NEW DELHI: Barely 457 candidates benefited from the national action plan for imparting skill training programme to persons with disabilities as against the annual target of 20,000, a standing committee has noted, flagging the ‘dismal performance’.The report observed it would be a difficult task to cover the remaining 19,543 beneficiaries till the end of the current financial year.
“...the Department could only provide skills to a minuscule 457 beneficiaries in the first three and half quarters of the fiscal as it probably was busy in overhauling the scheme and streamlining the process,” the report observed. The latest data on beneficiaries was available till January 31, 2020.
The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities was unable to show any report since 2017-18 for tracking employed beneficiaries, the report said. According to the department, they track the employed beneficiaries for a year, following which they prepare a report. The standing committee also urged the department to boost the employability of the beneficiaries after they complete the skill training.
It has also recommended to maintain data on number of beneficiaries gaining employment and to streamline the data. Checking financial irregularities, ensuring a robust fund flow mechanism, and streamlining the process were cited as reasons by the department as reasons which slowed down the process of reaching out to the target number of beneficiaries.