Skilling failure: Govt must streamline delivery models for better outcomes

With the launch of the Skill India Mission, NSDC became nodal implementing agency for myriad skills under this umbrella, a function that demands a significantly different set of managerial abilities

The crisis in National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which has been festering for almost a year, underlines the risks of launching a private-public partnership (PPP) institution with a diffuse role and inadequate oversight. In May this year, the chief executive officer was removed. The exit followed allegations of financial irregularities and other complaints. Reports point to lack of due diligence in the disbursement and recovery of loans — including lending to non-existent training centres or to habitual defaulters. These controversies could not have been more ill-timed, given the urgent need to bridge the huge skill gap in the Indian workforce,