The 51st meeting of the National Skills Qualification Committee (NSQC) was held on 14-15 October 2026 under the chairpersonship of Smt. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Chairperson of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET). The meeting focused on quality assurance in vocational education and training, adoption and validity of qualifications, and alignment with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF).
A key agenda item was the review of qualifications in the caregiving domain, where the committee examined an AI-based content-mapping report prepared with support from the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) AI team. The report aimed to assess possible overlap across qualifications based on core competencies, occupational functions, target beneficiary groups, work environment, scope of practice, sector/domain, qualification level, and actual qualification content.
The committee considered 156 submissions for NSQF alignment and approval through the KaushalVerse portal, comprising 108 qualifications (60 new and 48 revised), 25 National Occupational Standards (NOSs) with 24 new and one revised, and 23 new micro-credentials. These submissions covered various sectors and awarding bodies, reflecting ongoing efforts to keep the national skills qualification ecosystem responsive to changing industry and learner requirements.
Additional agenda items included proposals for ratification of qualification adoption by awarding bodies, ratification of qualifications and NOSs granted on-file or through urgent approval via KaushalVerse, and requests concerning qualification validity and notional hours/on-the-job training.
The Indian Army requested an interim extension of validity for 110 qualifications in the Defence sector, noting that these qualifications continue to be operational in the skilling ecosystem and that their expiry was creating operational challenges. This matter was placed before the committee for consideration.
The meeting was attended by Shri Niranjan Kumar Sudhansu, Additional Secretary of MSDE and Executive Member of NCVET; Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Gaba, Executive Member of NCVET; Dr. Sandipann Narote, Director Qualifications of NCVET; members representing Central Ministries and Departments including Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises; representatives of Awarding Bodies such as Board of Secondary Education Andhra Pradesh, APEX University, State Board of Technical Education and Training Andhra Pradesh, Additional Skills Acquisition Programme Kerala, National Academy of RUDSETI, Labornet Livelihood Foundation, Orion Education Society, Divya Yog Mandir Trust, and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), along with industry experts and other key stakeholders.