New Delhi, Apr 1 (IANS): As a part of the government's commitment to fight the spread of the coronavirus and fully support the public, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on Tuesday notified all the establishments under designated and optional trade to pay full stipend to apprentices engaged with them.

The ministry also added that reimbursement of stipend to establishments under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) shall be paid by the government for the lockdown period as per the NAPS guidelines.

In a statement, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, "We have decided that we will not let the morale of the country's productive youth to be let down and will support them in every way possible. In view of this, we will ensure that apprentices continue to get their stipend during COVID-19 lockdown."

"I would also like to state that all the establishments have shown full commitment in this regard and are cooperating with the government for the smooth delivery of services in a critical time like this." he added.

Currently there are 24,884 establishments engaging 2.42 lakh apprentices in both designated and optional trade. As per the provision under NAPS, the government reimburses 25 per cent of the stipend amount to be paid to apprentices per month subject to maximum of Rs 1,500 per month.

During the lockdown period due to COVID 19 pandemic the government will be paying about Rs 36.3 crore to the establishments who would be claiming reimbursement for engaging apprentices under NAPS during this period.