New Delhi, April 8 Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary launched a campaign on Wednesday to establish a 'Skills Outcomes Fund', a pioneering initiative aimed at creating livelihood opportunities for young people from low-income backgrounds.
The fund aims to mobilize public and private capital to scale outcome-based financing (OBF) in India's skills ecosystem, linking investments directly to verified employment outcomes.
Chaudhary, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, chaired a roundtable hosted by the British Asian Trust, the first in a series as part of the campaign to build the 'Skills Outcomes Fund'.
This initiative is expected to become the largest outcome-based financing (OBF) initiative for skills globally and marks a significant step in strengthening the adoption of OBF within India's skills ecosystem, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) said.
The initiative builds on India's growing global leadership in outcome-based financing, a theme highlighted at the Outcomes Finance Alliance Summit 2026 in Cape Town, where the minister outlined India's approach to aligning public policy, private capital, and measurable employment outcomes.
The proposed Skills Outcomes Fund will be anchored by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the MSDE, in partnership with not-for-profit and philanthropic organizations/stakeholders.
Chaudhary said India's skills journey is entering a new phase, one that places outcomes at the center of efforts.
"The Skills Outcomes Fund represents our commitment to ensuring that skills translate into real opportunities, sustained employment, and dignity of work for our youth. By bringing together government, industry, and philanthropic partners around measurable results, we are creating a model that can unlock large-scale impact and expand aspirational livelihood pathways for young people across India," he added.
The proposed Skills Outcomes Fund would build on the success of India's first outcome-based initiative, the Skill Impact Bond, launched by the NSDC in 2021 in partnership with a coalition of development and philanthropic partners. With an outlay of about Rs 130 crore, the Skill Impact Bond has demonstrated strong and consistent results.