Content

• NITI Aayog Releases Report on ‘Revitalizing Apprenticeship Ecosystem: Insights, Challenges, Recommendations and Best Practices
• CAQM Reviews Supreme Court-Mandated Expert Report at 27th Meeting; PM2.5 Identified as Key Pollutant in Delhi

NITI Aayog Releases Report on ‘Revitalizing Apprenticeship Ecosystem: Insights, Challenges, Recommendations and Best Practices

A. Issue in Brief

• The report proposes a comprehensive overhaul of India’s apprenticeship ecosystem to align skilling with employability, productivity, and innovation under the broader vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
• It introduces a common digital apprenticeship platform to streamline registration, matching, compliance, and monitoring, reducing transaction costs and improving transparency across states and sectors.
• A novel Apprenticeship Engagement Index (AEI) is recommended to benchmark state and district performance, fostering competitive federalism and measurable accountability in apprenticeship outcomes.
• The framework emphasizes empowering District Skill Committees (DSCs) as nodal implementation anchors to localize labour-market mapping and integrate industry demand with skilling institutions.
• Special focus is placed on enhancing MSME participation through cluster-based consortia, leveraging economies of scale to overcome capacity and compliance barriers faced by smaller enterprises.

Relevance

GS 2 – Governance / Social Justice

• Skill development architecture, cooperative federalism (Concurrent List – Entry 25), role of District Skill Committees, and performance benchmarking through Apprenticeship Engagement Index (AEI).

GS  3 – Economy

• Addressing skill mismatch, youth unemployment (15–20% among educated youth – PLFS), MSME productivity, and human capital formation linked to PLI and Make in India.

B. Constitutional & Legal Context

• The apprenticeship ecosystem derives legitimacy from Article 41 (Right to Work) under Directive Principles, mandating the State to secure employment and skill opportunities within economic capacity.
• The governing statute, Apprentices Act, 1961 (amended 2014, 2019), mandates enterprise participation while introducing optional trades and simplified norms to encourage industry engagement.
• As vocational training falls under the Concurrent List (Entry 25), effective implementation requires cooperative federalism between Union skill missions and State Skill Development Authorities.
• Legal harmonization is required between apprenticeship provisions and emerging labour codes to ensure stipend safeguards, insurance coverage, and grievance redressal clarity.

C. Structural & Governance Reforms

• The proposed single-window digital platform integrates employer registration, apprentice matching, compliance tracking, and analytics, improving ease of doing business for industry stakeholders.
• The Apprenticeship Engagement Index (AEI) aims to create measurable performance indicators such as apprentice density, MSME participation rate, and post-training absorption levels.
• Strengthening District Skill Committees enhances decentralized governance, enabling real-time labour demand assessments and convergence with ITIs, PMKVY centers, and industrial clusters.
• The framework identifies the need for third-party audits and outcome-based monitoring, ensuring quality assurance and reducing risks of tokenistic apprenticeship enrollments.

D. Economic Significance

• Apprenticeships address India’s structural skill mismatch problem, improving employability and reducing frictional unemployment among educated youth, particularly in manufacturing and emerging technology sectors.
• Global evidence indicates apprenticeships can improve firm-level productivity by 5–15%, suggesting strong returns on investment for enterprises and national competitiveness.
• India’s 6.3 crore MSMEs employing over 11 crore workers represent an untapped reservoir for apprenticeship expansion through cluster-based collaborative models.
• By strengthening industry-linked skilling, the report aligns with PLI schemes and Make in India, supporting higher-value manufacturing and export competitiveness.

E. Social & Ethical Dimensions

• With youth unemployment among educated cohorts often exceeding 15–20% (PLFS data), apprenticeships can serve as a structured transition from education to employment.
• Gender disparities persist in technical trades, necessitating targeted policies to increase women’s participation in apprenticeships, especially in high-growth sectors like electronics and renewables.
• Ensuring stipends align with minimum wage benchmarks is crucial to prevent exploitation and preserve apprenticeships as learning opportunities rather than low-cost labour substitutes.
• Apprenticeships enhance social mobility by integrating rural and semi-urban youth into formal sector value chains, thereby supporting inclusive growth objectives.

