SAMBALPUR: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening education, skill development, entrepreneurship and marketlinked agriculture in western Odisha. Addressing an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Hirakud, Pradhan also announced plans to prepare 1,000 acre of land for a n i n d u s t r i a l hub i n Sambalpur.
Highlighting the importance of industry-led skill development in achieving the goals of ‘Viksit Odisha’ and ‘Viksit Bharat’, the union minister said bridging education with empowerment would accelerate regional economic growth and create meaningful opportunities for youths. “Our government is giving special focus to tier-II and tier-III cities.
Sambalpur stands to benefit immensely from multiple development initiatives,” he said. He further announced proposals for redevelopment of the Rourkela-Ranchi road corridor and informed that discussions are underway with the district administration to earmark land for upcoming industries. Among the key initiatives launched were the CII education to employment (E2E) career lounge at the central library,
CII model career centre, CII national skill centre in Sambalpur, CII-CEL Odisha entrepreneurs development forum and CII-CEL micro and small enterprises project in the state. An MoU was also signed between the Sambalpur administration, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology and the CII Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence to promote market-driven transformation in crops,
fisheries and dairy-based livelihoods. CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee stressed the need to integrate MSMEs with large industries to strengthen the regional industrial ecosystem. Referring to Odisha-Japan collaboration, he noted that nearly 1,000 students from the state have secured employment in Japan and called for expandi n g such global opportunities.
On the occasion, Pradhan formally inaugurated the CII model career centre at the district employment exchange, where 120 candidates received job offers from across India. Of them, 17 were selected for employment in Japan and five in Denmark. Among others, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabinarayan Naik, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra and CII west Odisha zonal council chairman and JSW Steel Limited director Anil Kumar Singh were present.
Later in the day, the Union minister chaired the third meeting of the rehabilitation and peripheral development advisory committee (RPDAC) for Talabira–II and III open cast project of NLC India Limited.