NTPC, under the Ministry of Power, has signed an MOU with newly formed Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, National Skill Development Fund (NSDF), and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to contribute its CSR funds to support a project to skill 5,000 persons in 22 locations across India. As per the agreement, NTPC will contribute approximately Rs 6.5 crores to the NSDF, and NSDC will implement the project through its partner network over the next two years.
All programmes offered will be aligned to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), which awards qualifications based on knowledge, skills and aptitude.
“It is imperative that PSUs and corporates should come forward and contribute to the country’s skill landscape,” said Pawan Agarwal, Joint Secretary in the Ministry and CEO of NSDF in a press statement. “We need majors like NTPC to invest in the country and encourage the youth to be skilled and more employable for their own and nation’s growth."
“This is the third large scale CSR initiative with a PSU in the last five months,” said Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director and CEO, NSDC. “The contribution not only provides us with resources to reach our goal faster but also an opportunity to understand a sector very critical to our nation’s growth."
According to the agreement, NSDC will facilitate quality training and placement to the trainees through its training partner network. The training will be provided at 22 locations spread across the States of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.