AP to set up 30 skill development centres

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to establish 30 skill development centres

(SDCs) across the state to support the industry in tune with the proposed new industrial policy.

Also, a high-end skill development centre would be set up in Visakhapatnam exclusively for the information technology

sector, where meritorious engineering students would be admitted.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who conducted a high-level review meeting on skill development and IT sector

here on Monday, directed that the proposed SDCs be set up within one year.

"Identify required land for these centres and complete financial tie-up within 45 days. The SDCs should enable our

students to compete with their counterparts in cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

A plan of action should be prepared to make the dream a reality and give a fillip to the industrial sector in the

state," the Chief Minister said. Of the 30, one SDC would be set up in each of the 25

Lok Sabha constituencies, four in collaboration with the IIITs and another at Pulivendula, attached to the Jawaharlal Nehru

Technological University, in the Chief Minister's hometown. High-end IT-related SDCs would be set up in the

subsequent phase in Central Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, a release from the chief minister's office said.

A committee, headed by IT and Industries Minister Mekapati Gowtham Reddy, would oversee the implementation of

the SDCs. A centralized administrative block would be set up

first to monitor the SDCs and prepare a course curriculum, the release added.