Each year, the government allocates thousands of crores to skilling initiatives, projecting them as the backbone of India’s growth story. Yet the paradox remains. From education to healthcare to manufacturing, all industries continue to face an acute shortage of skilled manpower, even as unemployment rises. Despite an avalanche of policies, programmes, courses, and certifications, the ground reality is different—one of missed opportunities and systemic failures.
This contradiction compels us to ask hard questions. Where is the money going? Who is designing the curriculum? Who are the trainers? Are these training institutes credible, or just another cog in the wheel of fund misappropriation and political patronage?
The ‘skilling’ being done is not at all at par with the funds being pumped in. Which is why we must dive deeper into this labyrinth and analyse the top skill development and employment schemes—together constituting about Rs 48,000 crore of the total allocation.
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Skilling or false hope through PMKVY?
The flagship skilling scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), launched on 15 July 2015, has a total fund allocation of Rs 10,570.18 crore. Of this, only Rs 9,803.23 crore was utilised as of March 2024, leaving Rs 766.95 crore unspent and funds mismanaged. The scheme provides skills through 36 Sector Skill Councils such as Aviation, Agriculture, and Beauty. But the types of skills being imparted are ambiguous and often lead to low job satisfaction.
Media reports show that many candidates trained under PMKVY were offered dismal salaries or ended up in unskilled jobs despite holding certificates.
One X user, Ashish Rathi, wrote on the platform: “My cousin was promised a PMKVY course with job placement in Gurugram. He trained for 15 days, got a certificate and never heard from them again. This is no skilling but false hope!”
Official data shows that there was a drastic 93 per cent drop in the number of candidates trained, from 1.1 crore in Phase 2 to 7.37 lakh in Phase 3, and further down to 5.43 lakh in Phase 4. Has the government exaggerated the numbers in Phase 2, which shows a 553 per cent jump from Phase 1?
Another concerning thing is the certificate inflation created by the huge number of issuances, while no significant number of placements were done. The placement rate fell from 2.53 lakh (12.7 per cent) in 2016 to a scanty 2,042 (0.37 per cent) in PMKVY 4.0. The Sharada Prasad Committee (2016) pointed out that most of the PMKVY training was short-term in duration—some even less than 10 days—with no proper recognition of the prior learning of the candidate. How can a person learn a skill effectively in that short period of time?
Missing records and results
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) was launched in September 2014 to provide high-quality training in more than 250 courses such as Beauty Therapist, Export Assistant, Mason Tiling, and Baking Technician, among others.
But there is no transparency in the curriculum framework or in the qualifications of the trainers. The Pratigya Skill Development Centre in Delhi, despite training over 250 students, has reportedly only been able to show 27 per cent placements officially due to cash-based salary payments from employers, making it impossible to upload verifiable proof.
Expenditure, according to Revised Estimates (RE) till 2022, is about Rs 9,111 crore. Though 16,90,046 people were trained and 10,97,265 candidates (65 per cent) were placed till date (in 11 years), this suggests the government has failed to create proper awareness among the rural public—revealing a sense of flippancy.
An individual, Akash Dawar, recounted, “My brother was enrolled under DDU-GKY for a retail course in UP. He got a job in a different city, left home, only to find there was no work, just unpaid training. He came back disillusioned and unemployed.”
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana—comprising the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), launched in 2011 and 2013 respectively—was allocated a total of Rs 4,351 crore, aimed at empowering poor families through skill training and credit facilities. But there is no data regarding what kind of skills are being provided to rural women or street vendors. Has it really achieved its goal?
It is heard that a few people misuse SHG credit with the help of corrupt officials. Asha, a worker, recounted, “Our SHG took loans under NRLM and was promised tailoring training. The trainer came twice in a month and then disappeared. We’re still paying EMIs.”
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A betrayal of trust
The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), launched in 2016 to empower youth via apprenticeship, has also been a major failure.
The government has failed to provide state-wise data of the beneficiaries, and there is no guarantee of candidates getting proper skills or fair pay. An RTI filed in June 2018 revealed that out of the Rs 10,000 crore allocated for NAPS, only Rs 108 crore had been disbursed to beneficiaries by mid-2020—about 1 per cent utilisation of the total approved budget. NAPS 2.0 (2022–26) has been allotted Rs 1,942 crore, without the government giving any clarity on the outcomes of NAPS 1.0.
Statistics paint a grim picture. India’s youth—its promise, its future—is being left behind. Is this the roadmap to becoming a “Vishwa Guru”?
This is not just bureaucratic or systemic inefficiency, but a betrayal of trust. The government must either bring transparency, accountability, and results to the skilling ecosystem, or have the moral clarity to reallocate these Rs 48,000 crores toward critical areas like public health, education, and sanitation.
Because what’s at stake is not just money. It’s the future of millions of young Indians, and the very credibility of India’s development narrative.
Karti P Chidambaram is a Member of Parliament for Sivaganga, and a Member of the All India Congress Committee. His X handle is @KartiPC. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Because of freebies by state govts, people are not going to work. You assume people want to develop skills. People are lazy, and want to live on doles.