Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Product Application and Development Centre at Paradip, Odisha;

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with the Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated a Product Application and Development Centre (PADC) setup by Indian Oil at Paradip, through video conference.

PADC has been setup by IndianOil at Paradip with a capex of Rs 43 crore (US$ 6.10 billion), adjacent to its Refinery and Petrochemicals complex. There are 4 laboratories in PADC namely Polymer Processing Lab, Analytical Testing Lab, Chemical Analysis Lab and Characterisation Lab. The Technical centre is equipped with 50 latest sophisticated polymer testing and processing equipment to cater to the needs of customers and new investors. PADC, Paradip is recognized as a research centre by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt of India.

PADC will act as incubation centre for new entrepreneur development in and around Odisha in the field of Plastics. The centre will render assistance to customers and investors in product and application development for polymer finished products such as moulded furniture, houseware, woven sacks for packaging cement, fertiliser, healthcare applications like baby diaper, personal protective suit, mask etc. The centre will carry out testing and developmental activities for investors of Paradeep Plastic Park and other clusters like Balasore and Khurda. The centre will impart requisite product and process training to the prospective and budding investors including hand holding activities for plant set-up, selection of machinery and material. PADC will provide quality assurance, complaint handling, customer support, benchmarking studies, new and niche grade development, and application development activities.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pradhan said, “Fueled by the Honorable Prime Minister’s vision of Mission Purvodaya of ensuring eastern India-led national growth, centre and Odisha Government are working together to ensure development of Odisha. The state holds immense potential in petrochemicals, steel, mines and coal, Aluminium, tourism, textile, agri entrepreneurship. Government of India is committed to promoting entrepreneurship in Odisha across sectors which will lead to large scale job creation.”

“The world class facility inaugurated today will ensure availability of raw material, facilitate entrepreneurs in petrochemicals sector and provide training to the prospective and budding investors. This centre-of-excellence will help in creating several new employment and self-employment opportunities for the Odia youth, women and hardworking workforce and will further boost state’s revenue and economy. This is a big milestone in the development of Odisha and will contribute to the making of an AatmanirbharOdisha and subsequently contribute to the overall vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

Chief Minister, Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik expressing happiness at the inauguration said, “This centre will not only perform a pivotal role in developing new material and innovative applications, it will also help investors to set up manufacturing units in plastic and polymers sectors”. He said that IOCL has been acting as an anchor in development of plastics and polymer industry in the state, and the new Centre will further support the innovation and entrepreneurship in the area.

The Secretary, Ministry of PNG, Shri Tarun Kapoor and Chairman IOCL Shri Sanjeev Singh also spoke on the occasion. Officers of Odisha government, M/PNG and IOCL were present in the virtual ceremony.

Nextbillion.ai raises US$ 7 million, led by Lightspeed India Partners and Falcon Edge Capital

Nextbillion.ai, a diversified enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, has raised US$ 7 million in Series A funding, led by Lightspeed India Partners and Falcon Edge Capital.

It plans to utilise these funds to expand its team, build vertical specific AI first capabilities and go into new domains like neuro linguistic programming and facial recognition for the next billion user markets.

Nextbillion.ai was founder earlier this year by Mr Ajay Bulusu, Mr Gaurav Bubna and Mr Shaolin Zheng, all former employees of Southeast Asian ride hailing giant Grab. It builds mapping and other AI-based services for emerging markets.

“We see opportunity in building an inclusive world offering equal access to technology solutions in the most intelligent, secured and affordable manner," said Mr Ajay Bulusu, co-founder, Nextbillionai.

The company is headquartered in Singapore and aims to be the global leader in AI-powered hyperlocal solutions, serving the unserved/underserved next billion users, starting with comprehensive and innovative mapping solutions.

“Emerging markets across the world are far more complex, with different languages, cultures, hyperlocal nuances and densely populated cities, than the developed markets. We see opportunity in these complexities. With our first product nextbillionmaps, we are building intuitive and intelligent location AI-platform using open-source data combined with proprietary client data, that makes logistics, transport, ride-hailing, delivery, e-commerce solutions accessible to the next billion users effectively, efficiently and affordably. We quickly intend to expand into multiple verticals delivering world-class AI-powered solutions to our customers," said Mr Gaurav Bubna, co-founder, Nextbillionai.

“As a company we truly believe an AI first approach can solve massive problems faced in the nextbillion user markets and we want to be at the forefront of it," he added.

KVIC launches Sandalwood and Bamboo plantation, a new initiative to spur monetization of its assets

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), in a first of its kind initiative has begun exploring the untapped but highly profitable venture of sandalwood and bamboo tree plantation for monetization of its assets. Seeking to encourage commercial plantation of sandalwood and bamboo, the KVIC has begun a drive with plantation of 500 saplings each of sandalwood and bamboo at its Nashik training centre spread over 262 acres of land.

Union Minister for MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari has lauded the initiative of KVIC.

KVIC has procured sandalwood saplings from Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC) Kannauj, a unit of the Ministry of MSME, in Uttar Pradesh and Bamboo saplings from Assam. Plantation ceremony was launched through videoconference by KVIC Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena yesterday.

The plantation of the Sandalwood has also been planned with an eye on creating an asset for the KVIC as it is estimated to fetch between Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore (US$ 7.09 to 8.51 million) in the next 10 to 15 years. A sandalwood tree matures in 10 to 15 years and as per the current rate, sells at Rs 10 lakh (US$ 14,186) to Rs 12 lakh (US$ 17,023) each.

Likewise, a special variety of bamboo, Bambusa Tulda, used for making Agarbatti sticks, brought from Assam has been planted in Maharashtra with an aim to support the local Agarbatti industry and to create regular income for the training centre.

One bamboo plant gets ready for harvesting in the third year. Each matured log of bamboo, weighing approximately 25 kg, sells at an average of Rs 5 (US$ 0.07) per kg. At this rate, one matured log of bamboo fetches nearly Rs 125 (US$ 1.77). The bamboo plant has a unique quality. Each bamboo plant, after the third year, produces minimum 5 logs and thereafter, the production of bamboo logs doubles every year. This means, the 500 bamboo saplings will provide at least 2500 bamboo logs in the third year and will generate an additional income of nearly Rs 3.25 lakh (US$ 4,610) to the institution which will grow every year by nearly two-times.

Further, in terms of quantity, 2500 bamboo logs will weigh approximately 65 MT of bamboo that will be used for making Agarbatti sticks and thus create large-scale local employment.

In the last few months, KVIC has planted nearly 2500 trees of Bambusa Tulda in different parts of India. 500 saplings of Bambusa Tulda have been planted in each of the cities like Delhi, Varanasi and Kannauj apart from the latest plantation in Nashik to ensure local availability of raw material for Agarbatti manufacturers at a reasonable cost.

“Plantation of sandalwood and bamboo trees on vacant land aims at monetization of the property. At the same time, it will serve the dual purpose of meeting the huge global demand of Sandalwood while Bamboo plantation will support the local Agarbatti manufacturers in the light of recent decision taken by the Central government to make India ‘Aatmanirbhar’ in Agarbatti making,” KVIC Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said. “We are identifying more such properties of KVIC across the country where such plantations can be launched,” Saxena said, adding if the farmers start planting just two sandalwood trees in their fields, they will be economically self-dependent to meet any financial eventuality.

Plantation of sandalwood trees has high potential in the export market as well. Sandalwood and its oil have high demand in countries like China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and the USA. However, there is a short supply of sandalwood and hence a great opportunity for India to increase sandalwood plantation and occupy the position of a global leader in sandalwood production.

 

PFC ends FY 2019-20 on strong note with loan sanctions of more than Rs 1 Lakh Crore

Power Finance Corporation (PFC), India's leading NBFC in power sector and a central PSU under Ministry of Power, ended financial year 2019-20 (April-March) on a strong note despite numerous challenges including outbreak of COVID 19.

The lending institution delivered a sound financial performance with loan sanctions of more than Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 14.19 billion) along with Loan Disbursements of about Rs 68,000 crore (US$ 9.65 billion) in the last financial year. The highlight of the year was disbursement of Rs 11,000 crore (US$ 1.56 billion) in the last week of March 2020 despite the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID 19. Backed by strong IT infrastructure, PFC managed this feat of sizeable disbursement even though the employees were working from home.

During the year, PFC also registered 16 per cent growth in its standalone revenue while it managed 16 bps reduction in cost of funds. The net NPAs of the company reduced to 3.8 per cent from 4.55 per cent, showcasing the robust performance of the lender. Further, the Company registered a 10 per cent growth in its Loan Assets, 16 per cent bps reduction in cost of funds, and 16bps increase in Interest Spread. Further, during the fiscal, PFC resolved two stressed projects – Rattan India Amrawati & GMR Chhattisgarh worth Rs 2,700 crore (US$ 3.83 billion).

