ADB to provide $85 mn loan for skill development in Odisha

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will provide a $85 million loan to improve skill development eco-system in Odisha and establish an advanced skill training centre at Bhubaneswar.

The project will help over 1.5 lakh people learn skills in priority sectors, including manufacturing, construction and services for formal employment, ADB said.

The World Skill Centre (WSC) at Bhubaneswar will deliver eight training courses for 13,000 full-time students, provide training for 5,000 teachers, and train 1,000 assessors.

It will improve the overall eco-system of skill development in Odisha by providing integrated services through an entrepreneurship incubation centre, a career counselling and placement centre, a curriculum design and development centre, and education technology deployment centre, ADB added.

“These important functions of WSC will support a network of Government ITIs and develop skills and capacity of polytechnics, college of engineering, and other private skilling centres,” it added.

ADB will also administer a $2 million technical assistance grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, that will support capacity development activities under the project.

In 2017, ADB operations totalled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in co-financing.

HBL