Audit reveals BOAT Mumbai diverted ₹17.3 cr SC/ST grant to pay General quota stipend

CAG found BOAT Mumbai used ₹17.34 crore meant for SC/ST apprentices to pay stipends to General-category candidates.

Published on: Aug 13, 2026, 09:53:15 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Board of Apprenticeship Training (BOAT), Mumbai used ₹17.34 crore meant for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) apprentices to pay stipends to General-category candidates, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found.

The CAG flagged financial and administrative irregularities at several institutions under the education ministry (Hindustan Times/File photo)

The findings are part of CAG’s report on central autonomous bodies, comprising a series of audit on institutions under the education ministry.

Also read: ₹843 cr of pollution cess unspent, 280 days’ data missing: CAG report in Delhi Assembly

According to the report, tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, BOAT Mumbai had received separate grants for SC, ST and General-category apprentices. During 2020-21 to 2022-23, it engaged 142,393 apprentices, including 10,736 SC and 3,607 ST candidates. The audit found a 25% shortfall in SC engagement and 72% shortfall in ST engagement against the required numbers.

Rather than retaining the unutilised funds for their sanctioned purpose or seeking the necessary approval, BOAT Mumbai used ₹17.34 crore of SC/ST grants to pay stipends to General-category apprentices, it said.

Also read: CAG report flags irregularities in NPA payment, govt doctors paid above prescribed maximum limit in UP

The report also flagged that the National Testing Agency (NTA) paid ₹54.24 lakh in avoidable penal interest for delaying the deposit of TDS over three financial years; accreditation and technology deficiencies at the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC); ₹23.57 crore of infructuous expenditure by IGNOU’s Gyan Vani network; procurement irregularities involving ₹8.16 crore at the Central University of Tamil Nadu.

The CAG also flagged a series of governance, financial, procurement and human resource lapses at the IIM Rohtak, including an overstatement of its corpus fund by ₹267.45 crore and payment of ₹88.64 lakh in salaries to 10 individuals without complete recruitment records.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.