He said government has also notified the 'Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries' (SFURTI) with modified norms for continuation till 2017.
"Our government wants to implement policies that touch the lives of common man and benefit the poor. Providing employment is one of the sure ways of freeing people from clutches of poverty and our focus is on the self-employment route," he said at an event organised here by the India SME Forum here yesterday.
Emphasising the need for skill development, Mishra said his ministry was planning to set up 15 new technology centres to facilitate improved access to manufacturing technologies and to ensure availability of skilled manpower to micro, small and medium scale industries.
"While 18 existing technology centres will be upgraded to meet the new challenge, systems are also being put in place to impart industry-related skill training for unskilled manpower to better their employment prospects," the minister said.
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Mishra said government has notified SFURTI with modified norms for continuation up to 2017. "Under SFURTI, it is proposed to develop 800 clusters across the country with funding from government and the Asian Development Bank," he said.
The NDA government at the Centre is considering setting up a separate ministry for skill development, he said.