Launch of HerSTART Platform for Women Entrepreneurs (Govt. Schemes) (October 2022)

The President of India recently launched herSTART which is an initiative of the Gujarat University Start-up and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC) aimed at supporting women-led start-ups. The President also inaugurated⟋laid the foundation stones for various projects that are related to education and tribal development in Gujarat. The herSTART platform would help in boosting innovation and start-up efforts of women entrepreneurs apart from helping them connect with various government and private enterprises, as per a government release.

The President virtually laid the foundation stone and dedicated 11 educational development projects worth ₹ 164 crore. Gujarat՚s inclusive development model is becoming a guide for other states in the country.

Need of women entrepreneurship

herStart platform motive

About

  • The herSTART platform would include a digital platform for providing resources and training modules free of cost to aspiring women entrepreneurs including a digital community for them as well as a digital publication to spread their success stories.
  • States were asked to adopt each other՚s development model and work in the direction of building a developed nation.
  • The President further stated that many are getting employment through 450 start-up projects operational in Gujarat University.
  • 125 start-ups out of 450 especially inspired by the entrepreneurial women are giving a new direction to the entrepreneurship including innovative ideas in women.
  • As a result of the start-up program started across the country, India has moved to 40th position from 81st position in the Global Innovation Index (GII) of 2022.
  • With Vanabandhu Kalyan Yojana, Eklavya Model Residential School, Kanya Nivasi Shala becoming functional in the state, the school dropout rate among the students of the tribal community has come down.
  • The National Education Policy-2020 was launched as an initiative towards making India a super power.
  • Various efforts made by Gujarat in the field of primary and higher education including the results obtained were lauded in the last two decades.
  • The President lauded Gujarat for reducing the dropout rate and the real-time monitoring of the education system of more than 55,000 schools by the Vidya Review Centre in the state.
  • A project of upgrading the infrastructure of about 20,000 schools of the state through Mission School of Excellence was also appreciated by the President.
  • Gujarat also become the first state in India to form the Garima Cell with the aim of giving new energy and direction to the higher education system of the state.

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

  • Based on Business
  • Financial Opportunities
  • Non-Financial Support
  • Opportunities Created by Association
  • Opportunities Created by Government
  • Opportunities Created through Training Programs

Popular Govt. Loan Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs in India

  • Annapurna Scheme
  • Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan
  • Mudra Yojana Scheme
  • Orient Mahila Vikas Yojana Scheme
  • Dena Shakti Scheme
  • Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana
  • Udyogini Scheme
  • Cent Kalyani Scheme
  • Mahila Udyam Nidhi Scheme

Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs in India

  • Lack of Finance
  • Lack of Education
  • Low Risk-Taking Abilities
  • Family Responsibilities
  • Poor Networking Skills
  • Security and Safety Issues

Bharatskills Forum (Governance)

Bharatskills Forum is a digital knowledge sharing platform developed by DGT for ITI trainees, trainers, and industry. This facility shall be acting as a digital warehouse for the skilling community. Sharing of contents in various forms such as handwritten trainers՚ or trainees՚ notes, PDFs, scanned copies, or recorded videos in any language will be allowed. The apex organization for development and coordination at national level for the programs relating to vocational training is the Directorate General of Training (DGT) in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) .

In October 2019, DGT had launched an online learning platform called the Bharatskills, a central digital repository for the trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem thereby providing an easy access to updated curriculum, e-books, question banks, mock⟋practice papers, learning videos, etc. for courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) , Craft Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) and the Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS) with learning anytime anywhere outside the classrooms.

Bharat skills Directorate General of Training (DGT)

Bharatskills and their learnings

About

  • For the students and teachers, Bharatskills platform presents unique access to centralized, scalable, thriving support ecosystem through its industrial partners.
  • According to an MSDE note, both the students and teachers can now learn the new age (Industrial Revolution 4.0) skills for meeting the demands of the industry.
  • From around 90,000 users in March 2020, the usage of Bharatskills learning platform has increased to more than 48 lakh unique users having accessed the portal and over 1.75 crore hits as of date.
  • According to the Secretary, MSDE the Bharatskills learning platform has now opened a two-way, unique facility for the trainers, trainees including those interested in skill training for sharing relevant content within the skill community.
  • The Bharatskills Forum is for the Skill Community and by the skill community.

Directorate General of Training (DGT)

  • Comes under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) .
  • A government agency that provides vocational training to Indian youth under the Skill India Program, which is the flagship scheme of the Indian government.
  • The network covers around:
    • 15,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
    • National Skills Training Institutes
    • National Skills Training Institutes for Women and other central training institutes.
  • Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skills Training Institutes for Women and other central training institutes provide training to over 24 lakh students every year catering to the industrial demands on skilled workforce.

Five Cs of Skill India Mission

Connect

Supply with demand

Correct

Supply for demand

Create

Pipelines of Skilled People

Catalyze

Demand for Skilled People

Certify

Assess and Certify the Skills

Skilling Challenges

  • Making vocational skills aspirational
  • Quality of Training
  • Industry-Private Sector Collaboration
  • Student Mobilization
  • Enabling Environment
  • Low participation rates of working age women in the labor force

Examrace Team at Dec 31, 2022