With waste management and air pollution becoming a major problem across the country, the Centre has decided to train unemployed youths in rural areas as environment warriors and impart them with skills to enhance their employment opportunities. The idea is to train youths under the skill development mission in areas ranging from management of municipal waste, biomedical waste, maintenance of air pollution equipment and sewage treatment plants. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the ministry of environment and forests has invited proposals from organisations for conducting training programme under National Skill Development Mission to rural unemployed youths all over the country so as to enhance employment opportunities. “The idea is to train youths in rural areas about means and methods to tackle pollution and this will also make them aware about sources of pollution surrounding them,” said a CPCB official. There has been a lot of focus on tackling pollution in urban areas but there is no planning for controlling pollution in rural India. Of the 600 air-quality monitoring stations set up by CPCB in over 260 cities and towns, not a single one is in a rural area. According to the World Health Organisation, 620,000 premature deaths were attributed to outdoor air pollution in urban and rural areas in 2012 in India while 30 lakh people premature deaths were reported across the world in 2012. The three-month training programme in the field of management and maintenance of environment equipment will be conducted for youths who have passed 10-12 class and are in age group of 18-30 years. The apex pollution control body has asked organizations working in the sector to send module for skill development, methodology in handling and maintenance of equipment, quality assurance and standard operating procedures for the specified area of training.