india

Updated: Sep 19, 2019 11:22 IST

The Narendra Modi government is planning to open three skill development institutes in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to tap the “technical, traditional and international” potential in the newly-bifurcated Union territories, a senior official in the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship said on the condition of anonymity.

The proposal is one among the several development projects announced by the central government since August 5 when the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was nullified and the region was bifurcated into two Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

“A National Skill Training Institute will be opened in Srinagar and its extension centre will come up in Leh,” the official quoted above said, adding that the move aims at imparting technical education to local residents and creating a skilled workforce.

A team, headed by the secretary of the ministry, recently toured the Union territories to get a first-hand account of the situation and opportunities available in the state, the official added.

“A Heritage Skill Development Institute is also being proposed to provide training to artisans engaged in traditional jobs,” this official said. “This institute will be fully funded by the central government.”

“The Centre has also called for proposals from the Union territories to set up an India International Skill Centre, which can meet the demands of skilled workforce in international market,” a second official from the ministry said, requesting anonymity.

During its visit, the government team identified handicrafts, construction, information technology, tourism and hospitality, textiles, food processing and healthcare as sectors that required skilled workforce and had the potential to create jobs.

“We have decided to prepare a district-wise plan on the lines of aspirational districts in Jammu and Kashmir,” the second official said. “As part of its skill training programme, the government will also provide counseling facilities to people in the age groups of 14-25.”

A regional skill development directorate is also scheduled to be set up in Srinagar, the official said.