Parliament Question: Quality of training institutions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3004 ANSWERED ON 18/03/2026 QUALITY OF TRAINING INSTITUTIONS 3004. SMT. RAJANI ASHOKRAO PATIL: Will the Minister of SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has reviewed the functioning of training centres established under various skill development and vocational programmes; (b) the number of training centres found non-compliant with prescribed norms and standards, State- wise; (c) the quality control, monitoring and accreditation mechanisms currently in place to ensure adherence to curriculum, infrastructure and trainer standards; (d) the action taken against underperforming or non-compliant centres, including de- recognition, penalties or corrective support; and (e) whether the rapid expansion of training centres in recent years has compromised training quality and the steps proposed to strengthen compliance, monitoring and the overall effectiveness of skill development initiatives? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (e): Under the Government of India’s Skill India Mission (SIM), launched in 2015, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) provides skill, re-skill, and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres under major schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), and the Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), to all sections of the society across the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. MSDE has been implementing PMKVY 4.0, for imparting skill development training through Short- Term Training (STT) and up-skilling and re-skilling through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to the youth through accredited Training Centres (TC) across the country till date since FY 2022-23. Out of them, 178 Training Centres were blacklisted under PMKVY4.0 in FY 2024-25 for non-adherence to scheme guidelines. State-wise no. of such centres are given at Annexure. MSDE is conducting regular monitoring of TCs through physical inspections, virtual monitoring via video calls, and telephonic verifications to ensure training is being conducted as per guidelines and no misuse of public funds takes place. Some of the irregularities noticed are instances of candidates not available at the time of inspection, infrastructure inadequate, attendance mismatch, trainer unavailable etc.The accreditation process under the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) begins when a Training Provider (TP) registers on the portal and submits required details. The application is first reviewed through a desktop assessment by the inspection agency, and for private entities, the application is considered “Deemed Ready” after GST verification. Once approved, the TP can create and register a Training Centre (TC) by filling the Centre Accreditation and Affiliation Form (CAAF), with details of infrastructure, facilities, job roles, staff etc. After submission, the application is auto-approved based on the information provided, allowing the TC to apply for inspection under the Self-Recommendation Scheme or under a specific scheme. Following the inspection and review by the Sector Skill Council (SSC), the Training Centre is granted Accreditation or Conditional Accreditation based on the inspection outcome. The Ministry has taken following measures to strengthen monitoring, transparency and accountability in the scheme to prevent recurrence: i. The enrollment of the candidates under PMKVY scheme is Aadhaar based to ensure that fake enrollments do not occur under the scheme. ii. Training centres are mandated to ensure AEBAS attendance for all candidates under PMKVY, using geo-fenced face authentication, which is directly linked to payments to training centres. iii. Awarding Bodies, Training Partners and States have been directed to conduct on-ground monitoring of the training activities. iv. Real-time Monitoring- Kaushal Samiksha Kendras in MSDE enable independent virtual oversight using digital tools, ensuring compliance and timely interventions. v. Formalized tranche-wise pre-payment verification process and checklist for consistent validation before fund disbursement. vi. Training centres are being monitored effectively through various methodologies such as call validation, surprise physical visits, etc. vii. Further, Standard Operating Procedure for Assessment and Certification under PMKVY 4.0 has been prepared to ensure fair, transparent and standardized assessments and certification. viii. Revised monitoring guidelines under PMKVY 4.0 have been issued and in cases of non- compliance, appropriate penalties including blacklisting, suspension, financial recoveries and legal action as per the Penalty Grid are imposed to ensure accountability and prevent any misuse of public funds. ix. A penalty matrix has been devised to penalize (including the financial penalties) for non- compliant entities as per the discrepancies observed after due diligence/ corruption by the Monitoring Committee. x. In cases of severe non-compliance or any unethical practice like offering a bribe, intimidating inspector/assessor, etc. a training center may be suspended for a period of six months or blacklisted from the skill ecosystem.Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3004 ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 REGARDING “QUALITY OF TRAINING INSTITUTIONS” State wise no. of blacklisted Training Centres under PMKVY 4.0 State / UT No. of centres Uttar Pradesh 60 Delhi (NCT) 25 Madhya Pradesh 25 Rajasthan 22 Bihar 12 Haryana 11 Himachal Pradesh 5 Jharkhand 3 Uttarakhand 3 Andhra Pradesh 2 Gujarat 2 Karnataka 2 Chhattisgarh 1 Jammu & Kashmir 1 Maharashtra 1 Mizoram 1 Tamil Nadu 1 Telangana 1 Total 178 *****