Modi's plan is to commit 'scams'. The Prime Minister has launched a new 'skill development' scheme to teach the central government how to loot government money. The government itself is training people to commit scams. Soon after coming to power, Modi launched a bold scheme called Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in 2015. Under this scheme, the government spent Rs 10,194 crore during the period 2015 to 2022. And now, if this project has brought to light a scandal that would make the CAG's head spin, what kind of scandal has occurred is beyond anyone's imagination. The CAG report has highlighted a picture of all the serious irregularities. With just a few examples, Narendra Modi can surpass all the scandals of the past. According to estimates, 9.5 million youth have been trained under this project. All of them have been directly given 500 taka. How many of them did not have a bank account? A look at the list shows that 9 million candidates do not have any valid bank account numbers. The CAG report says that an analysis of data from PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0 shows that out of a total of 95,90,801 participants, 90,66,264 (94.53 percent) had zero, none or blank information in the 'Bank Account Details' field. The remaining 524,537 candidates had a bank account listed. But 12,122 of those unique bank account numbers were used more than once—twice or more for 52,381 candidates.
It doesn't end here, there are still those who have bank account numbers like '11111111111' or '123456789'. Use of numbers like ‘11111111111’ as bank account numbers, same picture for multiple beneficiaries, payments of over 34 lakh candidates still pending and locked training centres— the CAG has highlighted such a sad picture in the implementation of the central government's flagship skill training scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
This information has emerged from the CAG audit report on the implementation of PMKVY in three phases from 2015 to 2022. The importance of the report, which was recently presented in the Lok Sabha, is because this project is one of the major initiatives that the government has announced to provide skills training to tackle youth unemployment. According to available data, the unemployment rate among those aged 15–29 was 15 percent in May 2025.
The project, which began in July 2015, aimed to make a large number of young people employable by providing them with industry-related skills training and certification. The total allocation for the project in three phases during 2015-22 was approximately Tk 14,450 crore. The target was to provide training and certification to 1.32 crore candidates. A total of 1.1 crore candidates have been certified during this period.
The CAG said that while auditing the electronic identity and contact details of candidates registered on the Skill India Portal (SIP), it found widespread discrepancies in bank account numbers. The report said that the analysis of data from PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0 shows that out of a total of 95,90,801 participants, 90,66,264 (94.53 percent) had blank bank account details. For the remaining 524,537 candidates, 12,122 unique bank account numbers were used more than once—twice or more for 52,381 candidates.
Even where an account number is shown for a candidate, there are clearly incorrect numbers—such as ‘11111111111…’, ‘123456…’, a single digit number, or just text, name, address, or special symbols. There are 1056,475 people who do not have an email ID or phone number. Some have a phone number 11111111, while others have an email ID abcd@gmail.com or 123@gmail.com. The CAG's comments are that this analysis of account numbers in the PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0 databases does not provide sufficient assurance about the identity of the beneficiaries of the scheme.
The report also mentions the ministry's clarification of May 2023. The ministry had stated that initially account number was mandatory in SIP, but later it was not made mandatory due to field level issues. The ministry claims that since the payment is made through Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), there is no need to collect separate bank account numbers.
However, the CAG, analyzing the data on payments made through DBT in 2023, found that the DBT process was initiated for 24.53 lakh candidates (25.58 percent) certified under PMKVY 2.0 and 3.0, and successful payment was made in the case of only 17.69 lakh candidates (18.44 percent). According to the Ministry's data as of October 2024, out of 95.91 lakh candidates, 61.14 lakh (63.75 percent) received DBT. This means that due to lack of sufficient information, more than 3.4 million certified candidates have not yet received the payment. The ministry has also not provided any information about the steps taken to ensure this payment.
The CAG's online consumer survey also found flaws. 36.51 percent (1,581) of the total emails did not reach. Where they did reach, only 3.95 percent (171) candidates responded. Of those 171 responses, 131 came from the same email ID or ID of training partners and centers.
Irregularities have also been detected in the case of training centres. In the case of one of the three centres closed in Bihar in Banka district, SIP data shows that two batches of training were scheduled there on the day of physical inspection. Cases of using the same image for multiple clients have also come to light in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. There have also been instances of skill certification by employers who do not qualify to be identified as ‘best-in-class’.
The CAG said that the project guidelines made it mandatory for candidates to have a valid bank account. If not, it was the responsibility of the implementing agency to help create it and record the correct bank details in the IT system. Because each certified candidate was supposed to be given Rs. 500 through DBT.
Regarding the CAG's observations, the ministry concerned said that the project has been "significantly strengthened" by learning from past experiences. It is claimed that information transparency and consumer tracking have been strengthened through technology-based surveillance, Aadhaar-authenticated e-KYC, strict regulatory oversight and the Skill India Digital Hub. The ministry said that face-authentication and geo-tagged attendance have been made mandatory, live attendance dashboard has been launched, And regular course corrections are being made through a Central Communication Layer (CCL)-based feedback system. In addition, virtual and in-person inspections have been strengthened through QR-coded digital certificates, verification-linked payments, and strategy review centers. The ministry also said that strict action such as suspension, blacklisting and recovery of money is being taken against the organizations involved in irregularities.
No matter how the ministry explains it, the fact that the scandal took place cannot be covered up. One of the companies was Neelima Moving Pictures (NMP). Their job was to take photos and upload them to the website after they were trained. They have trained 33,000 candidates. It is seen that the same picture is sometimes shown as training in Bihar and sometimes as training in Maharashtra. Sometimes, different pictures of the two have been zoomed in from the same picture and shown as training in other places. Sometimes, different images of the two have been zoomed in from the same image and used as training in another location. It turns out that on the same day, the same children were photographed training in Gaya, Bihar, and they were also present at training in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, on the same day. Some of the pictures are even more laughable. In some places, it is seen that the children have taken training in mass media. Yet in the picture, everyone is wearing a doctor's apron. Even the text on the banner at the back and the caption below are different.
The scandal did not end here. Just like two crore jobs a year, this project of Modi has come to the fore. It has been claimed that 30,000 gym trainers have been trained under this scheme and have got jobs in just 33 gyms. That means 900 trainers per gym. Otherwise, Modi hai toh mumkin hai!
Another interesting fact about this scandal is the direct inspection of the training center. For this, an inspector physically visits the center, observes the training, and reports back. It appears that the same inspector has inspected multiple training centers on the same day and at the same time. The report shows that Ashish Sanwal is one such inspector. On the same day, February 21, 2020, inspections were completed at 19 centers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Telangana. The next day, he had to run again to 6 training centers in Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.
How can a single person go to so many places and 'clap' in the same day? There is no mention in the CAG report whether he took refuge in a guppy or a tiger. However, the report makes it clear that the country has actually run a lottery business by spending tens of billions of rupees on the 'jumla' of improving the skills of the youth. @freemang2001gmail-com
Pankaj Dhar Choudhury
Pankaj Dhar Choudhury, B.A Hons. in English, M.A in English, B.ED.
He passed Madhyamik from his native village Kumar Gram Duar of Alipurduar district. He got B.A Hons. in English from Alipurduar College. He completed M.A in English from North Bengal University, Siliguri. He completed B.ED from Maldah Govt. Teachers" Training College. He has been a social media activist since 2006.
Ethan Caldwell shares thoughtful insights and reflections on life, culture, and personal growth. His work explores the intersections of creativity and experience, offering readers unique perspectives.
