Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: BS
Context: Under the Skill Impact Bond (SIB) initiative, nearly 18,000 first-time job seekers have been skilled, with 72% of them being women
About SIB:
The Skill Impact Bond (SIB) is India’s first development impact bond for skilling and employment.
- Launched by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with global partners
- Aim: To benefit 50,000 young Indians (over 4 years), with a focus on empowering women (60% of beneficiaries)
- It is a public-private partnership (PPP) model that emphasizes providing employment opportunities to trainees rather than just issuing training certificates.
Significance:
The SIB addresses the impact of the pandemic on women and employment, removes barriers to women’s workforce retention, and leverages private sector capital and expertise. It also works towards strengthening India’s technical and vocational education ecosystem through knowledge exchange and mainstreaming good practices.
What is a Development impact bond?
A development impact bond is a financial tool that leverages private-sector funding to address social and development challenges.
Explanation using an example:
Let’s say the investors provided $1 million for the education program. If the program successfully improves literacy rates, the government might repay the investors $1.2 million, including a predetermined return on investment. However, if the program doesn’t achieve the desired outcomes, the investors may receive a lower repayment or even no repayment at all.
