Dedsung Bora, Promeswar Panika and Anupam Koch are among the many names that have acted as catalysts leading to a landmark memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the Government of Assam and Tata Technologies Limited.
They are among the many success stories of ITI, Rowta established and managed by a Tata company called Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (erstwhile Tata Tea) since 1997. The MoA envisages thousands like these individuals to come out of the refurbished Industrial Training Institutes and polytechnics in the State to join hundreds of companies operating in India and abroad under the Tata brand like APPL, and others. At present there are 43 ITIs and 34 polytechnics in Assam.
Whereas Dedsung Boro from Sengimon in Udalguri district under Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam is working in Kuwait after his diploma as a Mechanic Motor Vehicle from this Institute, Panika is the head clerk of Hathikuli Tea Estate of APPL in Golaghat district. Anupam is with Assam Gas Company Limited in Digboi.
With the completion of infrastructure in these institutions and their upgrade to centres of excellence, with funding of over ₹ 2,390 crores from the Government of Assam and the Tata company based on the MoA, the likes of Dedsung and Promeswar will no longer be clamouring for government jobs in Assam.
The MoA was inked on May 11 by B Kalyan Chakravarthy, Principal Secretary, Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department, on behalf of the Government of Assam, and Warren Harris, CEO of Tata Technologies Limited. Among those present during the signing ceremony were Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Skill Development Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu besides S Ramadorai, Chairman of Tata Technologies Limited, et al.
The MoA will facilitate government-industry interface to encourage students to become innovators and make these institutes vibrant with cutting edge technology to train human resources for industry 4.0.
Dr. Sarma appreciated the Tatas for their role in Assam. He said that through this initiative over 20,000 youths will be gainfully employed each year, primarily in the Tata group. “Today we’ve taken a huge step towards enhancing the employability of our youths & making them ready for Industry 4.0,” the Assam Chief Minister tweeted minutes after the ceremony.
In his remarks, Mr Ramadorai hailed Dr. Sarma as a “man in hurry” for development in the State and reiterated the Tata group’s commitment to Assam. He said that with evolving technology, skilled manpower was in short supply.
Talking to Asom Barta, the Principal Secretary said that the initiative began when the Chief Minister directed him to explore what the Tatas can do for technical education in Assam keeping in mind the unique skill sets of its people while exploring what the corporate group has done in other States like Karnataka and Bihar. “We had a presentation by the Tatas in Guwahati. Once the Chief Minister was convinced that it would be a game changer, we were on it. We managed to bring the Tatas on board in around five months,” he said.
