Centre, Asian Development Bank sign pact for $85 million loan to support Odisha Skill Development Project
In an effort to boost the skill development ecosystem in Odisha, the Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday signed off on a loan worth $85 million. The deal also seeks to set up the World Skill Centre (WSC), which will be an advanced skill training center in Bhubaneswar.
According to a release, the project is estimated to help over 1,50,000 people learn relevant skills in priority sectors, which include manufacturing, construction and services for formal employment. The WSC will deliver eight training courses for 13,000 full-time students, provide training for 5,000 teachers, and train 1,000 assessors.
“This project will improve the quality of the State’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes by making them relevant to industry and demand-driven, and will impart advanced occupation-ready skills training aligned with international standards,” said Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, after signing the agreement. “It would also complement efforts to target employment needs of emerging sectors in India and globally.”
The other signatory to the Odisha Skill Development Project was Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director, ADB India Resident Mission. “This project will engage Institute of Technical Education Services (ITEES), Singapore, to support Odisha Skill Development Authority in setting up and operationalising WSC, which will offer internationally benchmarked advanced training programmes for the working age population of Odisha,” said Yokoyama.
The release added that the centre will also boost the overall ecosystem of skill development in Odisha by providing integrated services through an entrepreneurship incubation centre, career counseling and placement centre, a curriculum design and development centre, and education technology deployment centre. ‘These important functions of WSC will support a network of Government ITIs and develop skills and capacity of polytechnics, college of engineering, and other private skilling centers,’ it read.
Additionally, the ADB will also administer a technical assistance grant worth $2 million from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. This will be financed by the Government of Japan and seeks to support capacity development activities under this project.