Cabinet okays merger of regulatory bodies NCVT, NDSA

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the merger of regulatory institutions the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and the National Skill Development Agency (NDSA) into the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).

The move is expected to streamline and benchmark skilling efforts as presently there are 20 ministries/departments implementing skill development programmes mostly using private sector training providers.

Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan termed it as a major reform towards strengthening the skill ecosystem and making India the skill capital of the world.

"An increase in the skill requirements of the country and the skilling needs of the growing workforce have given rise to private training infrastructure. The merger of existing regulatory institutions in the skills space will help standardise the operations of institutes that are engaged in long- and short-term vocational education and training," Pradhan said.