Skill Development Assistance Scheme (ANBOCWWB)

What is the Skill Development Assistance Scheme of the ANBOCWWB?

Skill Development Assistance Scheme (ANBOCWWB) is a welfare benefit of the A&N Islands Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, under the office of the Labour Commissioner and Director of Employment & Training, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair). The scheme gives a registered construction worker, or up to two of that worker's children, a tool kit worth up to Rs 10,000 once the person has successfully completed a trade course at a government Industrial Training Institute or a Vocational Training Centre.

According to the Labour Department's welfare board page, the scheme is worded tightly: "The Secretary of the Board may sanction tool kits not exceeding Rs. 10000/- to the registered Construction Worker or their two children's. The application in Form Y shall be accompanied with successful course/Trade completion certificate from Govt. Industrial Training Institute or Vocational Training Centre."

Three things follow from that sentence, and they define the whole scheme. The benefit is a tool kit, not a cash grant. The sanctioning authority is the Secretary of the Board, exercising a discretion ("may sanction"). And the qualifying event is a completed government ITI or VTC course, not enrolment in one.

Why does the Board give tool kits rather than money?

The logic is occupational. A construction worker who trains as an electrician, plumber, welder, fitter or carpenter comes out of an ITI with a certificate but often without the hand tools and instruments needed to take paid work in that trade. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where tools are largely brought in from the mainland and cost more than they do in a metro, that gap between qualification and employability is real. Supplying the kit directly closes it and keeps the benefit tied to the trade actually learned.

The same reasoning explains why the scheme is limited to two children. It is framed as a launchpad for a household's next generation of skilled tradespeople, not as a general-purpose grant.

Who is eligible for ANBOCWWB skill development assistance?

You can claim if:

• You are a registered beneficiary of the A&N Islands Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, holding a registration number and date, or
• You are a son or daughter of such a registered worker, and no more than two children of that worker have already been given a tool kit.
• The person for whom the kit is sought has successfully completed a course or trade at a government Industrial Training Institute or a Vocational Training Centre, and can produce the completion certificate.
• The registered worker's subscription record is in order. Form-Y asks specifically for the date and amount of the first subscription and the date of the last subscription paid, so the Board checks contribution history at the point of sanction.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a construction worker who has never registered with the Board. Registration in Form-B under Rule 23(1) is the qualifying event for every Board benefit, including this one.
• Your registration has lapsed through non-payment of subscription, or your contribution record shows a long unexplained default.
• The training certificate is from a private institute rather than a government ITI or a Vocational Training Centre.
• The applicant is still studying and has not yet passed out. Form-Y asks for the "year of passout", which presupposes completion.
• You are a third or subsequent child of the same registered worker, or a relative other than the worker's own son or daughter.
• You are an employer or contractor rather than a registered construction worker.

What does Form-Y ask for?

Form-Y is short and the fields tell you exactly what the Board will verify.

1. Name and address of the applicant.
2. Registration number.
3. Age and date of birth.
4. Details of skill training, the name of the ITI or VTC, the year of pass-out, and the trade.
5. Date of registration with the Board.
6. Details of the nominee as recorded, that is, the nominee named in Form-C under Rule 23(5).
7. Date of payment of the first subscription and the amount.
8. Date of payment of the last subscription.
9. Bank account details.
10. List of documents submitted, with the course completion or pass-out certificate from the ITI or VTC named explicitly.

The form ends with a declaration that the facts are true, the applicant's signature and name, and a line for the mobile number.

How to apply for ANBOCWWB skill development assistance

1. Complete the course first. Finish the trade or course at a government Industrial Training Institute or a Vocational Training Centre and collect the successful completion or pass-out certificate. Nothing can be filed before this document exists.
2. Check that the worker's registration is live and that the subscription record is up to date. Subscriptions are collected by the contractor and remitted quarterly to the Board's designated State Bank of India account number 30678637478; a deposit counterfoil is the proof to keep.
3. Download Form-Y, the Application for Skill Development Assistance under Rule 37(b)(1), from labour.and.nic.in, or collect a printed copy from the Labour Commissioner's office.
4. Fill in every field, including the ITI or VTC name, year of pass-out, trade, first and last subscription dates, nominee details and bank account. Blank subscription fields are the most common reason a form is sent back.
5. Attach the completion certificate along with a copy of the ANBOCWWB identity card and age or date-of-birth proof.
6. Submit the set addressed to the Secretary, A&N Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), in person or through the Labour Department's field offices, and note your mobile number on the form so the office can reach you.
7. Keep the acknowledgement and follow up with the Board office for the sanction.

