Minister of Social Justice and empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot has said that the National Action Plan for skill development of persons with disabilities (PwDs) has been announced on March 21st last year with a view to impart them skill training . <br/><br/>Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Mr Gehlot said this was designed to enhance the scope of job opportunities for the disabled people in public and private sectors. <br/><br/>The minister informed the House that the National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) and seven national institutes under his ministry are implementing skill development programmes for the disabled. <br/><br/>Mr Gehlot informed the House that during 2015-16, over 17 thousand persons with disabilities were trained through NHFDC . Over ten thousand persons with disabilities have been trained under the skill development programme by the 7 national institutes.