Bhubaneswar: Expanding its reach, Centre’s Navya (Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls) initiative will now equip girls and young women aged 16 to 25 years from 10 Odisha districts, with vocational skills, improving livelihood opportunities for them.The Centre has identified Balangir, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada — many with large rural and tribal populations — for coverage under Navya 2.0.The pilot, launched in June 2025, was restricted to girls aged 16–18 years and covered 27 aspirational districts across 19 states. Navya 2.0 will now cover 100 districts across 24 states and Union territories, with the upper age limit raised to 25.The initiative is a joint effort of ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) and ministry of women and child development (MWCD) to improve the employability and livelihood opportunities of young women, particularly for those from socio-economically vulnerable backgrounds, through industry-relevant vocational training.A senior women and child development department official said they can be trained in emerging and non-traditional areas such as telecom and financial services, graphic designing, smartphone and drone assembly, and solar panel installation, among others, giving them skills that can potentially be used to find jobs or pursue self-employment.“The idea is to give young women who may not have access to conventional higher education or skill-training opportunities a practical route to employment. Certification and placement support can make the training more meaningful. For girls in rural and tribal areas, access to a recognised skill course itself can be a first step towards becoming financially independent. The programme is expected to create that opportunity while also exposing them to sectors beyond traditional occupations,” the official said.In Odisha, the anganwadi network will be used to identify and mobilise eligible girls and young women. They will be counselled and enrolled for vocational courses through Skill India Digital Hub. A digital platform will track beneficiaries through the entire training cycle from registration and counselling to enrolment, attendance, training, assessment, certification and placement.The MWCD will facilitate beneficiary mobilisation and programme coordination, while MSDE, through National Skill Development Corporation and training agencies, will oversee identification of training centres, batch creation, training, assessment and certification.The WCD department has asked collectors to nominate the child development project officers and district social welfare officers to attend an orientation programme on the initiative in Delhi this week. Following the orientation, the officials will mobilise eligible beneficiaries in their respective districts.
