Chidambaram Unveils National Skill Certification

17 08 2013

Union Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram unveiled the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme that will be implemented on pan-India basis, in New Delhi today. This is a first of its kind scheme to be launched in the country. The scheme was first proposed by the Finance Minister in the last Union Budget to allocate Rs 1,000 crore for a scheme that will motivate the youth of this country to acquire a vocational skill. The scheme is expected to benefit a million people in the first year of its implementation.
The scheme that is branded as STAR (Standard Training Assessment and Reward) for promotional purposes envisages that a monetary reward that will in essence financially help those who wish to acquire a new skill or upgrade their skills to a higher level.
Launching the Scheme, Shri Chidambaram said that the government is committed to improving the skills of the youth in the country. The STAR scheme that is being launched today is yet another proof of this government’s commitment to leaving no stone unturned in achieving the National Skilling Mission target. Shri Chidambaram said that during 2004-05 and 2009-10, 20 million jobs were created in the country and unemployment rate declined from 8.3 percent to 6.6 percent.
He said that with the advancement of technology, the youth need to upgrade their skills for better opportunities. The Minister assured that for skill development of our youth, money will not be a constraint. Shri Chidambaram emphasised that assessment and certification should be based on rigorous norms for ensuring true value to it. He urged the youth of the country and all key decision influencers like parents, teachers, mentors and employers to come forward and make best use of the benefits of this scheme. Shri Chidambaram also presented medallions to three winners of the World Skill Competition (WSC).
The National Skilling Mission envisages adding 500 million skilled Indians by the year 2022. While 150 million are expected to be contributed by the private sector working under National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), 350 million will be contributed by 18-odd ministries at the Centre.
Offering his Ministry’s complete support, Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh said that it is contemplated to skill atleast one youth from each family which had availed of 100 day employment under the under MNREGA scheme. He also urged the sector skill councils and training partners under NSDC in particular to pay more attention to the development in the rural sector.
Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia in his remarks said, while the scheme itself has been created as an inclusive mechanism to benefit people in all walks of life, NSDC has defined skills in the right perspective and delivery of skills is now through an open architecture.
While the scheme envisages covering a million skilled people under this scheme, sufficient processes have also been pre-defined to ensure that the quality of the skill imparted is world-class. The monetary reward is strictly depended on obtaining a certificate that will be issued by qualified assessors after necessary tests have been passed. The skills are also benchmarked to National Occupational Standards that have been developed by NSDC with the support of the Sector Skill Councils.
Shri S Ramadorai, chairman of National Skill Development Corporation and National Skill Development Agency, said, the skilling mission has to be inclusive. The approach must be ‘no Indian will be left behind’ if we are to achieve our ambitious National Skilling Mission target.
The major highlights of the scheme are:
• A Rs 1000 crore pan-India scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance
• Branded as STAR – Standard Training Assessment and Reward
• To benefit 1 million people
• Scheme to be implemented by National Skill Development Corporation
• Each tested and certified trainee to get an average of Rs 10,000 to cover training costs.
National Skill Development Corporation, a body under the Ministry of Finance, is one of its kind public private partnership endeavour with 51 per cent equity held by private sector and 49 per cent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010, NSDC is a professionally run not-for-profit company that includes 22 Sector Skill Councils and 87 training partners with over 2500 training centres spread across 352 districts in the country.

Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Chidambaram
Categories : Business, Education, Uncategorized

Skill, placement support under MNREGA

17 08 2013

The skill development progress targeting youth, the Centre said one young member of each village household that has completed 100 days of work under the rural job scheme will be provided skill and placement support.

 

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh made this announcement in the presence of Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia during the launch of the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme in New Delhi on Friday.

 

Every year roughly about four and a half crore households get employment under MNREGA and young members of roughly eight to nine percent of families that have crossed 100 days of work will be eligible for government’s new skill development cum placement activity.

 

“About eight per cent of the households at a national level have crossed the 100 day limit of employment under MNREGA and we have now decided is one youth of that household which has 100 days, which is obviously poor and very distressed, and we will provide the skill cum placement support to youth coming from that household,” Ramesh said on Friday.

 

He said the number of households involved in MNREGA work is very very substantial and “this is going to provide further impetus to skill development” as objective of such programmes is to make rural youth eligible to enter the stream of migration.

 

Narrating the features of the skill development programmes coming under Ministry’s flagship schemes Aajeevika, Ramesh said, “It is very much part of the national skill mission although it is not seen to be so.”

 

“But it is an integral part of national skill mission. We are stressing not numbers, or targets but we are stressing quality and employment and sustainability of the employment,” he said about Aajeevika skill development programmes like “Himayat” in Jammu and Kashmir and “Roshni” in Maoist-affected districts of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Uncategorized

JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship moves to Coimbatore

17 08 2013

JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship moves to Coimbatore

~Round 3 to be held at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore from August 16-18, 2013~

~Leaders look to consolidate position after 2 rounds~

Coimbatore, August 16 2013: After 2 exhilarating rounds of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013, India’s leading karters are gearing up for Round 3 to be held at the Speed City of India – Coimbatore. The young stars will be giving each other testing moments at the Kari Motor Speedway from August 16-18, 2013.

At over 1 KM in length, the Kari Motor Speedway is one of the fastest karting tracks in Asia. Being a FIA Grade 4 racing track, the KMS offers many challenges to racers allowing them to display their driving skills in order to prove their metal.

