To commemorate the auspicious occasion of the Sikh New Year, Union Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday launched a comprehensive skill development, leadership and entrepreneurship promotion and education program for the Sikh community.

This program has been approved in the larger spirit of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas”, under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme of the ministry, through Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which is a statutory body established for the welfare of the Sikh community.

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This program will target 10,000 youth and women and seeks to provide modern skills training in employment-oriented job roles, promote Sikh artisans such as Sikligars and other groups who are practicing traditional arts & craft forms, foster women leadership and entrepreneurship, and education for school dropouts.

The initiative is expected to assist the socio-economically disadvantaged groups within the community to make space for themselves in the national growth story and will also cater to beneficiaries from other socially disadvantaged communities thereby promoting communal and social harmony.

To formalise this transformative partnership, the Ministry of Minority Affairs will implement the program through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with societies/educational institutions nominated/registered under the DSGMC, which is already operating four colleges in Delhi University viz. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College, Mata Sundri College of Women and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, 12 branches of Guru Harkishan Public Schools, and 1 ITI.

These institutions have a proven track record in the domain of imparting education and skill development for the welfare of Sikhs and other communities. This initiative of the Ministry of Minority Affairs seeks to target Sikh youth not only from Delhi but all over India by building and nurturing the capacities of these educational and skilling institutions thereby supporting and assisting the community in generation of employment and livelihood opportunities.