$175 mn project to train two lakh Odisha youth approved

The Odisha cabinet on Saturday approved 14 proposals, including the $175 million Odisha Skill Development Project (OSDP) that will train two lakh youth in the next five years.

The project will support the establishment of eight Advanced Skills Training Institutes (ASTI), under an autonomous umbrella society Odisha Skill Development Society (OSDS), state chief secretary G.C. Pati told media persons here.

He said the state government will avail of external assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for an amount of $110 million for implementation of the OSDP. The state's share would be $65 million.

Development Commissioner U.N. Behera said the project implementation period will be from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

The cabinet also approved amendment of the Odisha Civil Services (Combined Competitive Recruitment Examination) Rules, 1991, to provide for negative marking in public service examinations.

It also approved the execution of the remaining work of a canal system with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The total cost of the project will be Rs.2,598.99 crore, and JICA will provide Rs.1,787.30 crore, said water resource secretary Pradeep Jena.