A parliamentary panel has expressed concerns that candidates trained under the fourth edition of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) are not meeting the required competency standards, questioning their employability and the efficacy of training in the flagship skill development and entrepreneurship ministry scheme. A report on the ministry’s demand for grants was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. (ANI) In its report on the ministry’s demand for grants presented in Parliament on Tuesday, the panel recommended an independent evaluation of the programme to determine if high dropout rates and assessment failures indicate deeper systemic problems, such as poor training quality, implementation gaps, or insufficient emphasis on employment outcomes. The ministry launched the first edition of PMKVY in 2016, followed by PMKVY 2.0 in 2016-21, PMKVY 3.0 in 2020-2022, and the ongoing PMKVY 4.0 in 2022-25. The ministry informed the 31-member Parliamentary standing committee on labour, textiles and skill development, led by BJP lawmaker Basavaraj Bommai, that over 635,000 of 3.34 million candidates dropped out before their assessment in the fourth edition of PMKVY. “…unless corrective measures are taken, the very purpose of the scheme would be defeated.” The Committee therefore recommended an independent assessment of the effectiveness of the training provided under the scheme. The committee stresses that it should be carried out without delay to determine whether dropouts from the training programme and assessment failures point to systemic issues, inadequate training quality, or insufficient emphasis on employment results,” the panel stated in its report. The panel raised concerns about the underuse of funds, observing that the ministry’s allocation has increased to ₹6,201 crore for 2026–27—a 62% jump from the prior year—yet actual spending continues to lag. For the 2025–26 period, against a revised estimate of ₹3,706 crore, approximately ₹1,700 crore (about 46%) had been spent by February 2026. The panel attributed this to “delayed approvals,” a “slow pace of implementation,” and poor coordination with states and industry. The report stated that the Skill India Programme—an umbrella initiative to expand institutional training and bolster the skilling ecosystem—and PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship University initiative), which aims to establish a network of skill universities, were hampered by delayed approvals, resulting in “restricted expenditure” and a “bunching of spending in the last quarter.” The committee highlighted “negligible expenditure” under PM-SETU in 2025–26, as states did not finalize Strategic Investment Plans and industry partners were not onboarded on time. It noted a “poor response from states” to the Strengthening of Infrastructure for Institutional Training scheme, which aims to establish and upgrade Industrial Training Institutes, leading to underutilization of funds. The pa
