Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI)
Agriculture Skill Council of India is a not-for-profit Sector Skill Council set up under the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It is the nodal body for skill development, certification, and standardisation across agriculture and allied sectors in India. In plain terms: if someone needs to be trained and certified as a drone operator for crop spraying, a soil testing technician, a dairy worker, or a nursery technician, ASCI is the body that sets the standards for what that training must cover, certifies the trainers, accredits the training centres, and issues the qualifications.
What ASCI does
ASCI operates at the system level, not directly with individual trainees. Its work sits between the government schemes that fund skill training and the ground-level training centres that deliver it. The core functions are:
- Developing Qualification Packs and National Occupational Standards (QP-NOS): these are the documents that define what a person in a given agricultural job role must know and be able to do. ASCI has developed 165 such qualification packs covering roles across crop production, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, organic farming, agri-machinery, and more.
- Affiliation and accreditation of training centres: private and government training providers apply to ASCI for affiliation before they can deliver ASCI-affiliated courses. ASCI accredits the centres, verifies infrastructure, and monitors quality.
- Certification: candidates who complete accredited training and pass assessments receive ASCI certificates, which are recognised under the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF).
- Training of Trainers (ToT) and Training of Assessors (ToA): ASCI runs regular programs to certify trainers and assessors who can deliver and evaluate skill training in agriculture. These are open to individuals meeting the qualification criteria and run on a published calendar.
- Assessment of training programmes: independent assessment agencies empanelled by ASCI evaluate whether training outcomes meet the standards set in the qualification packs.
- Apprenticeships: ASCI facilitates agricultural apprenticeships under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), connecting candidates with agricultural employers.
- Placements: ASCI runs a dedicated placement portal (agriplacements.in) and is currently seeking international placement linkages, including for poultry and crop production roles in the USA.
Government schemes implemented
ASCI implements or supports training under several central government schemes including PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana), DDU-GKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana), NAPS (National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme), MIDH (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture), and DAY-NULM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana for urban livelihoods). It also has a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) track for workers already in agriculture who need formal certification of existing skills.
Who partners with ASCI
Training partners are organisations, NGOs, agricultural colleges, and private training providers who deliver ASCI-affiliated courses on the ground. University partners include agricultural universities that work with ASCI on curriculum alignment. Supporting and industry partners include agribusiness companies and sector bodies that inform qualification standards and absorb trained candidates. The Government of India's key agricultural departments (ICAR, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying) are linked through ASCI's important links section.
ASCI is not a typical employer of program or outreach staff. Roles here tend to be in curriculum development, standards and quality assurance, partnerships and affiliation management, assessments, training delivery, research and labour market intelligence, and administration. People with backgrounds in agriculture, vocational education, or government scheme implementation will find it relevant. For organisations working in agricultural livelihoods or rural skill development, ASCI is also a key regulatory and certification partner to understand.
