Rs 1,000-crore skill university by 2025, says Assam CM

GUWAHATI: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the Assam Skill University, a Rs 1,000-crore project of Assam government in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), will upskill 10,000 youths every year.
Sarma was at Mangaldoi in Assam's Darrang district to perform the ceremonial bhumi pujan of the upcoming university, which he said will be fully functional by 2025. The state-of-the-art university will be imparting multidisciplinary skill training and is being undertaken through financial assistance from Manila-headquartered ADB. Sarma hoped that the university would act as a catalyst to transform Assam into one of the most progressive states on all fronts in the country.
"The upcoming centre (university) for imparting skill training would contribute immensely towards the process of nation-building by preparing skilled employment-creators and employment-seekers in conjunction with demand of time," he said.
The skill university will have three recognised satellite campuses in Assam.
Sarma said the skill university would be a major boost to the government's initiatives for preparing its youths to make optimum use of the opportunities that a new and resurgent India offers. "This centre for imparting of skill training will develop youths with skill proficiency and competency at different levels while catering to national and international standards," he said.
Multidisciplinary approach for skilling the youths would be initiated through schools of technology, design and creativity, mobility, management and finance training and healthcare, amongst others, in order to cater to the diverse needs and interests.
The state government has already appointed former bureaucrat Subhash Das as the vice-chancellor of the university. The varsity would also provide a platform for socio-economic progression and upward mobility to youths, Sarma added.
He noted that skilled human resource is an essential prerequisite to attract investors. "Assam Skill University would ensure the availability of a workforce that would compel major investors from all over the country and abroad to look at the state as one of the most favourable investment destinations," he said. Sarma also appealed to the youths to become active stakeholders in the ongoing "fourth industrial revolution" the country and the world is witnessing.
In order to fulfill the aspirations of the residents of the north-bank district, he announced that the construction process of the proposed bypass road as an alternative to the national highway through Mangaldai town would be taken up on priority.
He also promised to take up the demand of the public to connect Darrang with railway network with the Centre. Sarma said plans are on for a medical college in the district.