Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy today revealed that a "big agreement" with the Railways was in the offing to tap its 43,000 km-long optic fibre network to train the country's youth in computer and internet-related skills.
"A big agreement with the Railways is going to be made. It is our largest institution which has a 43,000 km-long optic fibre network across the length and breadth of the country. We will tap it to train youth in computer and internet related skills," Rudy said.
Rudy said connections will be taken from the optic fibre network laid along the railway tracks and institutions will be built up there to impart such training to the youth.
The training would open a wide range of employment opportunities for the youth, he said.
The minister was speaking on the occasion of signing of an MoU between NTPC, National Skill Development Corporation and National Skill Development Fund here to train 25,000 youths in services and manufacturing sectors over the next five years. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal was also present at the event.
Reiterating that the Centre aimed to train 30 crore youths over the next 10 years in various skills to provide them gainful employment, Rudy also said that he had talked with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar with an objective to use soldiers retiring from the armed forces as master trainers.
Ruing the lack of skills in India, Rudy, who is also a trained commercial pilot, said only three per cent population in the country were skilled workers, while it was 46 per cent in China, 55 per cent in US, 68 per cent in UK, 74 per cent in Germany, 80 per cent in Japan and 96 per cent in Korea.