Despite challenging environment, Y-O-Y Net Profit is comparable at Rs 6788 crore (US$ 962.97 million) for FY20 as against Rs 6953 crore (US$ 986.38 million) of FY19 excluding one-time impact of DTA due to change in corporate tax rate. Profit has also been impacted due to extraordinary exchange rate variation of 6 per cent in the last 45 days of FY20.

Financial highlights of FY 2019-20 (Consolidated basis) include 15 per cent Revenue Growth, 12 per cent Loan Asset Growth, Net NPAs reduced to 3.57 per cent from 4.20 per cent

Indian Railways produce 1.91 lakh PPE gowns, 66.4 kl sanitizer, 7.33 lakh masks till 24/06/2020

Indian Railways, in coordination with other Ministries and State Governments, is totally geared up to meet the challenge of providing protection to its front-line medical workers and other operational staff persons, from the COVID 19 pandemic. It is using all its resources in coordinated manner to create/upgrade its facilities.

Railway workshops took up the challenge and manufactured PPE coveralls, sanitizer, masks, cots in-house. Raw material for manufacturing of these items was also procured by the field units. 1.91 lakh PPE gowns, 66.4 kl sanitizer, 7.33 lakh masks etc have been manufactured by Indian Railways till 24/06/2020. PPE coverall target for the month of June and July are fixed as 1.5 lakhs each which is likely to be revised upwards. During the lock down period, centralized procurement and distribution of the raw material and manufactured products throughout the Railway network was a herculean task accomplished under testing circumstances. Northern Railway was nominated for centralized procurement of raw material required for manufacture of PPE coverall gowns which was a critical component with respect to quality. All in-house manufactured products satisfy all applicable quality standards.

To further strengthen the preparedness of Railway, an order for PPE coverall (22 lakhs), N95 Masks (22.5 lakh), Hand sanitizer 500 ml (2.25 lakh) and other items was centrally placed by northern Railway on M/s HLL Life Care (PSU under MoHFW), for requirements of all Railway Units.

 Ministry of Railways has designated 50 Railway Hospitals as COVID Dedicated Hospitals and COVID Dedicated Health Centers. Facilities at these hospitals were upgraded through procurement of medical equipment’s and other items to meet the challenge of COVID Pandemic.

Protective gears like PPE coverall, masks, sanitizers, and equipment like ventilators were in extreme short supply globally, during the initial phase of COVID-19.

5231 Railway coaches have already been converted to isolation coaches to serve as the COVID Care Centers to augment the capacity of health infrastructure in the country. 960 coaches have so far been placed in service at several locations based on the requests received from the States. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has already issued guidance document on appropriate management of suspect/ confirmed cases on Railway coaches- COVID Care Centres.

Railways supply chain, though affected due to the pandemic, it did not affect Railways’ operations and maintenance due to operations being on the lower scale and stocks being available in our depots. Out vendors are also being supported to maintain their supply chain. Necessary instructions have also been issued to field units in this respect. Railway could also continue its required procurement due to its digital supply chain and all material required for pandemic management could be arranged.

Aye Finance raises Rs 210 crore in Series E round led by CapitalG

Aye Finance, an MSME sector lender, has raised Rs 210 crore (US$ 29.79 million) in Series E funding led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund. Other participant in the round include Aye’s existing investors LGT Lightstone, Falcon Edge Capital, A91 Partners and MAJ Invest.

Since its inception in 2014, Aye has raised equity funding of more than Rs 690 crore (US$ 97.89 million), the company said in a statement.

“Difficult times are a true test of a good lender and we have already started showing significant improvements in customer repayments in the past months. Our loans are underwritten with cluster insights and this continues to assure good repayment behaviour in our portfolio,” Mr Sanjay Sharma, Managing Director at Aye Finance, said.

“This equity investment will further add to liquidity that will enable us to emerge strong from the COVID crisis and continue to benefit millions of micro-enterprises across India,” he added.

So far, Aye has disbursed Rs 3,000 crore (US$ 425.59 million). The lender offers mortgage, hypothecation, and term loan services to micro enterprises.

“We first invested in Aye in 2016 and over the years we have seen them grow into an institution with strong focus on impact and scalability. The relevance of Aye in the post-COVID economy in serving the financing needs of micro businesses is significant,” said Mr Kartik Srivatsa, Managing Partner of LGT Lightstone Aspada.

Republic of Mali awards Project Management Consultancy contract to NTPC for development of 500 MW Solar Park

Republic of Mali has awarded Project Management Consultancy contract to NTPC, a central PSU under Ministry of Power, for development of 500 megawatt (MW) Solar Park. In an event held on 24th June, 2020, chaired by Shri R. K. Singh, the Minister of State for Power, NRE, Skill Development and President of International Solar Alliance (ISA),  and Mr H.E. Sekou Kasse, the Ambassador of Mali, handed over the Project Management Consultancy award letter to Mr Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC, for development of 500 MW Solar park in the Republic of Mali.

ISA is an international, inter-Governmental organization, based in India, created with the vision and leadership of Prime Minister, Sh Narendra Modi and announced jointly with President of France during COP21 held in Paris in 2015. ISA’s vision is for a large-scale solar revolution, hinges on creating a facilitative international ecosystem that enables access to science and economic resources, reduces the cost of technology and capital, facilitates price reduction, and enables development of storage technology and innovation.  With its scale and authoritative understanding of the energy transition opportunities of diverse economies, ISA is the world's foremost energy transition catalyst for bringing a change from energy poverty to energy empowerment. 

The event was hosted by ISA in the Ministry of Renewable Energy, New Delhi, and graced by the dignitaries, Director General ISA- H.E Upendra Thripathy, Secretary (Power)- Sh Sanjeev Nandan Sahai and Secretary (MNRE)- Sh Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi and Secretary (Economic Relations) ShvRahul Chhabra  among others.

The Republic of Mali has been taking various initiatives towards energy security of the country, especially to increase access to electricity for its citizens, with a focus on solar power and applications. Development of Solar Projects in Mali will make a considerable impact in socio-economic growth of Mali.

NTPC, a Government of India Enterprise and a leading global power company with 62,110 MW installed capacity has vast experience in setting up of Solar Projects and handling various solar programs like the National Solar Mission in India. In 2019, ISA endorsed NTPC as a Project Management Consultant through a competitive process for the member countries to avail the services of NTPC. Earlier the Republic of Togo engaged NTPC for similar PMC support for development of 285 MW Solar Park in Togo. NTPC plans to anchor 10,000 MW of solar parks in ISA member countries in next two years. Solar parks are being showcased as a best practice from India which had started solar parks as a novel concept and has commissioned a number of projects, thus bringing down cost of solar energy substantially, bringing in investment, creating employment and benefitting the environment in the process.

 

INST develops nanotechnology-based low-cost, method for the production of antiepileptic drug 'Rufinamide'

Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, have developed a nanotechnology-based industry-friendly and low-cost method for the production of antiepileptic drug ‘Rufinamide’.

Dr Jayamurugan Govindasamy and his co-workers from INST have developed a new recyclable copper-oxide catalyst, which plays a crucial role in the key reaction for producing the Rufinamide drug.

The existing technology for producing the drug has an inherent selectivity issue, which often leads to unwanted non-drug isomer ---1, 5-regioisomer. This necessitates the use of organic solvent, high temperature, and the need to purify and separate the soluble catalyst and so on, leading to unfriendly reaction conditions and high production costs.

In the new production method published in the journal Chemical Communications, unlike the traditional CuSO4 catalyst, the newly designed catalyst comprising of very small-sized (3-5 nm) CuI and CuII is so reactive that the reaction can be conducted efficiently under the aqueous condition and at room temperature. Since the catalyst is coated with slightly modified natural biopolymer, they are biocompatible and can be separated just by filtration technique.

The new method promises to overcome many of the current challenges in the synthesis of Rufinamide drug such as high cost, the formation of unwanted 1,5-regioisomer in addition to the required 1,4-regioisomer, limited choice of starting materials (propiolic acid derivatives) leading to multistep synthetic sequences, and poor yields due to use of organic solvents and overheating of the reagents.

Dr G. Jayamurugan, a Ramanujan Fellow of DST, and his co-workers used nanotechnology to develop the new recyclable copper-oxide catalyst supported by customized biopolymer (available abundantly from biomass). The synthesized catalyst turned out to be highly active in aqueous solvents, making manufacture possible under industrial friendly conditions. The reasons for this high activity are the extremely small sizes (3-5 nm) of copper oxide nanoparticles, the mixed oxidation states of CuI and CuII and their synergistic effects. They also found that the product is fully devoid of 1,5-regioisomer, as indicated by the single peak observed for 1,4-regioisomer in the HPLC with >99 per cent purity. The scalability of the reaction was also demonstrated in 10 g scale reactions in the laboratory condition.

