Coir Vikas Yojana - Skill Upgradation and Mahila Coir Yojana

What is Skill Upgradation and Mahila Coir Yojana?

Skill Upgradation and Mahila Coir Yojana is a component of the Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY), the umbrella development scheme of the Coir Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The Coir Board describes the component as the Board's main channel for building the skilled manpower the coir industry needs and for drawing more entrepreneurs into coir processing.

According to the Coir Board, the component runs "various programmes like Entrepreneurship Development Programme, Awareness Programme, Workshop, Seminar, Exposure Tour, etc." to attract entrepreneurs, alongside training on the manufacture of value-added coir products, spinning, weaving and other product-diversification processes. Crucially, all of these training programmes are also available to women under the Mahila Coir Yojana, so the component doubles as a women's empowerment channel in coir-producing regions.

The coir industry is concentrated in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and other coconut-growing States, and employs large numbers of rural women in spinning and product-making. Upgrading their skills, and the skills of small entrepreneurs, is the core purpose here.

What does the scheme provide?

The component is delivered as programmes, not cash grants to individuals. The nature of assistance, as set out by the Coir Board, is:

• Skill training so trainees and artisans can upgrade their ability to produce coir yarn and diversified coir products.
• Awareness of modern technologies developed by the Coir Board's research institutes, so workers adopt better methods.
• Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDP) that give entrepreneurs the management skills to run coir units more effectively and efficiently.
• Workshops, seminars and exposure tours that expose participants to markets and new practices.

Under the Mahila Coir Yojana, women get access to the same training in spinning, weaving and value addition, helping them move from unpaid or low-skill work to producing marketable coir goods.

The Coir Board's twin research institutes. The Central Coir Research Institute at Kalavoor and the Central Institute of Coir Technology at Bengaluru; provide the technical backbone: technology transfer, demonstration and guidance to entrepreneurs setting up coir units.

Who is eligible for Skill Upgradation and Mahila Coir Yojana?

Who can apply: The Coir Board states that Self Help Groups (SHGs), NGOs registered on the NITI Aayog DARPAN portal, and government organisations can apply to organise field-level training programmes. To be considered, the applicant body must have adequate infrastructure. A work shed, power connection, equipment and raw material; to actually run the training. It applies through the Coir Board Regional or Sub-Regional Office of its State, supplying the names and addresses of the candidates to be trained.

Who benefits: Coir workers, artisans and entrepreneurs — including women under the Mahila Coir Yojana, who are enrolled as trainees by these bodies.

Who cannot apply:

• An individual worker cannot apply directly for a cash benefit. This is not an individual cash-transfer scheme; the training is delivered through registered SHGs, NGOs and government organisations. A worker who wants to be trained should approach such a body or the Coir Board Regional Office.
• Bodies that are not registered. An SHG without registration, or an NGO not listed on the DARPAN portal, are not eligible to organise programmes.
• Applicants without the required infrastructure (work shed, power, equipment, raw material) cannot run the training and so cannot be sanctioned a programme.

How to apply for Coir Vikas Yojana training

1. Register your body if you have not already, an SHG must be registered, and an NGO must be enrolled on the NITI Aayog DARPAN portal. Government organisations qualify directly.
2. Arrange the required infrastructure: confirm you have a work shed, power connection, equipment and raw material to conduct the training.
3. Prepare the candidate list with the names and addresses of the coir workers or women artisans to be trained under Skill Upgradation or the Mahila Coir Yojana.
4. Approach the Coir Board Regional Officer or Sub-Regional Officer of your State with the candidate list and the other documents prescribed in the scheme guidelines.
5. Run the programme as coordinated with the Regional Office, and submit the completion documents the guidelines require.

Help and contact

• Coir Board Regional / Sub-Regional Office of your State, the point of contact for organising training.
• Coir Board (headquarters, Kochi): coirboard.gov.in

Because eligibility, batch sizes and any trainee support are set out in the Coir Board's scheme guidelines and revised from time to time, confirm the current terms with your Regional Office before applying. Applying through the Coir Board is free, and no agent is needed.