New Delhi: India’s Skill India Mission, envisioned as a structured and transparent initiative, has reportedly been marred by mismanagement, manipulated procurement, and opaque decision-making.
Large sums of money—approximately ₹73.65 lakh monthly—are allegedly being diverted from core deliverables to activities that project the image of the Ministry and its officials, who are set to retire.
At the center of the controversy are three failed projects floated on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), a platform designed to ensure fair and competitive public procurement. These projects—related to Skill India photography, documentation of the PMKVY scheme, and promotional work for the PM Vishwakarma Yojana—reveal a troubling pattern of vendor favoritism, financial irregularities, and bureaucratic interference.
While GeM procedures were formally followed, outcomes appear to have been pre-decided. A vendor evaluation committee was initially formed to assess bidders but was allegedly disbanded after irregularities surfaced, including contradictory scoring sheets and suspected bias.
For instance, in the PM Vishwakarma project evaluation, a production house scored poorly in one assessment but was later declared the top scorer.
Similarly, another firm specializing in films was reportedly instructed to begin preparations—such as hiring a celebrity photographer—before the final Request for Proposal (RFP) was approved, indicating backroom decisions.
The systemic failure extends to financial mismanagement. Approximately ₹73.65 lakh is spent monthly on non-core activities, including ₹9 lakh on promoting the Secretary and Ministry, ₹5 lakh on translations, ₹14 lakh on event backdrops, ₹11 lakh on digital outreach for senior officials, ₹15 lakh on brand management, ₹10 lakh on DD content, ₹8 lakh on design work, and ₹1.65 lakh on tracking skill development news. This totals nearly ₹8.8 crore annually, raising concerns about misplaced priorities.
Vendors have reportedly accused officials of unprofessional conduct, including scope creep, delayed feedback, and overlapping assignments.
India News Communication, contracted to cover Skill India training centers, completed its deliverables but was later told the work was unsatisfactory—despite no prior complaints. Meanwhile, a production house was reportedly deployed for the same tasks, creating confusion.
The film production firm, assigned a national photography campaign, allegedly completed only half the work due to internal delays and shifting instructions, only to be criticized post-completion.
A particularly alarming case involves a production house that was blacklisted for allegedly attempting to extract funds from a Sector Skill Council during a World Skill campaign. Despite this, the vendor was allegedly reinstated with officials’ support, with claims of undue influence and threats to competitors.
Top officials are accused of poor oversight. One official was linked to delayed feedback and overlapping deployments and allegedly initiated these projects without ensuring accountability. Another official, responsible for vendor coordination, reportedly failed to file progress reports, ignored scope breaches, and interfered in processes without documented authority.
The recurring pattern is alarming: despite significant expenditure, no project met its original scope or timeline. Vendors remain unpaid, evaluations were allegedly rigged, and funds were disproportionately spent on bureaucratic image-building rather than mission outcomes. Skill India was meant to empower youth, but with allegations of corruption, favoritism, and ethical lapses, its credibility now hangs in the balance.
We reached out to the concerned PIB official for their version on the matter, but no one was available for comment
