Imphal : Governor Dr Najma Heptulla today stated that Manipur and the region are poised on the threshold of an exciting phase of economic activities under the Act East Policy of the Central Government.
She was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of a one-day seminar on ‘Skilling the Youth in the wake of India’s Act East Policy – From North-East Perspective’.
The seminar held at the Manipur State Assembly auditorium was organized by the Integrated Talent Development Mission ‘Blooming North-East’ with an objective to identify potential and develop skills of the youths of the State.
Addressing the gathering Governor Dr Najma Heptulla stated that India is heading towards becoming the world’s fastest growing economy and is expected to become the youngest country by 2020 with 64% of its population in the working age group.
The Government of India has ambitious plans to transform India into a competitive, high-growth, high productivity middle-income country by using this young workforce.
The Governor said that the North-East region has the prospects to grow into India’s economic powerhouse considering its lively source of energy, oil, natural gas, coal and limestone, apart from being gifted with its prime perennial water system of rivers and their tributaries.
The region’s boundless tourism prospects, unique performing arts and varied cuisine and handicrafts give it the perfect position for its development as a centre for dealing in trade and commerce with India’s eastern neighbours while augmenting scope of entrepreneurship, she added.
Asserting that growth of the North-East region will not only enhance the Indian economy but will also cultivate two-sided assimilation amongst the East and South East Asian neighbours, she claimed that the North-East region expects a massive boost in trade and commerce under the policy.
In the light of this development, North-East States need to develop an ambitious and meaningful skill development and employment plan for its youth, she asserted.
The Governor said that North-East region urgently needs to take up initiatives for skill training in the fields of railways, highways, logistics and warehousing, cold storage, renewable energy sector, business management and banking & finance with quality training of international standards, state-of-the-art infrastructure in the form of ‘multi-skill training’.
Skill development specially in service industries like tourism & hospitality, retail & IT and IT-enabled services can be the thrust areas, she said.
Further she added that nature has gifted rich flora and fauna to the North-East region and the region could become a hub for developing agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and food processing and there is a huge potential to create local enterprises and local employment around these sectors.
As the trade and commerce is booming in the region due to connectivity with ASEAN and China, youth of the region need to get skill development training in relevant trades to support the cross-border trade and business.
The multi-skill training centres need to have ‘Language Labs’ to deliver training on Burmese, Mandarin and other oriental languages which will be of immense help in penetrating business and maintaining diplomatic relations with Myanmar and China, she said.
The Governor also highlighted various schemes taken up by the Government of India for the benefit of the youths of the country such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Skill India which is to train over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022 and Stand Up India which is a scheme to support entrepreneurship among women and people who belong to scheduled tribe and caste.
She urged the people to make effective use of the Government schemes for the benefit of the youths of this State and region.
She added that she had initiated the Mission for Economic Empowerment of Traditional Artisans and Craftsmen (MEETAC) for promotion of the traditional art and crafts of Manipur as well as economic upliftment of traditional artisans and craftsmen.
Expressing her belief that all the academics, researchers, practitioners, scholars and industry experts participating in the seminar will have ample opportunity to exchange and share their views for skill development of the youths in the wake of India’s Act East Policy, the Governor said that the recommendations will be coming forth for a way forward for skilling the youths of the region appropriately.
Dr Swaran Anil, Patron, ITDM, guest of honour of the function said, the mission involves youths and is aimed at enhancing their skills with the coming of the Act East Policy.
She said with skill development, traditional culture should also be taken into account as the culture of the State is quite rich.
Kongkham Robindro Singh, Deputy Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly, president of the inaugural function, said that the youths should take the opportunity of the seminar and try to help in the development of the region.
North East region is the gateway of trade and commerce with the neighbouring countries which requires skilled workforce.
In the technical session moderated by Prof Ch Priyoranjan, Department of Economics, Manipur University, Prof Ch Ibohal Meitei, Director, Manipur Institute of Management Studies, Dr N Ranjana Devi, Director, Institute of Co-operative Management, Manipur and L Niranjan, MD & CEO, JCRE Skill Solutions, Imphal presented papers focusing on the importance of skill development in Northeast States for a successful Act East Policy of India.
Scholars, researchers, students of Manipur University and representatives of Integrated Talent Development Mission ‘Blooming North-East’ took part in the seminar.
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