F. Technology & Future of Work

• The report stresses integrating Industry 4.0 skills, including AI, robotics, semiconductors, and green technologies, to future-proof India’s workforce against technological disruptions.
• A data-driven apprenticeship ecosystem supported by digital analytics can enable predictive labour market planning and real-time monitoring of skill supply-demand dynamics.
• Linking apprenticeships with higher education credits under National Education Policy 2020 can reduce the academic-vocational divide and elevate the status of skill-based pathways.

G. Key Challenges Identified

• Enterprise participation remains limited, with apprenticeship penetration below 1% of the total workforce, far lower than Germany or Japan’s 3–5% levels.
• Complex compliance requirements under the Apprentices Act discourage MSMEs, necessitating simplified norms and graded incentives to expand participation.
• Weak monitoring mechanisms at district levels hinder outcome measurement, reducing accountability for apprentice absorption and long-term employment outcomes.
• Societal stigma attached to vocational education constrains youth enrollment, reflecting persistent preference for degree-centric employment pathways.

H. Way Forward

• Introduce graded fiscal incentives and tax credits for MSMEs engaging apprentices, particularly within identified industrial clusters and aspirational districts.
• Operationalize the Apprenticeship Engagement Index as a reform-linked ranking tool tied to central funding allocations for skill development programs.
• Establish robust social security coverage including ESIC and accident insurance for apprentices to strengthen trust and participation.
• Encourage CSR and industry associations to co-create apprenticeship consortia, leveraging community networks to scale high-quality training opportunities.
• Position apprenticeships as a strategic human capital investment integral to achieving SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work), and SDG 9 (Industry & Innovation).

I. Exam Orientation

Prelims Pointers

• Apprentices Act enacted in 1961, amended in 2014 and 2019 to simplify compliance and introduce optional trades.
• The report proposes a new Apprenticeship Engagement Index (2026) to benchmark state and district-level performance.
• Apprenticeship penetration in India remains below 1% of workforce, significantly lower than advanced industrial economies.

Practice Question (15 Marks)

• “India’s apprenticeship ecosystem remains underutilized despite demographic advantages.”
  Examine the structural bottlenecks in apprenticeship implementation and evaluate how recent reforms can enhance productivity, employability, and inclusive growth.

CAQM Reviews Supreme Court-Mandated Expert Report at 27th Meeting; PM2.5 Identified as Key Pollutant in Delhi

A. Issue in Brief

• At its 27th Full Commission Meeting (20 Feb 2026), CAQM reviewed a Supreme Court-mandated expert report identifying PM2.5 as the dominant pollutant driving AQI deterioration in Delhi.
• The expert meta-analysis (2015–2025) highlights the combined impact of local emissions and transboundary airshed transport, underscoring the regional nature of NCR air pollution.
• CAQM approved 46 additional Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) across NCR, increasing total stations to 157, enhancing spatial coverage and baseline assessment accuracy.
• Stricter PM emission norms for industries, strengthened construction and demolition (C&D) waste rules, and reinforced dust mitigation protocols were approved.
• The Commission emphasized coordinated implementation of State Action Plans (2026) and strict vigilance under statutory directions including GRAP enforcement.

Relevance

GS 3 – Environment

• PM2.5 as dominant pollutant, source apportionment (2015–2025), secondary particulates (27% winter share), dust (27% summer share), and regional airshed management.

GS 2 – Governance / Polity

• Role of CAQM under 2021 Act, Article 21 (Right to Clean Air), Supreme Court oversight (W.P. 1135/2020), GRAP enforcement, and inter-state coordination in NCR.

