Ministry of Minority Affairs and ICAR-CMFRI to sign MoU tomorrow for Skill Training and Women Entrepreneurship Development Project under PM VIKAS scheme

Ministry of Minority Affairs and ICAR-CMFRI to sign MoU tomorrow for Skill Training and Women Entrepreneurship Development Project under PM VIKAS scheme

Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Shri George Kurian will chair the MoU signing between the Ministry of Minority Affairs and ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute for a skill training and women entrepreneurship development project under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan(PMVIKAS) scheme at the Animation Centre, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

As part of the PM VIKAS scheme, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is partnering with ICAR-CMFRI as an implementing institution for this project in Kerala, focusing on training 690 candidates from minority communities. The initiative is designed to equip and enhance domain knowledge and entrepreneurial capabilities of participants, thereby aligning with the scheme’s broader vision of empowering minority communities through education, skilling, and enterprise promotion.

Of the 690 candidates, 270 will be trained in non-traditional fisheries-based skills — including 90 in Fish Hatchery Production and 180 in Basics of Cage Culture Fish Farming. These specialised skills are expected to significantly enhance the self-employment potential of the fisherfolk and contribute to their socio-economic empowerment. Additionally, 420 women will undergo leadership and entrepreneurship development programmes aimed at enabling them to establish and manage their own enterprises.

All candidates will receive stipends during the course of their training. Beyond skilling, the project also emphasises on handholding the participants towards self-employment opportunities.

ICAR-CMFRI, known for its expertise in research, innovation, and incubation in the marine fisheries sector, will serve as the implementing agency, delivering both training and mentoring support. This initiative represents one of several flagship projects being rolled out across the country under the PM VIKAS scheme, which consolidates the Ministry’s earlier skilling and education programmes into a unified framework to drive the socio-economic development and augment livelihood opportunities of India’s six notified minority communities.