GUWAHATI:Union minister for skill development and entrepreneurship, Mahendra Nath Pandey has urged the Assam government to allot suitable land here for setting up a Northeast Skill Centre which would cater to the skill development needs of the eight states of the region.
Pandey had called on Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal at his official residence here on Sunday and discussed various issues related to skill development in the state.
In his response, Sonowal assured the Union minister that land has been identified for the purpose and would be provided soon.
The chief minister said there had been significant increase in business activities in the state and the central government’s provision of nearly Rs 23,000 crore for Numaligarh Refinery Limited’s productivity augmentation had warranted a large pool of skilled manpower for taking advantage of the economic boost in the state.
He urged the Union Minister to provide necessary support to the state government for expediting the process of setting up an Assam Skill University.
“This university would help the youth of the Northeast to fulfill their dreams of becoming able citizens of the country,” Sonowal said.
The chief minister also urged Pandey to set up a centre of National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) in the state so that trainers of industrial training institutes (ITIs) could be provided quality training here itself.
It may be mentioned that in the absence of such an institute, trainers have to go to Kolkata for training. The Union minister assured of taking necessary action in this regard.
During the meeting, the chief minister also raised the issue of low quality of construction work carried out by unskilled contractors and the resultant dilapidation of public infrastructure like roads, bridges, buildings, etc within a short period.
He called on the Union Skill Development Ministry to take initiative to provide skills to the contractors.
The Union minister directed the ministry officials present in the meeting to explore the possibility of developing programmes for skill development of contractors in partnership with Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship.