Parliament Question: Governance failures in Skill India Mission

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 601 ANSWERED ON- 04/02/2026 GOVERNANCE FAILURES IN SKILL INDIA MISSION 601 SMT. PHULO DEVI NETAM: SHRI DIGVIJAYA SINGH: SHRI HARIS BEERAN: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has taken cognizance of serious governance lapses in the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC); (b) if so, details of complaints filed against officials for alleged embezzlement of public funds during the last five years, year-wise and State-wise/UT-wise; (c) total number of FIRs registered against training partners under PMKVY during the last five years, the value of misappropriated funds and the number of entities blacklisted, year- wise and State-wise/UT-wise; and (d) whether Government has initiated any inquiry to address systemic irregularities in the Skill India Mission, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d) National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is established as a not-for-profit public limited company under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (now corresponding to section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). It operates as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with 49% of the share capital held by the government and 51% by the private sector. The apex authority for any administrative decisions of NSDC is the Board of Directors of NSDC. NSDC as implementing agency for Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) receives complaints from time to time relating to non-compliance of scheme guidelines by certain Training Partners (TPs) and Training Centres (TCs) engaged under skilling programmes. These include issues such as non-adherence to prescribed processes, gaps in documentation, or deficiencies in training delivery. Whenever such complaints are received, they are examined as per established procedures. These centres are monitored through both physical and virtual modes. Strict legal and administrative actions including filing of FIRs, blacklisting, suspension, and financial recovery are initiated against non-compliant TPs/TCs involved in activities such as falsification of attendancerecords. As on 31.12.2025, a total of 178 Training Centres has been blacklisted under PMKVY 4.0 for non-adherence to scheme guidelines. Further, 41 FIRs have already been registered in matters involving serious irregularities, including falsification of attendance records. The Government continuously monitors the quality of training and placement outcomes under its skilling programmes, including PMKVY through audits, evaluations, media reports, or stakeholder feedback. To address these concerns, monitoring mechanism have been strengthened through mandatory Aadhaar based authentication, including attendance via Face-Authentication and the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), Aadhaar based verification of candidate credentials, mobile number authentication, and an expanded role of third-party assessment bodies. To improve quality, transparency, and uniformity in the implementation of PMKVY, the Government has undertaken several measures from time to time. Oversight mechanisms have been strengthened through technology-enabled systems such as Direct Benefit Transfer, registration process on Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) ensures e-KYC compliance, maintaining of all Management Information System (MIS) through SIDH portal to check duplication of candidates, etc. A structured grievance redressal mechanism, performance audits, impact assessments, and third-party evaluations have been institutionalized to curb malpractices, including falsification of attendance records. Additional measures include real-time call validations, surprise inspections of TP's/TC's, virtual verification with geotagged evidence, and candidate feedback through the NIC-developed Central Communication Layer (CCL) have also been implemented. Under PMKVY 4.0, training is being conducted only through accredited and affiliated Training Centres (TCs). *****