The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of Maharashtra State Skill University and to present the related bill in the ensuing budget session of the state legislature beginning March 1.
Minister of Skill and Entrepreneurship Nawab Malik told The Free Press Journal,’’ The proposed university will be helpful in the development of new skill sets in the wake of emerging new technologies. It will create a workforce which will be acceptable worldwide. The government has proposed Rs 500 crore funding for next 10 years with the budgetary allocation of Rs 50 crore every year to the proposed university.’’
Malik said the university will be operational in two years adding that it will become self-sustainable after 10 years. ‘’ Site for the proposed university is being looked for in Mumbai, Thane and a couple of other places. The connectivity and availability of qualified staff will be considered while selecting the site,’’ he noted.
With today’s cabinet approval, Maharashtra will join the bandwagon in the establishment of Skill Development University. Already there are 8 such universities established of which there are one each in Rajasthan and Haryana are public while two public skill universities are proposed in Andhra Pradesh. In addition, private skill universities have been set up in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha and Maharashtra.
The cabinet gave approval considering the large network of industry groups in Maharashtra and the huge employment opportunities. ‘’The purpose of establishing a Skills University is to create a manpower capable of technical capabilities and various skills as per the demand of the industry. Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and it is the Headquarters of many national , international as well as private companies like Banking , Financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, oil, gas, minerals, FNCG, energy. The development of human capital will help the state as a whole.
The Cabinet has also cleared the establishment of Centers of Excellence at 6 divisional places in the state through the department of skill and entrepreneurship development. These Centres will act as the divisional centres of the proposed skill university.
For this, the existing Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) can be converted into the Centre of Excellence which can work as divisional centres of the skill university.
All the ITIs and the skill training institutes can be affiliated with the proposed skill university and can start the courses approved by the university.