How do I register with the Board if I have not already?

Registration is applied for in Form-B under Rule 23(1), "Application for Registration as a Beneficiary". It asks for the worker's name, father's or husband's name, date of birth with attested age proof, permanent and present address, marital status, and the name and address of every employer worked for in the last three months, with dates of commencement and conclusion and the number of days actually employed.

The Board's note on contractor liability sets out the practical requirements: the application goes to the concerned Beneficiary Registration Officer, with a registration fee of Rs 20, three passport-size photographs and attested copies of age and address proof. The certificate on Form-B confirming engagement as a construction worker may be signed by the employer or contractor, a trade union President or General Secretary, the Secretary of a Gram Panchayat or of the Port Blair Municipal Council, a Labour Inspector, a Junior Engineer of the department concerned, or one of several panchayat office-bearers.

File Form-C, the nomination form under Rule 23(5), at the same time. Form-Y later asks for "details of nominee as recorded", so a missing Form-C creates a gap at claim stage.

How do I check the status of a skill development claim?

The Board does not operate a public online tracker for this benefit. Follow up with the Secretary of the Board at the Labour Commissioner's office, quoting your registration number, the date Form-Y was submitted and the trade certified. The Labour Department also publishes a list of beneficiaries and a list of dues to beneficiaries on labour.and.nic.in, which is worth checking. If a claim stalls, the Assistant Labour Commissioner is the officer named in the department's Citizen Charter for matters under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act.

Why skill development claims get rejected

• No completion certificate, or a certificate from an institution that is not a government ITI or a Vocational Training Centre.
• Worker not registered, or registration lapsed for non-payment.
• Subscription fields left blank on Form-Y, so the Board cannot verify the contribution history.
• Third-child claim, where two children of the same worker have already received tool kits.
• Trade mismatch between the certificate and the tool kit sought.
• Nominee details missing because Form-C was never filed.
• Name or date-of-birth mismatch between the identity card, the certificate and the bank account.

Most of these are correctable. Get the ITI to reissue a clean certificate, clear subscription arrears with a counterfoil as evidence, file the missing Form-C, and resubmit.

How does this fit with the Board's other benefits?

Skill Development Assistance is one of the newer and smaller schemes in the ANBOCWWB's set, and it does not appear as a separate line in the Board's published beneficiary tally, which covers Educational Assistance (10,123 beneficiaries, Rs 6,78,22,530), Medical Assistance (504, Rs 1,45,07,500), Marriage Assistance (482, Rs 80,80,000), Death Benefit (90, Rs 77,50,000), Maternity Benefit (233, Rs 22,40,000), Pension Benefit (25, Rs 8,53,000) and Funeral Assistance (58, Rs 2,77,000), totalling 11,515 beneficiaries and Rs 10,15,30,030. Take that as a sign the scheme is under-used rather than unavailable: it remains listed on the Board's current scheme page with its own prescribed form.

The natural pairing is with the Board's Educational Assistance, which pays Rs 900 a month for vocational training through an ITI. A construction worker's child can therefore draw the monthly allowance while training and then apply for the tool kit on passing out, two distinct benefits, two distinct forms.

Where do I complain if the tool kit is not sanctioned?

• Secretary, A&N Islands Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) — the sanctioning authority.
• Assistant Labour Commissioner, the designated officer for BOCW matters in the department's Citizen Charter, which sets a seven-working-day standard for registration and licensing under the Act.
• Labour Commissioner and Director of Employment & Training, Sri Vijaya Puram, the appellate level. The Citizen Charter in force was issued on 7 May 2025 with a next review date of 6 May 2026.

Registration with the Board costs Rs 20 as a statutory fee, and no agent may charge you to file Form-Y or to "arrange" a tool kit.