Odisha chalks out Rs 1050 cr skill development plan

Of the total investment, Asian Development Bank's assistance will be Rs 660 cr, balance Rs 390 cr will be borne by state

The state government has finalized the Odisha Skill Development Project with a layout of Rs 1050 crore. The project will be implemented in six years.

“Out of the total investment, Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) assistance will be Rs 660 crore and the balance Rs 390 crore will be borne by the state government”, said Pramod Kumar Panda, director, Odisha State Employment Mission (OSEMS) and directorate of technical education & training.

The Centre has cleared Rs 660 crore assistance by the ADB and the state’s share will be released after the approval of the state cabinet. The project, to start in 2015, will continue up to 2020-21.

Under the project, industrial training institutes (ITsI) and multi skill development centres will be set up, he added.

Panda was talking to media persons on the side-lines of Ideate — 2014, a panel discussion on ‘Rural India to Skilled India- Unleashing the Avenues’ organized by Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation in association with The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Odisha.Fourteen ITIs are likely to be established under the plan.

Speaking on the occasion, RCM Reddy, managing director and chief executive Officer, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) Cluster Development Initiative Ltd stressed on use of technology for imparting skill development training.

Skill development targets can be met through time bound action by all stakeholders to overcome the challenges.

“There is a need to harmonise individual objectives selected by various stakeholders with a collective goal. The more aligned we are, the faster we can reap the benefit of the tremendous demographic dividend we possess”, said Shaifalika Panda, trustee and chief executive officer of the Foundation.