• a) To develop skilled workforce for the economy by promotion of on-the-job experiential training.
• b) To encourage establishments to enrol apprentices by sharing partial stipend support to the apprentices.
• c) To provide up-skilling opportunities for candidates who have undergone short-term skill training offered by various Central and State Government initiatives.
• d) To encourage enrolment of apprentices in small establishments especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and those located in the underserved areas such as aspirational districts and North-East Region.

2. Key Features

• 2.1 Apprenticeship Training: Apprenticeship training means a course of training in any industry or establishment undergone in pursuance of a contract of apprenticeship on prescribed terms and conditions, which may be different for different categories of apprentices. Under the scheme, training will be imparted in Designated Trades and Optional Trades.
• 2.2 Designated Trades (DT): Designated Trade means any trade or occupation or any subject field in engineering or non-engineering or technology or any vocational course which the Central Government, after consultation with the Central Apprenticeship Council (CAC), may, notify in the Gazette.
• 2.3 Optional Trades (OT): Optional Trade means any trade or occupation or any subject field in engineering or non-engineering or technology or any vocational course as may be determined by the employer1.

3. Eligibility to avail benefits

• 3.1 Minimum age for an apprentice is 14 years, and 18 years for designated trades related to hazardous industries, as per Section 3(a) of the Apprentices Act, 1961.
• 3.2 Apprenticeship training is primarily a transition from academia to workplace, and therefore, to avail partial stipend support by the Government, at the time of registration the upper age limit should be 35 years.

4. Basic training

• 4.1 In case of DT, notified through the Gazette, the duration of basic training will be as per the approved course.
• 4.2 In case of OT, basic training will be embedded in the course duration of apprenticeship. It will be of minimum two (2) weeks duration before the OJT and will focus on orientation/ induction into the establishment.
• 4.3 Induction will include an overview of basic hygiene, occupational health and safety, protocols for handling of hazardous material, etc.
• 4.4 No reimbursement of basic training cost will be provided under NAPS-2, both for DT and OT.

5. Funding support under NAPS-2

• 5.1 Partial stipend support by GoI under NAPS-2 will be limited to 25% of stipend paid, up to a maximum of Rs.1,500 per month, per apprentice during the training period.
• 5.2 The stipend support by GoI will be paid through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the bank account of apprentices.
• 5.3 No stipend support will be available under NAPS-2 to the Central and State Government Departments and Central and State Public Sector Undertakings/Enterprises, including Public Sector Banks.