Empowering Adolescent Girls: NAVYA Vocational Training Initiative Launched in Sonbhadra

NAVYA, a project to empower adolescent girls between the age of 16-18 was announced in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, the district with an aspirational status. This initiative, which is a cooperation between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) will help provide vocational training to girls in non-traditional job roles and make them future-ready. The project is piloted in 9 states and 9 districts and further will be extended to 27 aspirational districts and 19 states. Shri Jayant Chaudhary and Smt. Savitri Thakur, the attendants of the launch event stressed the need of the government to enable girls to become self-reliant through equipping them with the necessary skills in order to become independent.

Context

• The NAVYA initiative was undertaken to give vocational training to teenage girls in aspiration districts. 

• The program emphasizes unconventional employment and comprehensive growth with a guarantee of assuring that girls acquire self-assurance and the chances of gaining employment and establishing their businesses.

Key Points 

Objective:

• This Vocational education in non-traditional occupations drives adolescent girls (1618 years, Class 10+) in NAVYA to take complete control of their lives by training them in graphic design, smartphone servicing, drone technology and makeup artist courses.

Coverage:

• Rolled out in 9 of 9 selected districts in 9 states( e.g. Maharashtra, UP, Bihar); to be rolled out in 27 aspirational districts in 19 states.

Skill Development:

• With core training, girls get 7 hour trainings on:

  • Interpersonal skills (hygiene, self-presentation)

  • Listening skills, speaking skills (listening skills and speaking skills)

  • Safety at the workplace ( POSH, POCSO laws )

  • Budgeting basics (Financial literacy)

Conclusion

The NAVYA effort is an enormous effort to empower adolescent girls in India who are in aspirational districts. Its vocational training and holistic development help in making women self-reliant and empowered to the extent that it produces a generation of self-reliant women. Nationwide tendency towards inclusiveness and gender equality promoted by the government with the help of such initiatives as NAVYA will also play an important role in creating a Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047.