Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar attended the inauguration of a sewing training centre run by Antyodaya Foundation at Chulkana, a locality in Samalkha, Panipat district, Haryana, on Saturday, 25 July 2026. The centre is aimed at equipping rural women with vocational skills to improve their economic standing and self-reliance.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X, Khattar said he was glad to have had the opportunity to attend the inauguration ceremony at 'पावन नगरी चुलकाना' ('the sacred town of Chulkana'). He described such skill-development initiatives as playing a 'vital role in economically empowering rural women, steering them towards self-reliance, and strengthening their participation in society.'

The minister added that when women receive employment-oriented training and opportunities, 'they not only contribute to their family's economic progress but also give fresh momentum to the nation-building process.' He extended his congratulations and best wishes to Antyodaya Foundation for the initiative.

Policy Backdrop

The inauguration fits within a broader national framework of women's economic empowerment. The Skill India Mission, launched in 2015, set out to provide vocational training to millions of Indians, with a specific focus on rural women and marginalised groups. The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana, also launched in 2015, has similarly targeted skill development and livelihood creation for those below the poverty line.

Successive Union budgets have supported NGO-run vocational centres across states including Haryana as part of efforts to raise female workforce participation rates. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) has served as a key funding and certification channel for such grassroots centres.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are rural women in and around Samalkha in Panipat district, who will gain access to structured sewing and tailoring skills that can generate self-employment or wage employment. Antyodaya Foundation, the operating NGO, stands at the centre of this local implementation of national livelihood policy.

For Khattar, who served as Chief Minister of Haryana from 2014 to 2024 before moving to the Union Cabinet, the visit reinforces his continued engagement with his home state's grassroots welfare landscape. Local inaugurations by senior ministers also serve a political function: visibly linking national schemes with on-the-ground delivery.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether the Antyodaya Foundation centre pursues certification linkages under PMKVY or state-level skill development boards, which would determine the long-term sustainability and reach of the programme. Haryana's assembly sessions are expected to see continued scrutiny of women's skill training outcomes, including enrolment figures and post-training employment rates.

Wider rollout of similar NGO-run centres in rural Haryana could follow if this model demonstrates measurable income gains for participants — a metric that policymakers and civil society groups are increasingly tracking under the Atmanirbhar Bharat framework.