Important EOI Details

The official procurement schedule states that proposal security is not applicable, and gives 24 August 2026 as the EOI commencement date, 31 August 2026 for the pre-bid meeting, 14 September 2026 at 3:00 PM for technical proposal submission, and 14 September 2026 at 3:30 PM for opening.

Important deadline note: The cover page separately states “Last Date and Time for Submission” as 14 September 2026 at 3:30 PM, whereas the detailed Procurement Schedule specifies 3:00 PM for submission and 3:30 PM for opening. Bidders should therefore treat the e-procurement portal/server clock and any official corrigendum/addendum as controlling and avoid waiting until 3:30 PM. The EOI expressly states that the e-procurement server clock will be the reference for determining the closing time.

Scope of Work for NSDC Skills Outcomes Fund Training Partners

The selected Training Providers will be responsible for end-to-end delivery of skilling interventions under SOF. The scope covers candidate mobilisation and selection, training, assessment and certification, placement, post-placement support, retention, monitoring, reporting and compliance.

1. Programme Design and Operational Readiness

Training Partners are expected to:

1. Design interventions aligned with SOF objectives, sector priorities, beneficiary profiles and outcome targets.
2. Define the training delivery model, mobilisation strategy and placement approach.
3. Develop post-placement support mechanisms.
4. Recruit and deploy qualified staff.
5. Establish operational systems.
6. Ensure training centres, infrastructure and other implementation arrangements are ready before commencement.

2. Candidate Mobilisation and Enrolment

The Training Provider must:

1. Mobilise candidates meeting the SOF eligibility and inclusion requirements.
2. Conduct outreach, screening, counselling and selection.
3. Maintain candidate records and documentation.
4. Upload required information to Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH).
5. Plan batches and enrolments against agreed annual targets.
6. Adopt specific mobilisation strategies for women, including counselling and family engagement where required.

3. Training Delivery and Candidate Support

Training must follow approved curricula, duration and quality standards, with alignment to applicable NSQF, NCVET and SSC requirements.

The scope includes:

1. Employer-informed curriculum delivery.
2. Mock interviews and workplace-readiness activities.
3. Experiential learning, simulations and job-specific scenarios.
4. Gender-responsive training practices.
5. Assessment and certification.
6. Employability, counselling, placement preparation and transition support.

4. Placement and Retention Support

Placement outcomes are central to the SOF model. Training Providers are expected to:

1. Establish employer partnerships and identify hiring demand.
2. Build employer networks and placement opportunities.
3. Conduct employer due diligence.
4. Ensure minimum job-quality standards.
5. Coordinate interviews, onboarding and placement documentation.
6. Facilitate employment aligned with the approved sector/job role.
7. Provide career counselling, interview preparation, workplace-readiness and digital/financial literacy support.
8. Provide post-placement counselling, follow-up and issue resolution.
9. Track candidates at risk of leaving employment and intervene to improve retention.

5. Monitoring, Reporting and Compliance

Training Providers must work closely with the SOF Programme Management Unit (PMU) and:

1. Participate in performance reviews.
2. Report programme and outcome data.
3. Maintain candidate, training, placement, retention and financial records.
4. Use prescribed MIS/reporting systems.
5. Submit periodic operational, outcome and financial reports.
6. Support independent verification, audits, surveys and evaluation.
7. Comply with SOF's Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) requirements.

SOF Programme Focus and Training Requirements

The EOI establishes a Pan-India, outcome-oriented skilling model. Proposed job roles should generally be NSQF Level 3 or above, aligned with NCVET requirements and active Qualification Packs.

Priority sectors include Green Skills, IT-ITeS, Electronics, Telecom, Healthcare, BFSI, Logistics and other emerging sectors.

Training Providers are expected to propose at least three job roles and provide a clear rationale based on industry demand. One job role should not account for more than 70% of the proposed annual allocation without a clear justification.

At least 30% of SOF training capacity from Year 1 should be directed towards future-oriented jobs supported by demonstrable employer demand.

The indicative training duration is 300–600 hours, subject to applicable NSQF requirements. Training costs are linked to Government Common Cost Norms (CCN), with the EOI indicating an expected range of INR 10,000–35,000 per candidate enrolled, although limited exceptions may be considered with appropriate justification and approval.

