NEW DELHI: The government has launched a training programme in six states to raise an
army of
skilled linemen and
electricians to hasten pace of scheme to light up poor households by giving them power connection.
The power and skill development ministries earlier this week inked an agreement to launch the vocational training programme in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and UP. Nearly 85% of poor households in these states are still without a power connection.
Approximately 47,000 distribution linemen, with multiple skills in managing distribution lines, and technical helpers will be trained in the six states. Another 10,000 will be trained in other parts of the country. The Rs 16,320-crore scheme, called '
Saubhagya', envisages providing power connections to four crore poor households by December 2018. But progress has been hamstrung by shortage of skilled manpower and the vocational training programme will help overcome the problem, according to power mister R K Singh.