The developed catalyst is not only useful for the Rufinamide drug synthesis, but it is also for other organic transformation reactions. The catalyst can be commercialized for academic use, as well as companies deal with fine chemicals that use these reactions.

Having been well optimized under laboratory conditions in the 10 g scale, the catalytic process can be easily translated into the industrial process. Furthermore, because the choice of metal and the polymers are so cheap, the end product of the present catalytic process can be maintained at low-cost. A patent has been filed for the highly efficient, economical, and eco-friendly process. 

Presently only a few companies manufacture the costly Rufinamide drug, which epilepsy patients need to consume continuously for their entire life. Hence, the catalytic process developed by the INST team can be used by Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient, producing companies for mass production to bring down the drug cost.

“Several nanotechnology initiatives of DST in seeding the infrastructure, human resources and the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology are now increasingly producing a plethora of useful technologies and products that contribute to an AtamNirbhar Bharat,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

MSDE-IBM Partnership Unveils Free Digital Learning Platform 'Skills Build Reignite' to Reach More Job Seekers and Provide New Resources to Business Owners in India

Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), is responsible for implementing long term institutional training to the nation’s youth through its network of training institutes and infrastructure. It plays a key role in the execution of vocational training schemes and in making ‘Digital India’ dream become a reality.

Recent analyses are an indicator that the rate of digital evolution is outpacing the rate of digital adoption. The young learners now need specialized skill sets to work with the advanced technologies and to make use of the diverse opportunities available under the ‘new-collar jobs’. Hence, creating opportunities for Young India with focus on new-age skills like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, 3D - Technology, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, etc. which are aligned to Industry 4.0 requirements, has become the prime focus for DGT.

With this in view, DGT has in the past one year, collaborated with many digital industry front-liners like IBM India Pvt. Ltd., Microsoft Corp. (India) Ltd., SAP India, Cisco Systems India Pvt. Ltd., Accenture Solutions and Quest Alliance, Adobe India, etc.,  to enable the students to become industry-ready. Even in the current scenario of the continuous impact of COVID-19, DGT is lining up with the industry partners in its efforts for enabling blended /e-learning with a combination of multimedia and similar digital resources for the students/ trainees, trainers and the administrators, by providing anytime, anywhere online digital content through its BharatSkills learning platform (https://bharatskills.gov.in).

One such strong and growing partnership has been between DGT and IBM India with some unique and first of a kind program. IBM has committed to provide multifaceted digital skill training in Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to students and trainers across the nation in the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Now, in its effort to address the current skills gap in the country, IBM and its partners are today introducing the SkillsBuild Reignite and the SkillsBuild Innovation Camp. 

The SkillsBuild Reignite tends to provide job seekers and entrepreneurs, with access to free online coursework and mentoring support designed to help them reinvent their careers and businesses. Job seekers, individual business owners, entrepreneurs and any individual with learning aspirations can now tap into host of industry relevant content on topics including Artificial intelligence, Cloud, Data analytics and security to reskill and upskill themselves, at no cost. Its special feature is the personalized coaching for entrepreneurs, seeking advice to help establish or restart their small businesses as they begin to focus on recovery to emerge out of the COVID 19 pandemic. Courses for small business owners include, for example, financial management, business strategy, digital strategy, legal support and more. Plus, IBM volunteers will serve as mentors to some of the 30,000 SkillsBuild users in 100 communities in at least five major regions worldwide to help reinvigorate local communities.

The SkillsBuild Innovation camp is a 10-week program which supports 100 hours of structured learning to learners who are interested in gaining hands-on project experience to enhance learning and are intent on building their network and enhance their employability. With the guidance of expert facilitators, IBM volunteers and coaches, the students will be guided through the design thinking process and learn strategic methods to craft their problem statement, ideate creatively, solve complex problems more quickly, design an innovative user experience and tell compelling stories. The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp concludes with a pitch to facilitators, other teams, stakeholders and potential employers or investors.

Background: In November 2019, IBM India, in partnership with Directorate General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, and its implementation partners, made the SkillsBuild online learning platform available to Indian students through Bharatskills (https://bharatskills.gov.in) of DGT. Digital classrooms on this platform are available to students and instructors from the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and technical education ecosystem in India. Within the first 6 weeks of its deployment in India, the platform has already benefited 4700 motivated learners from 15 states and Union Territories who have been able to continue their learning despite lockdowns and restrictions. It currently has impacted 14,135 learners who have completed 40,000 of courses and 77,000 hours of e-learning. SkillsBuild has been rated as India’s Top 10 online learning platform by National Skills Network. According to the India Skill Report (2019), only 45.6 per cent of the youth graduating from educational institutions are employable. This reflects the massive shortage of skilled workforce in the country.

