The Union Skill Development Ministry and NSDC have blacklisted 178 training partners and centres after inspections flagged violations ranging from ghost attendance to weak placement records and fund misuse. FIRs and recovery actions are underway, according to documents seen by The Indian Express, with states asked to tighten monitoring and adopt Aadhaar-based attendance and outcome verification. 


The move aims to restore credibility to flagship schemes linking subsidised skilling to employment outcomes—areas long criticised for “input-heavy, outcome-light” performance. Policy experts expect near-term disruptions—trainee transfers, suspended batches, and delayed assessments—but argue that pruning non-compliant centres is a prerequisite for a more credible pipeline. Opposition critics call it evidence of systemic laxity; the government counters that enforcement shows the system working as intended.