<span style="color: #222222;">Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar today informed Lok Sabha that around one crore 34 lakh candidates have been trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, PMKVY, till last year since its inception. In a written reply, he said, this Yojana is being implemented with an objective to impart short duration skill development training and certification to unemployed youth and to make them employable for better livelihood across the country.<br />'' <br />''The Minister said, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in economy, livelihood and labour market. The skill ecosystem was also impacted due to COVID-19 induced lockdown. Mr Chandrasekhar said in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the ministry has taken various initiatives under the skill ecosystem such as the introduction of Online skill training through eSkill India portal and Bharat Skill portal, Customized Crash Course Programme for COVID Warriors, Special programme for the training of reverse migrants under PMKVY in six States.</span>