The championship’s 45 drivers in three categories – Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 and above) – are sure to find it challenging and continue to put in impressive performances during the forthcoming weekend. The qualifying and the heat races will be held on Saturday, August 17, and the pre-finals and final races are scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 18, 2013.

Round 2 of the championship witnessed thrilling moments at JK Tyre-MMS Kartainment Track in Hyderabad, where Meco Racing’s Vishnu Prasad showed his class by dominating proceedings in Heat 1 and Heat 2, and winning both the pre-final and final races in the Senior Max category. Vishnu was in lead through-out the Final Race of 25 laps. Round 1 winner Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing) and defending champion Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing), who finished at 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively, advanced after Chittesh Mandody’s (Mohite Racing) kart broke down during the race. Vishnu is leading the championship with 172 points followed by Nayan (170) and his team-mate Ameya (162).

In the Junior Max category, Krishnaraj Mahadik of Mohite Racing, who started from the second position on the grid, won the Final race of the Round 2. Tejasram of Meco Racing, who chased Krishnaraj through-out the race, claimed the 2nd position. The eye-catcher of the race was Abhirath Shetty of Meco Racing who started at 9^th position and overtook six racers to clinch the 3^rd position. The talented lad from Kolhapur Krishnaraj is leading the points table with 166 points, followed by Chennai based Tejas Ram at 163 points and Bangalore boy Akash Gowda in third place with 159 points.

In the Micro Max category, Round 1 winner Pradyumn V Danigond continued his winning spree and won the Round 2 of the 10^th JK Tyre-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship. He led the pack through-out the 15-lap race without giving any chances to 2^nd place finisher Yash Aradhya and Sahishnu Bagamane of Meco Racing who finished third.  While Danigond is at 177 points, Aradhya is not far behind at 171 points followed by Sahishnu at 162 points in the table.

This season two new karting teams have made their debut – Dark Don Racing from Chennai and Bangalore-based India Karting, and both these teams are giving the existing teams – Meco Racing, Rayo Racing and Mohite Racing a run for their money.

Rayo Racing, considered as one of the most competitive teams in the championship has done well with defending Champion Ameya Bafna (Senior Max) steering the pack of aggressive racers like Nayan Chatterjee, Anshuman Chatterjee (both in Senior Max) and Aaroh Ravindra (Junior Max). On the points table, Nayan is just two points behind the championship leader Vishnu Prasad, followed by Ameya and Anshuman on 3^rd and 4^th place respectively.

Meco Racing, one of the largest teams in the championship in terms of the number of drivers is spearheaded by the immensely talented Vishnu Prasad who is leading the points table in the Senior Max class while teammate Akhil Rabindra is at 6^th position with 148 pts. In Junior Max class Meco Racing’s drivers – Tejas Ram, Akash Gowda, Abhirath Shetty and Ananth Shanmugam (placed 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th respectively) are all giving the leader a tough fight. Similarly, in the Micro Max class, the drivers have impressed all with Yash Aradhya, Shishnu Bagmane and Arjun S Nair on 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th positions respectively.

The championship stunners thus far have been Mohite Racing, whose two racers – Krishnaraaj D Mahadik and Pradyumn V Danigund are leading the championship in Junior Max and Micro Max category respectively. The young Pradyumn has shown his outstanding racing skills winning two back-to-back rounds while defending champion Krishnaraj has continued from where he left last year.

Dark Don Racing’s Mira Erda in Junior Max and Rahil Kochhar in Micro Max are challenging top racers in every race. After two rounds, Mira is at 6^th position and Rahil is on 5^th spot on the points-table.

After two rounds, the 2013 championship still open and the competitor are sure to give it their all to win what is the most prestigious grassroots level motorsport championship in the country. The Championship, spread over five rounds is being held at karting tracks in Hyderabad, Coimbatore & Bangalore.

JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of karting in India and has patronized karting circuits across the country. JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced professional karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2-stroke kart engines. It was then that the current championship came into being and is today the most revered karting contest in India. World class racing drivers such as Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel have graduated from this karting championship.

Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Uncategorized

Neha Tripathi – Winner of Leg 7 of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour!

17 08 2013

Neha Tripathi – Winner of Leg 7 of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour!
Brilliant 68 gets Vani Kapoor into 2nd position

Bangalore, 16^th Aug, 2013: Kolkata golfer Neha Tripathi maintained the position from yesterday’s round and emerged as a winner with a fantastic score of 214 at the end of Leg 7 of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2013 which was being played at the Eagleton Golf Resort in Bangalore. Neha played extremely well and carded 4 birdies on hole no. 3.8.12 and 14, bogies being on hole no. 7 and 15. She was already on top of the Hero order of merit and this win has increased her lead in the prize money by 1 lakh seventy thousand!

An elated Neha Tripathi said, “It feels good to have won 3^rd time in a row and I am feeling satisfied after playing under par at Eagleton. If the putting is good, it shows well in your scores too. The course seemed easier than before as the sky was clear and there was no wind, else it effects the speed. And now that I am leading the order of merit also by slightly higher prize money – it’s a very good feeling overall!”

Pro golfer Vani Kapoor finished as runner up with Ankita Kedlaya (AM), with a score of 217 and 218 respectively. