Update: J&K Sets Up an Apprenticeship Council and a 50-Member Review Panel for NAPS

The story so far

In September, J&K ran a UT-wide registration campaign under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS); we covered it in an earlier explainer. This update concerns the bodies now set up to run the scheme.

What's new

The UT has now created two bodies to run the scheme, according to The Tribune; Rising Kashmir, which cites Government Order 1591-JK(GAD) of 2026, reports the same creation and attributes it to the General Administration Department. The two outlets differ on who issued the order: The Tribune says Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha did.

• UT Apprenticeship Council (UTAC), 20 members. Chaired by the minister in charge of skill development, with the department's administrative secretary as vice-chairperson. Members include administrative secretaries of key departments, university representatives, Directorate General of Training officials and NSDC. It is described as the "apex advisory and coordination mechanism for strengthening apprenticeship training".
• UT Implementation Review Committee (UTIRC), 50 members. Chaired by the skill-development administrative secretary, with chambers of commerce, CII and industry federations at the table. It is to monitor apprenticeship engagement and review performance indicators district by district.

What they are meant to do

The council's brief covers expanding industry participation, drawing in MSMEs, on-the-job training through ITIs and polytechnics, and sectors such as manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, IT/ITES, electronics, renewable energy, construction, logistics, healthcare and automotive.

What it does not change yet

Neither report announces new stipend rates or new openings, and the order itself was not available to us as a primary source, so the details above rest on two press reports. Rising Kashmir says the council will examine stipend questions; no outcome has been reported.

What to do: the review committee is to track apprenticeship engagement district by district, so watch for district-level figures and openings in your trade.

File photo, not from the event: Government Polytechnic College, Anantnag. The council's brief covers training through ITIs and polytechnics. Sauood07 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Sources: The Tribune; Rising Kashmir.