Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar attended the inauguration of a sewing and tailoring training centre established by Antyodaya Foundation at Kachhwa village in Karnal, Haryana, on Sunday, 21 June 2026. The centre aims to equip rural women with vocational skills to support economic self-reliance and broader social participation.

Context

Khattar shared his remarks on the occasion in Hindi, stating: 'ग्रामीण महिलाओं को कौशल विकास से जोड़ने वाली ऐसी पहलें उन्हें आर्थिक रूप से सशक्त बनाने... में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाती हैं' — ('Such initiatives that connect rural women to skill development play an important role in empowering them economically and advancing their self-reliance.'). He further noted that when women receive employment-oriented training, they contribute not only to their family's economic progress but also give fresh momentum to the process of nation-building.

The minister congratulated Antyodaya Foundation for the initiative, calling it a public-welfare and inspirational effort. He expressed confidence that the centre would become a medium of positive change in the lives of many women.

Policy Backdrop

The inauguration aligns with two central government programmes: the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, launched in 2015 to provide skill training and livelihood support to rural and urban poor households, and the Skill India Mission, also launched in 2015, which aims to train millions of youth — including women — in vocational trades.

Haryana has seen a pattern of partnerships between elected representatives, civil society organisations, and NGOs to establish community-level skill centres, particularly for women in rural areas. Such centres typically offer tailoring, handicrafts, and allied trades that can translate directly into self-employment or small-enterprise income.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are rural women in and around Kachhwa village, Karnal district. Tailoring and sewing skills are among the most accessible entry points into self-employment for women in semi-rural Haryana, requiring relatively modest infrastructure investment while offering tangible income potential.

Broader stakeholders include the state government's skill development apparatus and civil society groups working on female labour force participation. India's female labour force participation rate remains a subject of sustained policy attention, and community-level vocational centres are one instrument used to address it.

What's Next

The effectiveness of such NGO-led centres typically depends on sustained follow-through: placement linkages, access to raw materials, and market connections for finished products. Observers will watch whether Antyodaya Foundation's Karnal centre develops such downstream support structures, and whether the state or central government moves to formally integrate or scale similar initiatives under existing schemes in Haryana.