No foreign contributions received in National Skill Fund: Govt

There have been no foreign contributions received so far towards the National Skill Development Fund even though they are exempted under the FCRA provisions, Parliament was informed today.
The National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) was set up in 2009 by the government for raising funds both from the government and non-government sectors for skill development in the country.
A public trust set up by the government is the custodian of the Fund.
The scope of the Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act (FCRA) is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies.

The total funds accrued in the NSDF from the government to implement skill development activities under various programmes were to the tune of Rs 487.45 crore in 2014-15, Rs 1,020 crore in 2015-16, Rs 807.74 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 17.5 crore till date in 2017-18, Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
"Till now, no foreign contributions have been received in National Skill Development Fund," said the minister.