Paid Apprenticeship (NAPS and NATS)

What you need

• Age 14 or above.
• Your highest school or college certificate. The minimum depends on the trade: some accept Class 5 to 9, most ask for Class 10, ITI, a diploma or a degree.
• Aadhaar and a bank account linked to it, because the stipend is paid by bank transfer.
• A phone or cyber cafe access to register on the portal.
• Age 14 or above (18 or above for trades classed as hazardous).
• Somewhere to stay near the establishment. Hostels are rarely provided.

How the money works

The establishment pays a fixed stipend every month into your bank account. The central government sets the minimum by qualification and may share part of the cost with the employer, but you are paid by the establishment. Employers may pay more than the minimum, and many large ones do.

• The stipend is not a salary: there is usually no provident fund, and no claim to a permanent job.
• Working hours and leave follow the rules for workers in that establishment.
• If you leave before the contract ends without cause, the contract may provide for recovery of training cost. Read it.

What people actually take home

We do not estimate earnings ourselves. Each line below is someone else's figure, with who said it and when.

• Minimum stipend from 11 September 2025: ₹6,800 a month for those who passed Class 5 to 9; ₹8,200 for Class 10 pass; ₹9,600 for Class 12 pass and for holders of a national or state trade certificate; ₹10,900 for technician (diploma) apprentices; ₹12,300 for graduate apprentices.

  Government or regulatorOffice memorandum of 15 Sept 2025 · Directorate General of Training: upward revision of apprentices' stipend

• The previous minimums were ₹5,000 to ₹9,000. The revised rates were notified in the Gazette on 11 September 2025, and future revisions are proposed to follow the consumer price index every two years.

  Government or regulator2025 · Lok Sabha unstarred question on apprenticeship stipend

Is it legal where you live?

• All India

  Apprenticeship is governed by the Apprentices Act, 1961 and the Apprenticeship Rules. The contract must be registered on the government portal, the stipend may not be below the notified minimum, and an apprentice is a trainee, not a worker, under the Act. An unregistered 'apprenticeship' has none of these protections.

  As of Oct 2026

How to start

1. Register free on apprenticeshipindia.gov.in for trade apprenticeships (school pass-outs and ITI holders), or on nats.education.gov.in if you hold a diploma or degree.
2. Complete your profile with Aadhaar, bank account and certificates.
3. Search openings by district and trade, and apply to several. Also watch for apprentice notices from the Railways, public sector companies and banks.
4. Attend the employer's selection, which is usually on marks, sometimes with a simple test or interview.
5. Sign the contract only on the portal, and check that the stipend is at or above the minimum for your qualification.
6. Finish the training and take the final assessment for the certificate. Ask the employer early how they hire from their apprentices.

Where this can lead

• Technician Grade III, RailwaysRailway apprentices get weight in recruitment for technical posts.
• Assistant Loco PilotOpen to ITI and apprenticeship certificate holders in listed trades.
• Railway Level 1 postsA share of Level 1 posts is filled from those trained as apprentices in railway units.
• AC and refrigerator repairA trade learnt as an apprentice can become your own service business.
• Two-wheeler service centreThe business side of the mechanic trade.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Directorate General of Training: upward revision of apprentices' stipend (15 Sept 2025)
• Lok Sabha unstarred question on apprenticeship stipend
• Careers360: Centre recommends hike in apprenticeship stipend
• Apprenticeship India portal

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