India’s national auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has revealed significant failures in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) skill development scheme. An audit published this week identified missing trainee names, the certification of underage candidates, and 34 lakh (3.4 million) certified individuals denied their promised payouts.
The CAG’s investigation into PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0, and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) overseeing it, exposed widespread financial mismanagement, irregular enrolments, lax IT controls, and weak monitoring. These issues affected millions of trainees across multiple states.
PMKVY Overview and Oversight
The PMKVY scheme launched in 2015 under the Skill India Mission. Its goal is to provide short-term training, upskilling, reskilling, and recognition of prior learning. The NSDC implements PMKVY, including the current 4.0 version, which started in 2022 and continues until 2026 .
The CAG audit covered the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), NSDC, and skill development bodies in eight states: Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Financial Irregularities Flagged
The audit found incorrect financial estimations, weak financial controls, and delayed fund transfers at the central level. NSDC-related financial issues included incorrect accounting and excess claims. The CAG noted NSDC retained Rs 12.16 crore in interest, which the ministry recovered only after the audit pointed it out. NSDC also overcharged Rs 24.13 crore for administrative expenses under PMKVY 1.0.
The CAG reported NSDC delayed or failed to release funds to District Skill Councils, violating payment rules. Incorrect estimations and delayed transfers of central component funds, totaling Rs 222.63 crore , burdened the Consolidated Fund of India.
23 of 26 Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) that responded to auditors reported Rs 52.15 crore in outstanding dues from April 2016 to August 2022 . These unpaid dues constrained their operations.
Weak IT Controls and Unpaid Benefits
PMKVY 1.0 faced issues with Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payouts. Rs 40 crore remained unpaid due to incorrect or incomplete bank and Aadhaar details. NSDC transferred this unutilized amount to the Consolidated Fund of India.
For PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0, 34 lakh certified candidates still await their Rs 500 promised payout. The audit found that only 24.53 lakh (25.58%) of 95.91 lakh certified candidates had payments processed, with 17.69 lakh (18.44%) receiving successful payments by August 2023. By October 2024 , 61.14 lakh (63.75%) candidates received payments, leaving over 34 lakh unpaid due to insufficient information.
Data analysis for 3.39 lakh batches under PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0 revealed significant data integrity problems:
| Data Field | Issue | Affected Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate Names | “Null” or “Migrated Data” | 25,908 |
| Trainer IDs | “Null” or “0” | 61,12,030 |
| Trainer Mobile Numbers | Invalid or missing | 28,891 |
| Assessor Names | “Null” | 851 |
| Assessor Contact Numbers | “Null” or “None” | 93,01,810 |
Bank account details were also problematic: 90,66,264 of 95,90,801 participants (94.53%) had zero, “Null,” or blank entries. Furthermore, 12,122 unique bank accounts were repeated for 52,381 participants.
Underage Trainees and Irregular Enrollments
The CAG found PMKVY enrolled candidates without meeting eligibility criteria. For example, 52,214 candidates certified as ‘Group Farming Practitioner’ were under the minimum age of 20 years. Similarly, 40,953 underage candidates were certified for ‘Self Employed Tailor’, which requires a minimum age of 18.
The issue persists in PMKVY 4.0. As of October 2024 , 1.18 lakh underage candidates received certification for 365 job roles, indicating a lack of corrective measures.
Placement rates for trained and certified candidates stood at 41% . The audit identified irregularities in placement claims, including the use of identical photographs for different trainings and 80 instances of single inspectors reportedly visiting multiple states on the same day.
Skill Mismatch and Monitoring Failures
The CAG reported PMKVY training did not align with identified skill requirements across sectors and states. The scheme lacked a clear long-term plan. The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (NPSDE) was due for review after five years of its 2015 formulation; however, as of October 2024 , it remains in process. The absence of micro-level skill-gap information led to training concentration in specific job roles without market demand analysis, contributing to poor placement rates.
CAG Recommendations
The CAG recommended the MSDE strategically plan to strengthen financial control and ensure scheme expenditure is not impacted between phases. It also urged strict enforcement of IT controls, implementation of a data retention policy, and alignment of skill training with identified market demand and skill gaps.