Suryamitra Skill Development Program

Introduction

Suryamitra initiative is a residential program to develop skilled technicians in solar powered projects

Need for Suryamitra

• India has set a target of 100 GW solar power in 25 years
• According to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimates, this will need about 6.5 lakh trained personnel in the solar energy field 
• Suryamitra course is designed to meet this need

About Suryamitra initiative

• Suryamitra initiative is a part of Make in India scheme
• It is a 3 month training course 
• The entire course is completed in 600 hours
• This skill development program is aimed to create skilled manpower in solar power plant and equipment installations

Target

• To train 50000 Suryamitras in the field of solar energy
• In 2016, 3200 suryamitras are trained
• 7000 new suryamitras to be trained in the fiscal 2016 - 2017
• To achieve the entire target of 50000 suryamitras in next 3 years
• MNRE is the institution to set these targets

Nodal Agency

• National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) is the implementation agency of Suryamitra
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

About National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE)

• It is an autonomous institution under MNRE
• NISE is the successor of Solar Energy Center (SEC)
• GOI has converted SEC that was in operation for 25 years into NISE under MNRE 
• NISE is the apex R & D institution in the field of solar energy
• NISE helps GOI in achieving the National Solar Mission
• NISE coordinates technology and research work pertaining to Solar power

Funding Agency

100 % funding of Suryamitra by GOI

Services covered under Suryamitra

• Solar project installation
• Provide servicing for solar powered panels
• Solar project repair
• Solar equipment servicing
• Solar project maintenance 
• Servicing in solar power plants
• Servicing of solar products like

         Solar cookers
         Solar pumps
         Solar lamps
         Solar heaters etc

• Suryamitras are skilled technicians in the above services

Recent Developments

• NISE developed the Suryamitra App recently 
• It is a GPS based mobile App
• This mobile app can handle 1000’s of calls at the same time
• The app is categorized in the high end technology platform segment
• The suryamitra app enables monitoring of suryamitra visits in an efficient manner

Training Institutes of Suryamitra

• ITI
• Polytechnic
• Universities
• Educational institutions etc
• Suryamitra skill development programs are conducted in the above institutes and various other locations across the country

Benefits

• Suryamitra scheme creates job opportunities in various solar industries
• Helps in reducing the unemployed youth
• 80 percent of the trained suryamitras are placed in a solar field company with a good remuneration
• Rest of the suryamitras are becoming entrepreneurs in the solar energy field
• The skill development program promotes entrepreneurship and employment

Conclusion

• Suryamitra will create employment in the solar energy field
• Solar energy use will be projected to the public through the Suryamitra mobile app
• Suryamitra mobile app create demand for solar based products and act as a catalyst
• Overall, Conventional energy consumption will be reduced to a great extent by switching to solar energy benefiting India as a whole