The Government on Tuesday announced a scheme to upgrade the skills of street food vendors of East Delhi and make them eligible for e-cart licenses. They will be taught to improve hygiene in food preparation and aesthetics of vending.
In its pilot phase with East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Skill India aims at upskilling 2,500 vendors, aged between 23 to 55 years.
The initiative is being undertaken by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0.
The objective of this programme is to provide relevant skills to Street Food Vendors, leading towards better services to consumers, more opportunities to vendors for revenue generation, awareness on regulations and stipulated rules.
Launching the initiative, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said that India has 55 lakh street food vendors, their contribution to the informal economy is 14% which highlights the important role played by them in India’s economy.
The project will be implemented by the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Council and training partners of NSDC. The two training partners are Learnet Institute of Skills and Tata STRIVE. Under the initiative, the Street Food Vendors will be educated on health and safety standards, safety provisions under COVID-19 protocols, effective communication techniques with staff and customers, new-age skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy, digital payments and e-selling. The vendors will also be supported with loans under the Mudra Scheme.
