Union minister Pandey meets Assam CM; discusses 'Skill India Mission'

Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey on Sunday met Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati to discuss how the Centre and state can further 'Skill India Mission' and empower the youth with market-relevant skills to enhance their productivity. The two discussed and agreed to collaborate to set up the recently announced Skill University in the state aligning it to the national skill standards ensuring common framework and delivery in quality of training, an official statement said.

Pandey said such institutionalized interactions between central and state leaders, and policymakers, are crucial to the strategy of bringing in synergies and convergence across all initiatives of skill development in the country and transform the lives of our youth. "We are making continuous efforts to scale up existing efforts to enhance skill development in India, in the context of the country's transition to a knowledge-based economy through the creation of a professional skilled workforce," he added.

Besides, programs and schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Apprenticeship, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) were reviewed based on the consolidated data collected in the past four years. Apart from talking about the performance metrics of the schemes and initiatives, the agenda of the meeting was also to discuss various other important factors like building the capacity of state skill missions and focus on job creation via tourism, the statement said.