New Delhi, Mar 31: Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on Thursday to extend the benefits of skill development to tribal youths living in the backward districts of Odisha.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, Union Minister of State J. S. Bhabhor, Lok Sabha MP from Gujarat Ram Singh, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, Yuri Afanasiev; Odisha MLA Dambaru Sisa and Dr. Achyuta Samanta, founder of KIIT and KISS.
According to the agreement, the two organizations will establish a centre for excellence to demonstrate technology-enabled blended skill training model for tribal youth.
The KISS-based centre of excellence will support the implementation labs located in tribal dominated districts like Sundargarh and Koraput.
“We will bring together government, industry, private sector, training providers, youth, public representatives, NGOs and civil society in co-designing new skilling tools and scalable solutions to address development priorities in the tribal regions”, said Dr. Samanta after signing the MoU.
“It will lead to an enhanced access to quality, market relevant and area specific skill development programme and importantly align the training programmes with aspirations and competencies of tribal youths,” he aded.
Alka Upadhyaya, Joint Secretary (Skills), Ministry of Rural Development; Rajesh Aggarwal, Joint Secretary (A), Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Alka Narang, Assistant Country Director, UNDP and Ambassadors of various countries were present at the MoU signing ceremony.
Kalinga AI