Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana

What is Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana is the flagship skill development scheme of the Government of Jharkhand. Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana is implemented by the Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society (JSDMS) under the Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development Department, and it acts as an umbrella that holds four separate training programmes under a single set of rules for eligibility, allowances, certification and placement.

The name confuses many readers: "Sarthi" suggests transport, and search results sometimes describe it as a rural connectivity scheme. That is incorrect. Sarthi here carries the older meaning of a charioteer, a guide who carries a young person forward. The only transport element in the scheme is a travel allowance paid to trainees who commute to a centre.

The four components of Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana

1. DDU-KK: mega skill training centres running structured programmes of around 576 hours.
2. SJKVY (Saksham Jharkhand Kaushal Vikas Yojana), residential and non-residential training available across the state.
3. EXCEL: skill programmes run inside colleges for candidates who have passed class 12.
4. BIRSA (Block Level Institute for Rural Skill Acquisition) — block-level centres planned for all 264 blocks, aimed at rural youth.

Common features across all four

• Training is free in all 24 districts of Jharkhand.
• The general age band is 18 to 35 years, relaxed to 50 years for SC, ST and OBC candidates under BIRSA.
• Soft skills and basic IT training are compulsory parts of every course, not add-ons.
• Courses are NSQF-aligned, so certificates are recognised outside the state.
• Eight Migration Support Centres in other states support Jharkhand workers who have moved for jobs, with lodging, food and counselling.

Who is eligible for Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana?

You can enrol if:

• You are a permanent resident of Jharkhand.
• You are aged 18 to 35 years. SC, ST and OBC candidates enrolling through BIRSA can be up to 50 years old.
• You are unemployed or underemployed and seeking wage employment or self-employment.
• You meet the minimum educational qualification for the course you choose; class 8 for some NSQF Level I trades, class 10 or class 12 for others.
• You have an Aadhaar card and an Aadhaar-seeded bank account for allowance transfer.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not a resident of Jharkhand.
• You are under 18, or over the applicable upper age limit.
• You have already completed and been certified in the same trade at the same NSQF level under a government-funded skilling scheme.
• You are in regular salaried employment. You may not claim the Rojgar Protsahan Bhatta while employed, and placement records are cross-checked against allowance claims.
• You cannot meet the attendance requirement, since certification and both allowances depend on completing the mandated training hours.

What documents are required for Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana?

How to apply for Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana

1. Decide which component fits you. A class 12 pass-out in college should look at EXCEL; a rural candidate in a remote block should look at BIRSA; a candidate willing to stay at a residential centre should look at SJKVY; a candidate near a district headquarters should look at DDU-KK.
2. Locate the empanelled training centre. The list of empanelled training service providers and centres is maintained by the Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society at jsdm.jharkhand.gov.in. The District Skill Development Officer and the Block Development Office also hold the current list.
3. Check the course, batch date and duration before enrolling. Each centre runs a fixed basket of NSQF-aligned trades, and batches start on a rolling basis rather than on a common statewide date.
4. Carry your documents to the centre: Aadhaar card, residence certificate, age proof, educational certificate, bank passbook and two photographs, plus caste or disability certificate if you are claiming a relaxation or the higher allowance.
5. Fill the enrolment form and complete biometric registration. The training provider records your details in the JSDMS system and issues a candidate ID. Store this ID safely; it is needed for every later query.
6. Attend the full course and appear for third-party assessment. Both the NSQF certificate and the post-training employment allowance depend on it.
7. Register for placement support offered by the training provider, which is contractually obliged to arrange placement drives.

A Pragya Kendra (Common Service Centre) can help you find the nearest centre and assemble documents. Enrolment itself carries no fee.

How much does Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana pay?

• Pariwahan Bhatta (transport allowance): Rs 1,000 per month for non-residential trainees during the training period. Residential trainees receive boarding and lodging instead.
• Rojgar Protsahan Bhatta (employment allowance): paid to certified trainees who remain unplaced. Rs 1,000 per month for men, and Rs 1,500 per month for women, persons with disabilities and transgender candidates, for a maximum of one year.

Both payments run through direct benefit transfer into the Aadhaar-seeded bank account. Reporting at the launch of the BIRSA component described the employment allowance as beginning where a certified trainee has not found a job within roughly three months of completing training.

How to check your Sarthi Yojana status

1. Keep the candidate ID issued at enrolment.
2. Ask the training service provider to show your attendance, assessment and placement status from the JSDMS system.
3. Track the allowance through bank passbook entries or SMS alerts on the Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
4. Escalate to the District Skill Development Officer if the allowance has not been credited a month after certification.

Common reasons a Sarthi Yojana claim fails

• Aadhaar not seeded to the bank account, so DBT bounces back.
• Biometric mismatch at the centre, leaving attendance unrecorded.
• Shortfall in training hours, which disqualifies a candidate from assessment and from the employment allowance.
• Age outside the band for the chosen component.
• Name spelling differences between Aadhaar, bank records and the residence certificate.
• Employment found but not declared, a placed candidate who continues to draw the unemployment allowance faces recovery.

Where to raise a grievance

Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana runs a call centre that handles both programme information and grievance resolution, with the number publicised at each training centre. For unresolved matters, approach the District Skill Development Officer in your district, and then the Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society, Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development Department, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi. Jharkhand workers who have migrated to other states can approach one of the eight Migration Support Centres funded under the scheme.

Training under Mukhyamantri Sarthi Yojana is free. No training provider or agent may charge a candidate for admission, for a certificate, or to release an allowance.