The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has pulled up the Union government for the poorly planned and slow implementation of the Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) scheme, citing weak financial utilisation, lack of preparedness, and absence of a central monitoring framework.

The observations were made while the PAC, chaired by senior Congress leader K. C. Venugopal, examined a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the performance of the scheme.

According to the audit findings, only 44% of the total budgeted allocation under SANKALP was disbursed between 2017-18 and 2023-24 (as of October 2023), indicating persistent underutilisation of funds. The CAG also flagged weak adherence to implementation guidelines and sluggish physical progress across multiple components of the programme.

Approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in October 2017 with a total outlay of ₹4,455 crore, SANKALP is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship aimed at strengthening short-term skill training, improving institutional capacity, enhancing industry linkages, and promoting inclusion of marginalised groups. The scheme was structured with financing support from the World Bank, along with contributions from States and industry.

Of the planned funding, ₹3,300 crore was to be financed through a World Bank loan, with State leverage of ₹660 crore and industry leverage of ₹495 crore. While ₹1,606.15 crore (86%) was disbursed against the first tranche of the World Bank loan, the Ministry utilised only ₹850.71 crore as of December 2023.

The CAG attributed the delays partly to “non-preparedness” within the Ministry prior to the commencement of the loan period. PAC members echoed this concern, questioning the absence of a robust central monitoring mechanism and inadequate due diligence during the early stages of implementation.

Members of Parliament also raised concerns over the lack of a clear roadmap for integrating skilling into the school education system, from primary to higher secondary levels—an objective viewed as critical for improving long-term employability and workforce readiness.