Professional / Pre-Qualification Criteria

The mandatory eligibility requirements are important because only applicants satisfying all mandatory eligibility criteria proceed to technical evaluation. Failure to satisfy even one criterion can result in disqualification at the pre-qualification stage.

Key Eligibility Requirements

1. Legal constitution: The applicant may be a:
   • Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013/1956;
   • LLP registered under the LLP Act, 2008;
   • Society;
   • Trust;
   • Section 8 Company;
   • Partnership Firm; or
   • Proprietorship Firm registered under applicable Indian law.
2. Minimum existence: The entity must have been incorporated/registered in India for at least three years as on the proposal submission date.
3. Authorised signatory: Board Resolution, Power of Attorney or equivalent authorisation is required.
4. FCRA: NGOs receiving foreign contributions must possess valid FCRA registration, wherever applicable.
5. Turnover: Average annual turnover of at least INR 10 crore during the last three financial years.
6. For-profit entity condition: For Private Limited Companies/LLPs, average annual turnover must additionally be at least 25% of the project value proposed under the EOI.
7. Technical capability: Adequate in-house technical capacity and field-verification capability are required.
8. Non-blacklisting: The bidder must not be debarred, blacklisted, suspended or declared ineligible by the specified government/public/multilateral authorities as on the submission date.

Technical Qualification Criteria

The EOI uses a 100-mark technical evaluation system, with a minimum qualifying score of 70 marks.

Key areas include:

The EOI specifically states that 70 marks or above out of 100 are required for technical qualification.

Experience Requirement

For technical evaluation, the bidder should demonstrate prior experience in:

1. Skill development;
2. Vocational training;
3. Workforce development; or
4. Employment-linked training programmes.

The bidder should have at least one year of experience in the proposed sector(s). Experience across multiple proposed sectors, future-oriented sectors, emerging job roles and international placements can strengthen the technical score.

Delivery Capacity

Applicants must demonstrate capacity to enrol, train, assess, certify and support placement of at least 1,000 candidates annually, backed by employer partnerships and placement systems. A capacity above 2,000 candidates annually attracts a higher technical score.

The EOI also identifies 60%+ average placement over the previous three years as a strong performance indicator and requires a digital MIS capable of end-to-end beneficiary tracking.

Financial Criteria

The principal mandatory financial criterion is an average annual turnover of INR 10 crore during the last three financial years.

For for-profit entities such as Private Limited Companies and LLPs, the document adds a project-value-linked condition: average annual turnover should not be less than 25% of the project value proposed under the EOI.

The EOI's Form for Financial Capability requires turnover information for FY 2023-24, FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26, supported by certified audited financial statements and relevant tax/financial documentation.

Net worth: No specific minimum net worth figure is stated in the EOI. Accordingly, SkillCouncils.com should not publish an assumed net-worth threshold.

Tender Fee, EMD and Proposal Security

Tender Fee

The reviewed EOI document does not specify a tender/EOI fee amount. Therefore, the tender fee should be reported as “Not specified in the EOI document” rather than assuming that a fee is payable.

EMD / Proposal Security

The Procurement Schedule expressly states:

“Proposal security is not applicable.”

Accordingly:

1. EMD: Not applicable.
2. Proposal Security: Not applicable.
3. EMD Payment Mode: Not applicable.
4. EMD Exemption: Not technically an exemption; the EOI itself states that proposal security is not applicable.

This distinction is useful for bidders because it avoids incorrectly describing the EOI as having an EMD waiver when the document actually says no proposal security is applicable.

Submission Guidelines

The proposal must be submitted through the NSDC e-procurement portal: https://nsdc.eproc.in/.

The EOI requires a signed and complete proposal comprising the documents and forms prescribed under the EOI. Technical and financial proposals, where applicable, are to be submitted through the e-procurement portal.

Important Submission Instructions

1. Submit the proposal electronically through nsdc.eproc.in.
2. Only one proposal may be submitted by a bidder.
3. The authorised representative must sign the relevant submission documents.
4. The required Power of Attorney/authorisation should form part of the proposal.
5. Technical proposals must not contain financial bid information; a Technical Proposal containing financial bid information may be treated as non-responsive.
6. Conditional proposals are liable to rejection.
7. The bidder should submit the proposal strictly in accordance with the EOI terms.
8. The e-procurement server clock is the reference for determining the submission closing time.
9. Bidders should monitor the NSDC e-procurement portal for corrigenda/addenda.
10. Proposal validity is 180 days after the submission deadline.

