candidates (115 females) have been enrolled in different trades like Food and Beverages, Bedside Assistant, Sales Person-Retail, Accounting, BPO Voice and so on. So far, 63% of them have been placed.

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY), under Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India.

The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is a development initiative launched by the Government of India to provide sustainable income to poorest of the poor people living in rural & urban areas of the country. The scheme was launched on April 1, 1999. The SGSY (Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana) aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people which are nurtured to their maximum potential.

Once the person or group has been identified for assistance, their training needs are also ascertained with reference to Minimum Skill Requirement (MSR).

Book Keeping, knowledge of market, identification and appraisal, acquaintance with product costing, product pricing, familiarisation with project financing by banks as well as basic skills in the key activity are identified.

For those beneficiaries who need additional skill development, appropriate training is organised through Government Institutions, Polytechnics, Universities, and NGOs etc. Swarozgaris are eligible for loans under SGSY when they possess Minimum Skill Requirement, and it is disbursed only when they have satisfactorily completed the skill training.

The SGSY program was implemented under AJMAL FOUNDATION in the year 2010-14, consisting of 7980 beneficiaries out of whom 6035 were placed. The program has benefitted beneficiaries from Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Nai Roshni, under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India

The status of women in the country, particularly those from the disadvantaged sections of the society, is unfavourable. Empowerment of women per se is not only essential for equity, but also constitutes a critical element in our fight for poverty reduction, economic growth and strengthening of civil society. A report of the High Level Committee on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India (popularly known as the Sachar Committee Report) had highlighted the fact that India’s largest minority group, the Muslim numbering 13.83 Crore, have been left out of the development trajectory and within this group Muslim women are doubly disadvantaged.

Keeping this in view, the Ministry of Minority Affairs reformulated the scheme in 2011-12 and renamed it as “Nai Roshni- the Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women”. The implementation of the Scheme started in 2012-13. The objective of the scheme is to empower and instil confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels. Empowerment of women from the minority communities and emboldening them to move out of the confines of their home and community and assume leadership roles and assert their rights, collectively or individually, in accessing services, facilities, skills and opportunities besides claiming their due share of development benefits of the Government for improving their lives and living conditions. This includes economic empowerment of the trainee women so that they ultimately become independent and confident members of the society.

AJMAL FOUNDATION is on the process of implementing this project this year with an initial target of 125 beneficiaries.

Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of Assam

Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The main aim of the Institute is to provide training, research and consultancy activities in Small and Micro Enterprises (SME), with special focus on entrepreneurship development. Under this project, AJMAL FOUNDATION trained 90 widows for a month on tailoring, thus helping them access a new means of earning a livelihood.

Widow Support

Women, who form 48.9 % (587 million) of India’s 1.2 billion populations is particularly relevant to a demographic that is usually not accorded honour: 71.4 million single women, or 12% of the female population. There was a 39% increase in the number of single women in India, the numbers rising from 51.2 million in 2001 to 71.4 million in 2011, according to census data. This includes widows, divorcees and unmarried women, and those deserted by husbands. AJMAL FOUNDATION provides financial assistance to the widows along with opportunities of livelihood. Those widows, who have no regular source of income and are living in poor and destitute conditions, are selected for assistance.

Deprived of the basic amenities of life, this project rehabilitates those who are striving for their sustainability and also assist them to lead their lives in a proper way. So far, 260 widows have received financial assistance and more than 500 have received scope for livelihood opportunities.