Social Justice Ministry rejects Bhopal newspaper claim on MAPCET skill-training payments

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has called "entirely incorrect and baseless" a claim in The Central Chronicle (Bhopal) of 31 October that the Madhya Pradesh Council for Employment and Training (MAPCET) paid crores of rupees to training providers based on placements without verifying placement data.

The ministry issued a factual report on the matter. The newspaper's report itself is not part of the release, so this story gives the ministry's account only.

The money and the training

According to the report, the Office of the Commissioner, Scheduled Caste Development Department, sanctioned ₹3,241.37 lakh for skill training from Special Central Assistance for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan. Of this, ₹2,945.37 lakh was made available to MAPCET in 2021–22, in two orders of ₹1,296.00 lakh and ₹1,649.37 lakh.

MAPCET signed contracts with 34 training providers for Scheduled Caste trainees from below-poverty-line families. Six did not start work. The other 28 trained 4,952 trainees, the ministry said.

How payments work

Under a Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship notification of 4 December 2020, providers are paid in three instalments:

• First, 30%: when training starts, after physical verification of trainees.
• Second, 40%: after certification, for the candidates certified.
• Third, 30%: on achieving 70% verified employment, with continuous employment for three months.

The ministry's position

The ministry said only the first two instalments have been paid, and neither is linked to placement. The third can be generated only after providers upload placement details to the portal, and "no such payment claims have been generated", so no third instalment has been paid to any institution. It will be paid when candidates take up jobs, it said.

The release does not address any other part of the newspaper's report.

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Source: official release by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (01 NOV 2026 3:28PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Ministry Of Social Justice And Empowerment Issues Factual Report With Regard To The Claim—Appearing In A Report Published In The Central Chronicle (Bhopal) On October 31, 2026.