Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana: Boon Or Bane

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had envisioned various schemes under his Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (a collective development of everyone) model.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is one such initiative to train the youths at grass root level and to push for a larger goal of entrepreneurship skills in them.

A recent report of ‘Social Development Club (SDC), a New Delhi group which works for various training and development programs at ground level, has some very basic but thought provoking revelations about a much talked after “Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY)”. Among many revelations, it has made, one explosive observation of ‘Rs 5000 crore alleged scam’ is a part of entire system.

The core of report talked about how some 20-25 companies are indulged in alleged fraud, which stops the real flow of training benefits to grass root level.

Report has revealed about impossible numbers of training targets allotted to many of such training provider (TP) for instance, a training provider name Orion Edutech Pvt Ltd had been allotted some 72,397 numbers to its training centres (TC) which makes around 500 numbers to every TC, a practically impossible number keeping size and expertise of such TC’s in mind.

The report also reveals discrepancies of PMKVY scheme in other ministries like Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoW&CD), Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Ministry of Textile (MoT) and even Niti Ayog.

In a mockery of Seekho Aur Kamao (learn and earn) project by MoMA people have started calling it Khao aur Piyo (eat & drink) and another project known as Ustad- Nai Roshni (Guide – A New Light) is in hands of only those selective organisations who know ‘how to set’ things. The report says Maulana Azad Education Foundation recently invited ideas for empanelment and 1000 of applications and proposals are dumped.

On the other hand, the report also reveals that Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills had invited Rs 25,000 demand drafts for entrepreneurship liked skill programs in 2016 but there is no progress regarding the same as of now. Though some 1000 applications had been received making it a wastage of Rs 2.5 crore.

Upasana educational trust of Odisha allocated with a total number of 4476 centres for this TP and they are marked under ‘New Centre’ but there is no application Id available. Along with one more incident where IL&FS centre in the same state with 4556 numbers and these New Centres don’t possess IDs.

Then there are Ghost Centres (Centres that may exist on papers only), where 141944 numbers are allotted among 742 TP’s without ID.

The parameter of being a TP is not the experience which certainly matters most but is the size and turnover of a centre, which does not guarantee good training to people.

Huge organisations have 30 to 70 per cent of grant as TP and pass rest of grant to TC’s, if TC’s also keep 10 per cent of them then it is only 20 per cent which reaches to the real beneficiary. Which means that PMKVY’s grants are utilised as profit margins?

A company which is blacklisted by National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) is training provider of the program in PMKVY. Does it raise question that what are the performance indicators for such TP’s in PMKVY?

The most shocking revelation is around 5 lakh numbers are allocated to 25 alleged fraud companies, and if an average they are granted with Rs 10000 per beneficiary. “It makes some Rs 5000 crores grant to alleged frauds”.

SDC though applauded the vision of Indian Prime Minister to train people with quality skills and claimed that report had been based on primary and secondary research with feedback from more than 850 members and associate organisations. SDC had also claimed to represent the cause of more than 1000 grass root organisations which are willing to work for a visionary cause and feeling downplayed by big fraud organisations.

Loopholes
“MoRD has loopholes where any blacklisted company in one state can run another project in different state”.

“Niti Ayog do not bother to check on its own a mandatory unique ID for organisations. To get it verified members of the organisation has to chase Ayog for several times”.

“MoT is running many dead training projects like handicraft, where they hardly receive applications”.

“Likewise MoW&CD had invited ideas of its program for training in 2016 but even after applications getting verified from state governments’, nothing happened till date”.  

(Article is based on report named “current status of skill India” by Social Development Club, New Delhi)