Medhavi Skills University Partners with SANDIKSHA to Skill Sashastra Seema Bal Families for a Skills-First India

2026-07-21 02:02:31 Education

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New Delhi, July 20, 2026: In its unstoppable pursuit of Building a Skills-First India, Medhavi Skills University (MSU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sashastra Seema Bal wives Welfare Association (SANDIKSHA), one of India's Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, to extend fee-waived higher education to the children of SSB personnel and structured skill-transition training to personnel who have taken early retirement.

The MoU was signed by Shri Kuldip Sarma, Honourable Co-Founder and Pro-Chancellor, Medhavi Skills University, and Smt. Kavita Singhal, President, SANDIKSHA. The MoU signing ceremony was marked by a welcome address from Mrs. Suchi Joshi, Vice President, SANDIKSHA, and concluded with a vote of thanks by Mrs. Sonia Tikku, Honorary Joint Secretary, SANDIKSHA, reflecting the shared vision of both organisations to create meaningful educational and career opportunities for SSB families.

As part of this initiative, MSU will offer full tuition waivers for the children of SSB martyrs and personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty. In addition, special fee concessions for the wards of serving and retired SSB personnel will be extended across the University's work integrated degree and diploma programmes. The partnership will enable eligible students to pursue NEP 2020-aligned, industry-integrated higher education through a unique model that combines academic learning with hands-on workplace training, allowing them to earn a recognised degree or diploma while developing industry-relevant skills and practical experience.

The collaboration also seeks to enhance access to affordable, skill-based higher education, creating stronger pathways to employability and long-term career growth. "Our forces protect the nation's borders, but it's often their families who quietly hold the fort at home. Standing beside a soldier's family is as important as standing beside the soldier. This MoU is our way of conveying gratitude to their selfless service that should not stop at retirement, besides our resolute commitment to support their families as well. It is only through such endeavours that we can inch closer to our larger mission of Building a Skills-First India," said Shri Kuldip Sarma while commenting on the partnership.

Smt. Kavita Singhal, President, SANDIKSHA stated “Every family that stands behind a Braveheart makes a sacrifice of its own. This collaboration with Medhavi Skills University ensures that sacrifice is met with real, tangible support in the form of quality skills-based higher education for our children and dignified career pathways for those who have served," she said.

This MoU is part of MSU's broader push to build a Skills-First India, a mission that goes beyond campuses and classrooms to reach the families of every single Indian through equitable access to quality skills-integrated education. By weaving skilling into the everyday lives of these families, MSU aims to turn service to the nation into a launchpad for opportunity, not just for personnel, but for their households.

MSU since its establishment has signed similar MoUs with the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard besides Assam Rifles, CRPF, Sikkim Police and Nagaland Police, steadily building an ecosystem where skilling reaches every corner of India's security establishment.

The partnership with SANDIKSHA marks another step in that journey, reinforcing MSU's belief that a Skills-First India is not an aspiration but a national mission, and that Medhavi Skills University remains unstoppable in pursuing it.

About Medhavi Skills University

Medhavi Skills University (MSU) is a UGC-recognized Skills University, established by an Act of the Government of Sikkim, and one of India’s most distinctive institutions, championing the skill economy through a disruptive skill-first model of industry-integrated higher education. As an NCVET-recognized Awarding Body, MSU designs and delivers skill-integrated degree programmes that seamlessly blend academic credit with workplace learning, apprenticeships and deep industry partnerships while ensuring that learning is anchored in real-world capability.

Recognised among leaders shaping India’s skills landscape, Medhavi Skills University is ranked 4th in the Outlook iCare Rankings 2025 among skill universities in India, reinforcing its role as a pioneering institution translating the promise of skills into pathways of opportunity. The University is part of the larger Medhavi ecosystem that has transformed the lives of over 6.4 lakh learners since its very inception while having built a robust ecosystem of 650+ industry and skilling partners. Offering 350+ on-campus and off campus programmes, Medhavi remains committed to mainstreaming a higher education model where classrooms meet careers and learning translates into livelihoods.

About Sashastra Seema Bal

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is one of India's foremost guardians of national security, entrusted with securing the country's strategically vital open borders with Nepal and Bhutan. As a premier Central Armed Police Force under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the SSB operates at the intersection of border management, intelligence, internal security and community engagement, protecting India's frontiers against trans-border crime, trafficking, smuggling and infiltration while fostering trust among border communities.

Born in the aftermath of the 1962 conflict and guided by its enduring ethos of Service, Security and Brotherhood, the Force has evolved into a critical pillar of India's security architecture, where vigilance extends beyond territorial integrity to safeguarding national stability and strategic interests.