Govt to develop 65 ITIs as advanced tech centres: CM

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday said that under the new technical skills development programme, 65 ITIs will be upgraded as Advanced Technology Centres at the cost of Rs 2,324 crore and the Tata group has joined hands with the State Government to develop the ATCs.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) at Mallepally in the city on Tuesday. Speaking during the occasion, Revanth Reddy said that unemployment was one of the main issues during the separate statehood for Telangana. “My government's aim is to provide job opportunities to the unemployed youth. The government-owned ITIs have become unproductive. Skill development training in the ITIs is not serving the main purpose of providing employment to the students. Outdated skill development programmes introduced 40 to 50 years ago are still being used for training in ITIs,” said Revanth Reddy.

The Chief Minister said that he considers the students and unemployed community as his family members.

“We are not considering ourselves as the rulers and people as slaves. We are the people’s servants. We have developed the concept of upgrading the ITIs as Advanced Training Centres,” said Revanth Reddy.

Revanth Reddy said that as many as 40 lakh young men and women were visiting the recruitment boards for jobs. Possessing education certificates alone was not enough. “Technical skills are a must to get jobs. My strong belief is that technical skills will provide more job opportunities. Certificates alone will not increase living standards,” said Revanth extending gratitude to the Tata management for coming forward to offer skill development training to the students.

“All the 65 ITIs will be promoted as highly advanced training institutes. The training institutes will impart skills and empower the unemployed. Girl students should also join ITIs to undergo skill development training. I am holding the portfolio of employment generation. I will monitor closely and review the performance of the ATCs every month,” said the Chief Minister.