Plan panel encourages setting up of more ITIs: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

BANGALORE: The Planning Commission today said it is encouraging setting up and upgrading of more ITIs and Skill Development Centres to meet the Labour Ministry's target of developing a skilled workforce of 50 crore by 2020.

"For producing 50 crore skilled force by 2020, the Planning Commission is encouraging upgradation and setting up of more ITIs and SDCs," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

Speaking at the foundation stone ceremony for a Multi Skill Development Centre (MSDC) here, he also called upon state governments to establish state-level MSDCs headed by Chief Ministers to produce skilled labourers.

"Skill development is an important tool to achieve economic growth as it is felt that we cannot achieve nine per cent growth in targeted plan period," he said.

Skill development not only helps GDP growth but also creates broad-based employment generation, Ahluwalia said.

Union Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said a proposal to set up 1,500 ITIs and 5,000 MSDCs on Private Public Participation model has been sent to the Planning Commission.

At present there are 50,460 ITIs in the country and about 4,000 have been started in the last five years, he said.

On MSDCs, Kharge said the centres would train 1,800 students every year in each of the two centers - Gulbarga and Bangalore. "The skill development courses will offer five subjects," he said.

German Industrial Cooperation (South Asia) Regional Director Hans Hermann Dube said skilled labour is the backbone of his country's economy. Germany has 400 years of history in imparting vocational training to students, he said.