Punjab to give land to entrepreneurs for skill centres

Chandigarh, June 14 (UNI) The Punjab Government would provide land and buildings to entrepreneurs who come forward to manage and run skill development centres in the state.

Addressing a CII delegation led by Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman CII (north) and also comprising Mr Rajinder Gupta, Chairman Punjab State Council and Mr J R Singal, Vice-Chairman Punjab State Council, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal urged CII to focus on skill development of the youth of Punjab during this year.

He also emphasised on developing skills in the textile and construction sectors, which are employment intensive. He also laid stress on the education and skill development of girls in the state.

sees industry as a partner in progress to take The Chief Minister laid stress on imparting proper education and training to the youth so as to make them employable. He also emphasised on industry participation in social welfare to gear up inclusive growth.

Outlining the broad priorities of the CII Northern Region, Mr Kapuria briefed the Chief Minister about the thrust of CII during the current year on "Building People, Building India". He also informed the Chief Minister about the CII study on skill mapping in Punjab currently underway in collaboration with ICRA, which would help in identifying the skill gaps prevalent and also the core areas for employment.

Further referring to the Employability Study being conducted by CII in Punjab, Mr Kapuria said that the measures inferred from the Study envisage Punjab emerging as an exemplar of three-way partnership - among government, industry, and academia - for the development of manpower skills across categories. The implementation calls for some bold decision-making on the part of industry, the state's educational institutions and the state government, he addeed.

"Given the state government's track record and the fundamental competitiveness of the manufacturing and services sectors, CII believes the target is within reach for Punjab", Mr Kapuria added.

Mr Kapuria also shared some of the other focus areas of CII which include, improvement of industrial climate and upgrading physical infrastructure and e-governance.

While speaking on CII's initiative to constitute Institute Managing Committees (IMCs) for Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), he reiterated the Confederation's commitment towards enhancing employability and building close industry-institute linkages.

"Socially underprivileged sections of the society should be adequately mainstreamed in the developmental process," Mr Kapuria said while speaking on the inclusive growth by industry. He said it was imperative that the private industry supplement government's efforts to ameliorate this through concrete steps at all levels of employment, including self-employment.

Mr J R Singal, Vice Chairman Punjab State Council raised the point of SEZs in the state, to which the Chief Minister responded that land was available in the Abohar-Fazilka belt as well as in the Kalanaur area in Gurdaspur district, which could be developed for this purpose.

The Chief Minister welcomed the suggestions given by the CII delegation and assured all support to make industry competitive in the state.

UNI