Overview
- Congress leader Kannan Gopinathan cited the auditor’s findings and said the party will take the issue to Parliament while seeking an impartial investigation.
- The CAG found bank details missing or invalid for 90.66 lakh of 95.90 lakh participants, undermining the ₹500 DBT incentive, with over 12,000 account numbers reused for more than 52,000 candidates.
- Financials cited by the audit show ₹14,450 crore earmarked, ₹10,194 crore released and ₹9,261 crore utilised, with ₹337.16 crore unutilised by July 2023 and over 34 lakh certified candidates unpaid.
- Data-integrity lapses included fake or repeated contact information, email fields recorded as “Migrated data” for over 36 lakh candidates, and more than 61 lakh certifications linked to null or zero trainer IDs.
- The review flagged eligibility violations and uneven state utilisation, noting underage certifications for roles such as drivers and low spending or refunds in Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra.