The Rs 371-Crore Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation Scam

“The Centres of Excellence built under the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation would be delivered as a public-private partnership in which technology partners Siemens Industrial Software and Design Tech contributed roughly 90 percent of the project's value as a grant-in-kind, with the state government funding only the residual 10 percent — equipping unemployed youth with industry skills without a disproportionate burden on the public exchequer.”

— Government of Andhra Pradesh (N. Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP administration) and the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC), State government and its skill-development implementing agency · 1 January 2015

This reflects the cost-sharing structure of the 2014-15 project MoU as described in subsequent CID and press accounts, rather than a verified quotation from a specific government statement on this date, which this entry has not located.

A skill-training infrastructure project in which the state's cash outlay was limited to roughly 10 percent of total project cost, with partners Siemens Industrial Software and Design Tech supplying the remainder as software, equipment and training in kind, verified through competitive tendering and government due diligence before any public money was released.

The project's own stated cost-sharing structure and Andhra Pradesh's public procurement (competitive tendering) norms.

In force from 1 January 2015

According to accounts of the CID investigation and chargesheet, the Siemens software actually supplied was invoiced at only around Rs 58 crore, far below the Rs 3,300 crore the project's cost was projected at; on that inflated projection, the state government's ostensible 10% share worked out to about Rs 371 crore, which the government paid out without inviting competitive tenders and before its partners had made a matching investment. Investigators allege the money was routed through shell companies -- including Allied Computers, Skillers India Pvt Ltd, Knowledge Podium, Cadence Partners and ETA Greens -- using fake invoices for goods and services never actually delivered. AP CID registered an FIR in December 2021, after the TDP lost power to the YSRCP in 2019, and in March 2023 arrested former Siemens employee G.V.S. Bhaskar, alleged to have colluded with then-APSSDC MD & CEO Ghanta Subba Rao. On 9 September 2023, CID arrested N. Chandrababu Naidu, who spent more than 50 days in Rajamahendravaram Central Prison before the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds (cataract surgery) on 31 October 2023; that bail was made regular on 20 November 2023. CID filed a chargesheet against Naidu and others on 4 April 2024 at the ACB Special Court in Vijayawada, alleging roughly Rs 176.27 crore misappropriated via fake invoices, plus excess billing of about Rs 27 crore across Centres of Excellence and about Rs 23.8 crore across 34 Technical Skill Development Institutes. Naidu's TDP returned to power in the June 2024 state election, and he became Chief Minister again. The Supreme Court dismissed the previous YSRCP government's petition seeking cancellation of Naidu's bail on 15 January 2025. On 19 December 2025, AP CID -- now operating under Naidu's own government -- issued a closure notice stating the case against Naidu was a "mistake of fact" with no charges to be pressed; the ACB Special Court accepted this closure report around 13 January 2026, closing the case against Naidu and 36 co-accused. Separately, the Enforcement Directorate's parallel money-laundering probe filed a supplementary chargesheet before a Visakhapatnam court around early February 2026 stating it found no evidence implicating Naidu, while continuing to pursue Design Tech- and Siemens-linked individuals it says diverted government funds and evaded taxes through shell companies. The YSRCP has publicly accused the Naidu government of using state investigative machinery to close a case against its own chief minister, calling the closure a dangerous precedent and a misuse of power.

As of 2 February 2026

The projected total project value was Rs 3,300 crore, of which the state's share was pegged at 10%; the actual Siemens software component was invoiced at only about Rs 58 crore, per press accounts of the chargesheet. No independent CAG audit specific to APSSDC's Centres of Excellence project has been located by this entry.

1. 1 Jan 2015Announcement
   Centres of Excellence MoU structured

   The AP government, under Chandrababu Naidu, signs an arrangement with Siemens Industrial Software and Design Tech to build skill-training Centres of Excellence, projected at a total cost of about Rs 3,300 crore with partners contributing roughly 90% in kind.

2. 1 Dec 2021Milestone
   AP CID registers FIR

   After the TDP loses power to the YSRCP in 2019, AP CID registers a first information report alleging that the state's Rs 371-crore payment under the project was diverted through shell companies using fake invoices.

3. 1 Mar 2023Milestone
   Ex-Siemens employee arrested

   CID arrests former Siemens Industrial Software employee G.V.S. Bhaskar from Noida, alleging he colluded with then-APSSDC MD & CEO Ghanta Subba Rao.

4. 9 Sept 2023Milestone
   Naidu arrested

   AP CID arrests former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu over alleged embezzlement in the skill development project; he is remanded to judicial custody the next day.

5. 22 Sept 2023Status
   High Court declines to quash FIR

   The Andhra Pradesh High Court dismisses Naidu's petition to quash the FIR and set aside his remand, saying the CID investigation is still ongoing.

6. 31 Oct 2023Revision
   Interim bail on medical grounds

   The High Court grants Naidu four weeks of interim bail to undergo cataract surgery, after he had spent over 50 days in Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.

7. 20 Nov 2023Status
   Interim bail made regular

   Naidu's interim bail is converted into regular bail by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

8. 4 Apr 2024Milestone
   CID files chargesheet

   CID files a chargesheet against Naidu and others at the ACB Special Court, Vijayawada, alleging about Rs 176.27 crore misappropriated via fake invoices plus roughly Rs 50.8 crore in inflated billing.

9. 1 Jun 2024Status
   TDP returns to power

   Naidu's TDP wins the Andhra Pradesh state election and he is sworn in as Chief Minister again.

10. 15 Jan 2025Status
    Supreme Court dismisses bail-cancellation plea

    The Supreme Court dismisses the previous YSRCP government's petition seeking cancellation of Naidu's bail in the case.

11. 19 Dec 2025Revision
    CID seeks closure of case against Naidu

    AP CID's Economic Offences Wing issues a notice stating that registering the case against Naidu was a 'mistake of fact' and that no charges will be pressed against him.

12. 13 Jan 2026Status
    ACB court accepts closure report

    The ACB Special Court accepts CID's closure report, closing the case against Naidu and 36 co-accused; the YSRCP opposition calls the move a politically engineered whitewash.

13. 2 Feb 2026Status
    ED chargesheet clears Naidu

    The Enforcement Directorate's supplementary chargesheet before a Visakhapatnam court states it found no role for Naidu, while continuing to pursue Design Tech- and Siemens-linked individuals over alleged fund diversion and tax evasion.

No court has convicted anyone in this case on the merits. The CID's own criminal case against N. Chandrababu Naidu and 36 co-accused was closed by the ACB Special Court in January 2026 after the investigating agency itself sought closure, and the Enforcement Directorate's parallel money-laundering chargesheet likewise found no role for Naidu. The ED's prosecution of Design Tech- and Siemens-linked individuals, including G.V.S. Bhaskar, over alleged fund diversion is reported to be continuing. All named individuals are presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

• This entry has not read the CID FIR, the April 2024 chargesheet, the December 2025 closure notice, or the ED's supplementary chargesheet directly; it relies on press summaries of each.
• The current legal status of G.V.S. Bhaskar, Ghanta Subba Rao, and other non-Naidu accused following the January 2026 case closure has not been confirmed -- press accounts differ on whether '36 co-accused' whose case was closed includes these individuals or refers only to other officials/politicians.
• Whether any Design Tech or Siemens-linked individual has since been convicted, and the current status of the ED's separate money-laundering prosecution as of September 2026, has not been confirmed.
• Some press reports describe the alleged scam's value as 'Rs 550 crore' rather than Rs 371 crore; this entry uses the Rs 371-crore figure from the CID chargesheet as reported by Outlook India, but the discrepancy has not been independently reconciled.
• No independent CAG or other third-party audit of the APSSDC Centres of Excellence project specifically has been located by this entry; the financial figures here come solely from investigative-agency chargesheets as reported by the press.
• Whether the January 2026 closure order has been or can be challenged by a private complainant or the YSRCP through a protest petition or revision has not been confirmed.