Few days before the announcement of the budget, the government has disbanded Security Sector Skill Development Council¹, the setup up to provide professional certification for the private security industry.  It is said to be involved in several malpractices, including misuse of funds and serious conflict of interest. The implication of this is that the powers of assessing trainees and awarding certificates have now been taken away from SSSDC and have been subsumed into the management sector skill council. In order to protect the public money lying with SSSDC, a directive has also been issued for freezing its bank account.

NSDC MD & CEO Manish Kumar said, "A government request had come that they (security SSC) should not be entrusted with the responsibility of a sector skill council. A formal communication had come from the government, so it is a combined decision of the government and NSDC." 

He shared that the FIR will be filed against the executive authority that was signing the cheque and said, “Apparently, the signing power was with the Chairman (Kunwar Vikram Singh), whoever was signing the cheques we will hold accountable."

Besides this the other sector skill councils, set up as autonomous industry-led bodies by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), are also under scanner as complaints from various quarters regarding their functioning is being made. Some recommendations for the non-performing ones have already been submitted to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The NSDC MD & CEO Manish Kumar told media that there is a need to "weed out" the bad ones. 

Although this news brings some disturbance in the journey of India towards its aim of skilling 40 crores (400 million) people in India in different skills by 2022, the exercise it has led to might turn out to be an effective move as it will ensure the identification and elimination of unproductive practices. The whole process of looking into departments and existing functions will give the government some perspective before framing new policies for the coming year. 

¹The Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC) was constituted as per the National Skill Policy of the Government of India. It was jointly formed by The Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).