A Rural Self-Employment Training Institute giving rural youth one to six week courses, with food and lodging covered.
Dakshin Dinajpur disburses ₹36,094 in small business loans per lakh population. The district trains 144.4 youth per lakh under short-term skilling, behind the typical district. The Rural Self Employment Training Institute prepares rural youth to use credit like this to start their own enterprise.
78% of registered enterprises are in services while 22% are in manufacturing. Only 3% of employment is in small and medium enterprises. 63% of school-age children are enrolled in higher secondary school (classes 9–12).
In Dakshin Dinajpur, which ranks 15 of 23 in West Bengal for youth opportunity, the overall opportunity score is 43.5 out of 100. The district runs ahead of the national picture on young people in the labour force aged 15 to 29 at 53.1%, while it lags on self-employed workers at 67.4%. On skilling trainees who get certified at 94.5% and women-owned enterprises at 27.3%, it sits close to the national mark.