**Executive Summary**
This document presents the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship's response to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *123, dated 09.02.2026, regarding ineligible candidates enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The response addresses concerns about violations of eligibility criteria, penalties, and internal audits. A Statement is laid on the Table of the House
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Audits and Evaluations:**
* The Government consistently undertakes audits and evaluations to improve implementation, outcomes, and accountability of schemes.
* The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) recently published a Performance Audit Report on PMKVY (up to 2022), identifying instances of deviations relating to age, educational, and work-experience eligibility parameters.
* The report is available at provided URL.
* **System-Level Safeguards:**
* The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has introduced system-level safeguards under PMKVY to enhance training quality and transparency.
* Safeguards include Aadhaar-based e-KYC, face-authentication-enabled AEBAS attendance, strengthened system validations, unique beneficiary IDs, and integration with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
* The Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) has been integrated with the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), enabling generation of candidates' APAAR IDs.
* **Accountability and Compliance:**
* The Government has undertaken comprehensive measures to reinforce accountability and compliance, including disciplinary proceedings, suspension or blacklisting of non-compliant entities, recovery of funds, and strengthening of monitoring mechanisms.
* Show Cause Notices have been issued to concerned agencies.
* **Impact of PMKVY:**
* Periodic independent evaluations reflect the positive impact of the PMKVY program.
* A NITI Aayog evaluation (October 2020) indicated approximately 94% of surveyed employers expressed willingness to hire more candidates trained under PMKVY.
* An IIPA independent evaluation of PMKVY 2.0 found about 70.5% of surveyed candidates were placed in their desired skill sector.
* A third-party evaluation of PMKVY 4.0 (2025) observed that approximately 77% of STT and 78% of RPL candidates reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the training content.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE):**
* **Impact:** Required to respond to audit findings, implement system-level safeguards, enforce accountability, and continuously monitor the impact of PMKVY.
* **Action Required:** Review and address CAG report observations, continue strengthening PMKVY implementation, and maintain transparency in program delivery.
**Training Partners/Agencies:**
* **Impact:** Subject to audits, potential penalties, disciplinary actions (including suspension or blacklisting), and recovery of funds for non-compliance.
* **Action Required:** Ensure adherence to PMKVY guidelines, cooperate with audits and evaluations, and respond to Show Cause Notices.
**PMKVY Candidates:**
* **Impact:** Potentially impacted by stricter enrollment verification processes and improved training quality. Successful candidates benefit from increased employability and higher salary expectations.
* **Action Required:** Comply with enrollment requirements (Aadhaar-based e-KYC), attend training regularly (AEBAS), and utilize the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH).
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): A skill development scheme aimed at providing vocational training to Indian youth.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE): The central government ministry responsible for the implementation and oversight of skill development programs, including PMKVY.
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG): The independent body responsible for auditing government expenditures and performance, including audits of schemes like PMKVY.
NITI Aayog: A government think tank that conducts evaluations of various programs, including PMKVY, to assess their impact.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. *123
ANSWERED ON – 09.02.2026
INELIGIBLE CANDIDATES ENROLLED UNDER PMKVY
*123. SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to
state:
(a) whether it is a fact that the candidates were enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
Yojana (PMKVY) in violation of the age, education and work experience qualifications prescribed
in the guidelines, if so, the details thereof;
(b) the number and details of such ineligible enrolments identified since inception of the
scheme, year-wise;
(c) whether any penalties have been imposed by the Government on training
partners/agencies for such enrolments, year-wise; and
(d) whether the Government had conducted any internal audits of the scheme before CAG
inspection, if so, the details of such audits, year-wise?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL
DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA STARRED
QUESTION NO. *123 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026 ASKED BY SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE
REGARDING INELIGIBLE CANDIDATES ENROLLED UNDER PMKVY
(a) to (d) The Government consistently undertakes audits and evaluations of its schemes and
programmes to strengthen implementation, improve outcomes, and ensure accountability. In this
context, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) recently published a Performance
Audit Report on the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), covering the first three
phases of the scheme up to 2022. The report which is available at
https://cag.gov.in/webroot/uploads/download_audit_report/2025/Report-No.-20-of-2025_PA-
PMKVY_English-PDF-A-06943abec463479.68516873.pdf, identified certain instances of
deviations relating to age, educational, and work-experience eligibility parameters prescribed
under PMKVY guidelines, thereby providing valuable inputs for further strengthening programme
delivery.
Building on its ongoing efforts to enhance training quality and transparency, the Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has introduced several system-level safeguards
under PMKVY. These include Aadhaar-based e-KYC, face-authentication-enabled AEBAS
attendance for candidates and trainers, strengthened system validations, unique beneficiary IDs,
and integration with the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for improved monitoring
of fund utilisation. In addition, the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) has been integrated with the
Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), enabling generation of candidates’ APAAR IDs, which support
reliable validation of educational qualifications under PMKVY 4.0.
Further, the Government has undertaken comprehensive measures to reinforce accountability
and compliance across the ecosystem. These measures include disciplinary proceedings where
warranted, suspension or blacklisting of non-compliant entities, recovery of funds wherever
applicable, and strengthening of monitoring mechanisms to prevent recurrence of such issues.
Show Cause Notices have been issued to the concerned agencies seeking their responses to the
observations made in the CAG Report.
At the same time, periodic independent evaluations continue to reflect the positive impact of the
PMKVY programme. An evaluation by NITI Aayog (October 2020) indicated that approximately
94 percent of surveyed employers expressed willingness to hire more candidates trained under
PMKVY. The study also noted that 52 percent of candidates placed in employment or oriented
under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component reported receiving higher salaries or
expecting improved earnings compared to uncertified peers. An independent evaluation of
PMKVY 2.0 conducted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) found that about 70.5
percent of surveyed candidates were placed in their desired skill sector. More recently, a third-
party evaluation of PMKVY 4.0 conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial
Management (AJNIFM) in 2025 observed that 77 percent of Short-Term Training (STT)
candidates and 78 percent of surveyed RPL candidates reported being satisfied or very satisfied
with the training content, reflecting strong acceptance of the curriculum and its delivery across
the country.
*****