Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS)

The Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills, or commonly referred to as MANAS, was established in 2014 by the then Minister of Minority Affairs. With its headquarters established in the Capital, the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills was initiated with the aim to provide skills, upgrade talents and abilities, train members of minority communities, and to promote self-employment. MANAS offers certifications and placements for trainees through the various collaborations it has with national and international agencies and organisations. This article talks about the essential aspects of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) in detail.

Overview

The Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) is an ambitious programme with over-arching skill development plans that are aimed to offer a National-level training framework. This is achieved through its collaborations with National and International training organisations through PPP mode. It plays a vital role in imparting knowledge and training for skills that are in-demand to members of various minority communities which face a shortage of workforce or labour, and where employment opportunities are expected to surge. MANAS takes the initiative to train people to be self-employed. Assistance is provided by the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) with respect to credit for individuals trained at MANAS in order to help them establish their own businesses and to even be self-employed. MANAS has collaborations with multiple national and international agencies in order to provide certification and assistance with respect to placements for the trainees at MANAS. These collaborations also help MANAS to secure funding to run the program. MANAS also signed a Memorandum of Understanding along with the National Skill Development Corporation in order to set up an All-India Collaborative Network for MANAS.

Vision

The vision of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) is as follows:

Promoting inclusive development process by skilling of Minority communities that would help them attain sustainable livelihoods leading to “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.

Mission

The mission of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) is as follows:

“To provide unified access to every minority community for Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Training Programmes (E&SDPs) for the skill sets, which are, or will, be in demand by the market-leading to self-employment, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, to promote Skill India Mission or Make in India.

Objectives

The objective of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) are as follows:

• To offer an integrated an All-India platform unifying every stakeholder who provides skill training.
• Imparting Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Training to every member of various minority communities through PPP and collaborations with Local/National/International Organisations based on the demands of the Local/National/International Markets.
• To make use of the Skill Development Architecture of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship by working through various training partners and leading training providers, and thereby, ensuring the standardisation of training and its outcome.
• To link the concessional credit of NMDFC, or any other Financial Institutions, with the skills training of the minority communities in order to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment.
• To offer technical and marketing support through various call centres for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, Karobaari Salahiyat, and an e-commerce portal for online marking support.

Features of MANAS

The salient features of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS) are as follows:

• Set up as an SPV for expanding access to the various skill development programme for the marginalised sectors of the minority communities through an all-India collaborative framework based on the PPP model.
• Focus on an entire spectrum of skill-sets that are in demand by the market, which would also meet credit requirements for self-employment. This comprises of a wide array of skill-based courses and training of various durations and levels.
• Provides a sustainable, scalable model with significant flexibility. Training programmes may be tailored specifically for the implementation of the same in any region across the country irrespective of their skill sets, level of training, with multiple choices with respect to funding and more.
• Meet the various diverse skill training and upgradation requirements of the minority communities in terms of Identification, Preservation and Promotion of their traditional arts and crafts, and vocations under schemes such as Hamari Dharohar and USTAAD.
• Convergence of financial and development related activities of corporations and linkages with the leading local, national and international organisations for everything, starting from training to placements in various jobs and self-employment projects for MANAS trainees, to provide high-quality skill training.
• Provides an entirely transparent, credible and foolproof Skill Development Framework, by the extensive use of ICT Biometrics for the attendance system of trainees and trainers along with living CCTV coverage of the ongoing training, a pro-interactive website offering comprehensive information, to every stakeholder.

Funding

A budget provision is always set aside by the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) for the current financial year in order for MANAS to operate by developing the infrastructure and training facilities. As MANAS is a specialised initiative for the implementation of skill development programmes for the Minority Communities, it is expected to implement skill development programmes and receive funds from the Ministries and Organisations as mentioned below:

• The Ministry of Minority Affairs through the Seekho Aur Kamao Scheme, USTTAD, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Taleem, and various other skill development programmes under the Ministry.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs through the Project Udaan for Jammu and Kashmir, Skill Development Schemes in the Left-Wing Extremist areas, and more.
• The Ministry of HRD through the Project Hunar, Madarsa Modernisation Scheme, and more.
• The Department of Skills under the Ministry of Skill, Entrepreneurship, Sports and Youth Affairs.
• Training programmes of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Labour, and more.
• Multiple Departments of the State Government working in the skill development field in general and the welfare of the minority communities specifically.
• Corporate Social Responsibility funds from various national and multinational corporations of the corporate sector.

Contact Information

The following is the contact address of the Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills (MANAS). Address:  MANAS (Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills) Chelmsford Road, Opp. New Delhi Railway Station Reservation Center, Paharganj. New Delhi-110055 Telephone Number: 011-23586443, 011-23586447 Email Address: manasnmdfc@gmail.com