Tamil Nadu to seek external funding for skill development

As part of its skill development mission, the Tamil Nadu government will soon launch a job portal for training and placement services and would also seek external funding, Governor K. Rosaiah said Thursday.

In his address to the state assembly, Rosaiah said: "The unique initiative of the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Mission has already been launched to deal with the challenges of building the skill level of our youth to make them employable.

"As a part of this initiative, this government will launch a 'State Portal on Employment' as an integrated platform for job seekers and employers."

He said the portal would be the single point of information source "on job counselling, training and placement facilitation. Further, the state will also seek funding and technical support for the State Skill Development Mission from international funding agencies."

Referring to the overall economic slowdown in the country, Rosaiah said the instability in exchange rates has affected Tamil Nadu which is a manufacturing and exporting hub.

"Though the growth in 2012-13 was only 4.14 percent, we expect growth to revive and comfortably exceed 5 percent during 2013-14," he said.

He said the state government has substantially increased the Plan expenditure target for the year 2013-14 to Rs.37,128 crore.

For the year 2014-15, the Plan size would be further increased to Rs.42,185 crore.

Rosaiah said the state government has launched the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme (TNIPP) with the assistance of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

"This project is aimed at the removal of infrastructural bottlenecks through small and medium size projects. Twelve such projects at an estimated cost of Rs.834 crore have already been approved under this programme covering sectors like power, water supply, urban amenities and roads.

"This is a new initiative which provides a flexible funding option with external aid to improve the investment climate in the state," he said.

On the agricultural front, Rosaiah said innovative approaches are being followed to promote the cultivation of high value crops including fruits and vegetables in the state.

"Though the state has faced a shortfall of 33 percent in the north-east monsoon rains, the food grain production is expected to surpass 100 lakh metric tonnes during 2013- 14," he said.

Rosaiah also praised the various welfare measures implemented by the AIADMK government led by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.