The Government of India launched the Skills Development Initiative (SDI) scheme in 2008, with the aim to train 1 million persons on demand-driven vocational skills over the next 5 years and 1 million each year after that to support skills training, certification and upgradation in the unorganized sector. Under this initiative, the MOLE/DGET undertook the development and implementation of a strategic training framework known as Modular Employable Skills (MES) to cater to school drop outs and existing workers, especially focused on the informal economy.

MES was developed in close consultation with industry and micro enterprises in the unorganised sector, state g overnments, experts and academia. It offers flexibility in the provision of vocational training to those who have limited education and cannot afford to be away from employment for long periods of time. It also provide s testing and certification of existing skills of a person as t he SDI scheme provides a mechanism of third party assessment of trainees under the MES framework through DGET empanelled Assessment Bodies leading to NCVT certification that has national recognition in India.

The SDI -MES scheme also has the objective of building capacity in the area of development of competency standards, course curricula, learning material and assessment standards in the country.