PMKVY 4.0: Kaushal Kendras train just 17,328 in 7 months, zero enrolment in many states

Skill Development: The number of candidates trained so far for the 2025-26 financial year in the Prime Minister Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) is extremely low, shows data shared by the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship with parliament on the first day of winter session 2025.

The PMKKs train candidates under the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and many states show zero enrolment in PMKKs for the first seven months of the financial year – from April till October 31. The fourth iteration of the scheme, PMKVY 4.0, is currently in implementation.

Further, in reply to another question raised in parliament, the ministry informed that 178 training centres have been blacklisted and 41 FIRs registered as part of a crackdown on centres for a variety of violations.

However, PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana isn’t the only skilling scheme reporting poor participation figures for the financial year. The Skill India Mission’s Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS), too, had trained and certified a small number of candidates. Till October 31, 2025 a total of 1,15,447 were trained as against 5,00,490, for the full financial year, 2024-25. .

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Trainings under PMKVY in PMKK

A part of the Skill India Mission, the PMKVY was launched in 2015 with the goal of skill development through short-term training (STT), upskilling and reskilling, and recognition of prior learning. The current version of the scheme – PMKVY 4.0 – started in 2022 and is slated to continue till 2026. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is the implementing agency of PMKVY.

PMKKs have been set up as a model training centre for imparting skill training in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode throughout the country. Currently, 597 PMKKs are operational. Apart from PMKK, PMKVY training is also imparted through educational institutions and industry partnerships.

To a question by YSR Congress MP PV Midhun Reddy, minister for skill development and entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary provided the data in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Table below shows the number of candidates trained and certified at PMKK

PMKVY 4.0: PMKK trained, certified over 4 years (2022-26)

*2025-26 data till October 31, 2025

The data shared is from 35 states and UTs where PMKK is functional. However, for the first three years, the figures represent those trained over the full 12 months; for 2025-26, it represents numbers trained till October 31.

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For the year 2025-26 the numbers against many of the states are shown as blank. For instance, when in the 2024-25 financial year Uttarakhand had trained and certified 5,332 candidates, for 2025-26 the number is zero.

In almost all the northeastern states for the financial year 2025-26, there are no details of the training undertaken.

Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of candidates trained and certified in 2024-25, at 22,713. Seven months into 2025-26, the figure stands at 223. The state has 57 PMKK.

Placement has been delinked under PMKVY 4.0.

PMKVY 4.0: 178 centres blacklisted, 41 FIRs

In another question raised by Congress MP K Sudhakaran on misgovernance of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the implementing agency for PMKVY, Chaudhary stated that as of October 31, a total of 178 training centres have been blacklisted for non-adherence to scheme guidelines.

“Further, 41 FIRs have already been registered in matters involving serious irregularities, including falsification of attendance records,” stated Chaudhary.

Sudhakaran had also raised questions on the governance crisis in NSDC, including the police complaint filed in August 2025 against senior NSDC officials for alleged misappropriation of public funds. Chaudhary stated that the “matter doesn’t fall under the administrative control of MSDE”.

“NSDC is established as a not-for-profit public limited company under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (now corresponding to section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). It operates as a unique PPP model under MSDE, with 49% of the share capital held by the government and 51% by the private sector. The apex authority for any administrative decisions of NSDC is the Board of Directors of NSDC. The Central government appoints up to six directors, while private sector shareholders appoint up to nine directors. NSDC Board, in its meeting held on May 15, 2025, took a decision to remove the then-officiating CEO of NSDC, in accordance with the organisation’s governance framework and established procedures, which doesn’t fall under the administrative control of MSDE,” said Chaudhary.

The minister also stated that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has to conduct the audit of NSDC, beginning from the year 2017-18.

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SVP or JSS Scheme

The JSS Scheme has also seen few beneficiaries this year. Over 5 lakh had been trained last financial year. Over the first seven months of the current one, the ministry has achieved only about a fifth of that.

Initially launched as Shramik Vidyapeeth (SVP) in 1967, aims to provide skill training in a non-formal mode at the doorsteps of the beneficiary through registered societies (NGOs) with 100% grant from the Government of India.

The objective of the scheme is to increase household income by promoting self or wage employment through skill development training. The target beneficiaries are nonliterates, neo-literates and persons having rudimentary level of education, school dropouts up to Class 12 in the age group of 15-45 years.

The minister stated that since 2018 to October 31 this year, a total of 32,53,965 beneficiaries have been trained across the country. Out of the total, 26,98,123 were women, constituting about 83%.

JSS Scheme: Number of people trained over 7 years (2018-25)

Although the budget allocation has increased, the utilisation of funds under the scheme has reduced. Data provided for the last two financial years, show that in 2023-24, Rs163.33 crore was allocated out of which, Rs 157.25 crore was utilised. The next year, only Rs 144.47 crore was utilised out of an allocation of Rs 235.1 crore.