B. Constitutional & Legal Context

• Article 21 (Right to Life) has been judicially expanded to include the right to clean air, forming the constitutional basis for judicial intervention in air pollution matters.
• The case W.P. (C) No. 1135/2020 led the Supreme Court to mandate expert-based source apportionment analysis for evidence-driven policy action.
• CAQM was constituted under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, providing it overriding powers over State authorities in NCR.
• Statutory tools include GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) and legally binding directions enforceable across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

C. Source Apportionment Findings (Meta-Analysis 2015–2025)

• During winter months, major contributors to PM2.5 include Secondary Particulates (27%), Transport (23%), Biomass Burning (20%), Dust (15%), and Industry including TPPs (9%).
• In summer months, Dust (27%) becomes the dominant contributor, followed by Transport (19%), Secondary Particulates (17%), Industry (14%), and Biomass Burning (12%).
• Secondary particulates form from gaseous emissions of transport, industries, thermal power plants, and biomass burning, reflecting the need for precursor gas control strategies.
• The findings confirm that Delhi’s pollution is not solely local but influenced by regional airshed dynamics and inter-state emission flows.

D. Governance & Administrative Measures

• Approval of 46 new CAAQMS stations (14 Delhi, 16 Haryana, 1 Rajasthan, 15 Uttar Pradesh) strengthens grid-based spatial monitoring based on population and land-use criteria.
• Monitoring density enhancement to 157 stations in Delhi-NCR improves real-time AQI accuracy and regional pollutant attribution for targeted policy response.
• CAQM directed time-bound execution of State Action Plans (2026) focusing on transport, industry, dust control, waste management, and biomass burning mitigation.
• Enforcement Task Force actions, including industrial closures and resumptions, were reviewed to ensure compliance with emission norms and statutory directions.

E. Transport & Infrastructure Dimension

• The Commission emphasized implementation of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling systems, integrated with RFID and ANPR technologies to reduce vehicular congestion and idling emissions.
• Vehicular emissions remain a major winter contributor at 23% of PM2.5, necessitating stricter BS-VI compliance, EV transition acceleration, and congestion management reforms.
• Addressing congestion at MCD toll plazas is critical to minimizing localized emission hotspots and improving traffic flow efficiency.

F. Agriculture & Biomass Burning

• CAQM’s Direction No. 96 (13 Feb 2026) mandates coordinated, time-bound implementation of State Action Plans to eliminate wheat stubble burning in 2026.
• Biomass burning contributes 20% of winter PM2.5, highlighting the urgent need for subsidy-backed machinery, crop diversification, and residue management incentives.
• Interstate coordination under CAQM ensures uniform enforcement across Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP to mitigate transboundary impacts.

G. Industrial & Dust Regulation

• Stricter PM emission standards for industries across NCR aim to curb direct particulate discharge and precursor gases responsible for secondary particulate formation.
• Enhanced C&D waste management protocols target construction dust, a major contributor during summer months at 27%.
• Thermal power plants are included under tighter scrutiny to control emissions of SO₂ and NOx contributing to secondary particulate formation.

H. Critical Challenges

• Despite statutory powers, inter-state coordination gaps may dilute uniform enforcement, especially during peak pollution episodes.
• Secondary particulate control requires precursor gas regulation, which demands costly retrofitting and technological upgrades across sectors.
• Public compliance in dust mitigation and construction norms remains weak due to monitoring capacity constraints at municipal levels.
• Transboundary pollution challenges underscore the absence of a legally binding national airshed-based management framework beyond NCR.

I. Way Forward

• Adopt a regional airshed management model integrating scientific modelling, synchronized emission caps, and inter-state accountability mechanisms.
• Incentivize industries to adopt flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and advanced emission control technologies, supported by green financing instruments.
• Accelerate transition toward electric mobility and public transport expansion, targeting reduction of the 23% transport-linked PM2.5 burden.
• Strengthen public participation and transparency by making real-time source apportionment dashboards accessible to citizens.
• Align air quality strategy with SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) for integrated environmental governance.

J. Exam Orientation

Prelims Pointers

• CAQM established under 2021 Act with overriding powers over NCR States.
• PM2.5 identified as dominant pollutant influencing AQI in Delhi as per 2015–2025 meta-analysis.
• Total CAAQMS in Delhi-NCR increased to 157 after approval of 46 new stations.
• Winter PM2.5 contributors: Secondary Particulates (27%) highest share.

Practice Question (15 Marks)

• “Delhi’s air pollution is a manifestation of both local emissions and regional airshed dynamics.”
  Discuss the institutional and policy challenges in managing PM2.5 pollution in NCR and suggest measures for strengthening cooperative environmental federalism.