Orissa inks more pacts for industrial training centres

BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa government Friday signed agreements with six more companies for setting up industrial training centres in the state, an official said.

Director of the state industries department Kabindranath Khatai signed the agreements at the state secretariat with the representatives of the companies here in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, a senior official of the department told IANS.

The companies which signed the agreements through their representatives were GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited, IMFA Limited, Deepak Steel and Power Limited, Bhusan Energy Limited, BRG Iron and Steel Co Private ltd and Lanco Babandh Power ltd.

These companies will establish at least one industrial training centre at identified locations, the official said.

There is an annual requirement of 140,000 to 180,000 trained personnel in highly-skilled, semi-skilled and non-executive workforce in metal and manufacturing sector in the state alone. The government has signed the agreements as part of its steps to bridge the gap between demand and supply, the official said.

As per the agreement, the state government will identify and transfer required land on payment and the company will develop required infrastructure within one year of taking the land.

The government had earlier this year signed similar pacts with different private companies for setting up 20 industrial training centres at different identified locations, state Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty told reporters.

With the latest agreements, the number of proposed industrial training centres in the state for which pacts were signed reached 26, he said.