NSDC plans to add 87 new partners

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is planning to add 87 new partners it associates with and to increase the skill training three fold to 33 lakh students this year. With 31 sectors added, the Corporation is also expected to add new sectors including Hydrocarbons, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Furniture and furnishing and sports into its scope, according to Dilip Chenoy, CEO and managing director of NSDC.

Speaking to Business Standard in the sidelines of the 14th National Convention of National Institutions for Quality and Reliability on the topic Quality – The Global Winning Edge, Chenoy said, “The details of this year are yet to be finalised, but NSDC has an internal target of training 33 lakh this year. We are looking at 87 new partners, creating additional capacity of around 15-20 million this year,” he said.

The Corporation currently has approved 139 partners, including 42 partners last year, and offered training to 10 lakh last year. A capacity of around 80 million has already been created.

“Earlier we had a challenge. People did not think that you could do skill development in a sustainable manner. As people have starting do it, and as the eco system is growing, people are getting more confident,” he added.

“We have in NSDF over Rs 1,700 crore and interest other than STAR, out of which we have committed close to Rs 2,200 crore, because interest will keep on accumulating and we will be getting repayment back to us and we have disbursed around Rs 607 crore over the past few years, till March, 2014,” he added when asked about the funding.

However, he said that the commitments for the current fiscal year depends on the budget to be allocated. Regarding the disbursement, if everything goes well and the economy picks up, may be something like Rs 200-300 crore, though the numbers could go up higher, he said. All these are without taking the National Skill Certification and Monetary Award Scheme of Starndard Training Assesment and Reward (STAR), a Government of India initiative.

The Corporation is also expected to add Hydrocarbons (Petroleum and Gas), Chemical and Petrochemicals, manufacutirng, Furniture and Furnishing, Education and Management, Sports – for which provisional approval has been issued, Paints and Coatings and Railways apart from culture and domestic workers sector to its current list of approved sectors.

Delivering his address in the Conference, he said that the Corporation is expecting clarity on various issues from the new government.

It may be noted that the new government in Centre has recently formed a new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and according to experts from the industry, the fate of the Cabinet Committee on Skill Development is not yet known. Many of the NSDC's plans might be depending on the new government's decision and budget allocation, they added.