NAVYA: Empowering Adolescent Girls for a Viksit Bharat

On June 24, 2025, the Government of India launched NAVYA (Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls), a landmark initiative aimed at empowering adolescent girls through vocational training, life skills, and financial literacy. Jointly implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), NAVYA seeks to provide girls aged 16–18 years with training in non-traditional and emerging job sectors, ensuring they become confident, self-reliant, and future-ready.

The program was inaugurated in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, and specifically focuses on underserved, tribal, and remote areas, covering 3,850 girls across 27 Aspirational and North-Eastern districts in 19 states.

Background and Integration with Flagship Schemes

NAVYA builds on India’s flagship skill development programs:

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Launched in 2015, PMKVY provides free skill training and certification to youth. NAVYA uses its framework under PMKVY 4.0 to train girls in demand-driven sectors.
• PM Vishwakarma (2023): Designed to support traditional artisans and craftspeople with training, modern tools, and financial aid. NAVYA borrows from this model to blend traditional skills with modern vocational roles, promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment.

By integrating these schemes, NAVYA ensures that young girls receive training that is both industry-relevant and culturally rooted.

Key Objectives of NAVYA

The NAVYA initiative has five core objectives:

1. Demand-Driven Vocational Training: Courses are aligned with both traditional crafts and emerging sectors like AI, digital marketing, cybersecurity, drone assembly, solar PV installation, and graphic design.
2. Holistic Development: A strong focus on health, nutrition, hygiene, legal awareness, and financial literacy, ensuring adolescent girls are empowered beyond just technical skills.
3. Promote Employability & Entrepreneurship: NAVYA links trainees with internships, apprenticeships, and self-employment opportunities, helping them step directly into job markets or start their own ventures.
4. Safe and Gender-Inclusive Training Spaces: Female-friendly training centers with stipends, flexible schedules, and legal awareness (POSH and POCSO laws) create a supportive environment.
5. Bridge Education and Livelihood: Special emphasis is placed on Aspirational and North-Eastern districts, enabling girls in underserved areas to gain access to certifications, jobs, and sustainable livelihoods.

Special 7-Hour Supplementary Training Module

To complement vocational training, NAVYA includes a 7-hour life skills module covering:

• Interpersonal Skills: Hygiene, self-presentation, conflict management.
• Communication Skills: Active listening, workplace communication.
• Workplace Safety: Awareness of POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) laws.
• Financial Literacy: Budgeting, earnings management, savings, and economic independence.

This ensures participants are not only job-ready but also life-ready.

Current Implementation and Pilot Phase

Currently, NAVYA is being piloted across 9 districts in 9 states, including:

• Maharashtra
• Gujarat
• Karnataka
• Punjab
• Uttar Pradesh
• Bihar
• Madhya Pradesh
• Jharkhand
• Himachal Pradesh

These districts fall under NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts program, focusing on areas that need targeted development interventions.

Significance for Viksit Bharat@2047

NAVYA directly aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 by:

• Building self-reliant adolescent girls who can become future leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs.
• Encouraging girls to enter non-traditional roles like cybersecurity and AI, breaking gender stereotypes.
• Strengthening social inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved communities.

By empowering 3,850 girls in its first phase, NAVYA is set to become a transformative model for gender-inclusive development in India.