Congratulating DGT and IBM India for their collaborative efforts to bridge the skills gap in the country through this initiative, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Today, we mark a significant milestone in supporting Centre’s efforts in accelerating Indian economy’s revival from the adverse effects of COVID with the launch of SkillsBuild Reignite and Innovation Camp, in collaboration with IBM India. In line with our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Skill India Mission, the Ministry has been working relentlessly to strengthen the skilling ecosystem and leverage the rise in demand for new-age skills by expanding industry cross-collaboration and creating learning pathways through digital learning platforms. IBM‘s expertise in providing multifaceted digital skill training in the area of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will strengthen our efforts in the recovery of local workforces, communities and economies by supporting job seekers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.”

In appreciation of the commendable role played by IBM India, Shri Praveen Kumar, Secretary, MSDE said that “Our mission is to empower next gen with new age skills and make them future ready.  Our collaboration with IBM will help us address the widening skill gap in the country and create a culture of up-skilling. IBM’s SkillsBuild Reignite platform provides right set of tools, innovative approach and access to mentors for students to thrive in this competitive environment”.

Ms Neelam Shami Rao, Director General of Training, MSDE, said that DGT aims to constantly upgrade and modernize the ITI Ecosystem in terms of infrastructure, pedagogy, curriculum, and technology interventions for creating vast learning opportunities for the youth of India.

“There is a need to shift the needle and focus on new technologies and changing skill requirement to bridge the skill gap. It’s important that we align the workforce to industry needs and technology shifts. The SkillsBuild Reignite platform helps equip job seekers with digital, professional skills and relevant training to re-enter the workforce. Not only does this platform provides career reinvention opportunities but also innovative ways of working and individualized support for relaunching business strategies,” said Sandip Patel, General Manager, IBM India/South Asia.

Railways to generate 8 lakh man-days of employment opportunity for migrants and others in infrastructure projects worth Rs 1800 Crore in next 125 days till 31st October 2020

Ministry of Railways today i.e. 24th June 2020 reviewed the progress of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan with Zonal Railways and Railway PSUs through video conference meeting.

Inaugurated by Hon'ble PM on 20th June, Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan is in operation in 116 identified districts of six states i.e., Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Jharkhand.

Chairman Railway Board, Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav today took a video conference meeting with General Managers (GMs) and Divisional Railway Mangers (DRMs) and Managing Directors (MDs) of PSUs regarding the progress of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.

Addressing the meeting, Shri Yadav instructed Zonal Railways to appoint nodal officers in each district as well as in the States so that a close coordination is established with the State Government. Shri Yadav directed Railway administration at Zonal level to act proactively to ensure migrants are engaged in projects and paid accordingly.

Zonal railways have been instructed to expedite execution of all ongoing infrastructure works in these identified districts. Around 160 works infrastructure works have been identified which are to be expedited. These would engage thousands of workers and roughly generate 8 lakh man days of employment by the end of October 2020. Approximately Rs 1800 crore (US$ 2.55 billion) would be spent in these districts.

Railway has also identified no. of railway works which can be executed through MGNREGS. The works are related to

1. construction and maintenance of approach roads for level crossings,
2. development and cleaning of silted waterways, trenches and drains along the track,
3. construction and maintenance of approach road to railway stations,
4. repair and widening of existing railway embankments / cuttings,
5. plantation of trees at extreme boundary of railway land and
6. protection works of existing embankments/ cuttings/bridges.

Zonal Railways have also been instructed to get sanction of proposed works under MGNREGS. Zonal Railways would be monitoring the works on daily basis and submit report to Ministry every Friday till end of Oct 2020.

It may be noted that Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched a massive employment -cum- rural public works campaign named Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan to empower and provide livelihood opportunities in areas/ villages witnessing large number of returnee migrant workers affected by the devastating COVID-19 on 20th June 2020. The Prime Minister announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.09 billion) would be spent for building durable rural infrastructure under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.

This Abhiyaan of 125 days, will work in mission mode, will involve focused implementation of 25 categories of works/ activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee migrant workers in 6 states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha. Public works to be undertaken during this campaign will have a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.09 billion).

The Abhiyaan will be a convergent effort between 12 different Ministries/Departments, namely; Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Road Transport and Highways, Mines, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Environment, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture, to expedite implementation of 25 public infrastructure works and works relating to augmentation of livelihood opportunities.