Document Checklist for NSDC SOF EOI

Based on Form 4 – Checklist for Bidders and the eligibility/technical requirements, applicants should prepare the following document set:

The bidder checklist in the EOI specifically identifies registration certificates, GST, PAN, CA certificates with UDIN, audited balance sheets, Section II/III documents, blacklisting declaration, Board Resolution/Power of Attorney, TOR declaration, Conflict of Interest declaration, Technical Proposal Submission Form and Bidder Information Form.

The technical proposal should additionally demonstrate organisational capacity, training-centre footprint, leadership capability, programme management systems, placement/retention teams, financial management, HR systems, MIS and relevant SOPs.

Key Dates and Procurement Schedule

These dates are reproduced from the Procurement Schedule on page 2 of the EOI.

Bidder alert: The cover page gives 3:30 PM as the “Last Date and Time for Submission”, while the Procurement Schedule specifies 3:00 PM as the technical proposal submission deadline and 3:30 PM as opening. Applicants should therefore submit well before 3:00 PM on 14 September 2026 and verify the live portal/corrigendum before submission.

What Makes This EOI Important for Training Providers?

The NSDC Skills Outcomes Fund EOI is structured around an outcomes-based financing model, rather than focusing only on the number of candidates trained.

Payments and programme performance are linked to independently verified outcomes including:

• Certification
• Placement
• Three-month employment retention

The EOI defines retention as employment for 90 days from the first placement, subject to the specified conditions.

Training Providers are therefore expected to demonstrate strong systems not only for training delivery but also for employer engagement, placement, post-placement support, retention tracking, digital MIS and outcome verification.

The programme also gives significant importance to women and underserved beneficiaries. At least 50% of programme candidates are expected to be women, with particular attention to economically vulnerable households and aspirational, backward, tribal, border and LWE-affected districts.

Tender Expert's Assessment for Prospective Applicants

From a bid-preparation perspective, applicants should pay particular attention to five areas:

1. Financial readiness

The INR 10 crore average annual turnover threshold is a mandatory eligibility requirement, with an additional 25%-of-proposed-project-value condition for for-profit entities.

2. Demonstrable outcomes

A bidder should not rely solely on training volume. The technical evaluation gives substantial importance to placement performance, employer networks and retention systems.

3. Strong technical proposal

The Technical Proposal and Presentation carry 35 marks, making this the largest individual scoring component. Applicants should clearly explain their delivery model, sector/job-role rationale, mobilisation plan, training methodology, placement strategy, inclusion approach, monitoring framework and implementation capability.

4. Digital systems and verification readiness

A robust digital MIS and end-to-end tracking from enrolment through certification, placement and retention are mandatory technical considerations.

5. Submission compliance

Because the EOI states that deficiencies in requested information/documents may lead to rejection and that failure to meet even one mandatory eligibility criterion can result in disqualification, bidders should complete the checklist and cross-reference every supporting document before uploading the final proposal.

Conclusion

The NSDC Skills Outcomes Fund EOI 2026 provides an opportunity for eligible Training Providers to participate in a Pan-India, outcome-focused skilling programme running from 2026 to 2030. The EOI places strong emphasis on industry-demand-led training, future-oriented job roles, women’s participation, employer partnerships, placement outcomes, retention and data-driven programme management.

Organisations planning to participate should first verify their legal eligibility, three-year registration history, INR 10 crore average annual turnover, technical capacity, minimum one-year sector experience, historical delivery scale and supporting documentation. They should then prepare a high-quality technical proposal capable of achieving the minimum 70/100 technical qualification score.

Source: NSDC Standard Procurement Document – EOI for Selection of Training Partners for the Implementation of the Skills Outcomes Fund (SOF) Programme, EOI No. EOI/NSDC/OBF/2026/01. The above summary is based on the uploaded 83-page EOI document. The official EOI and any subsequent corrigenda/addenda should be referred to before making a submission.

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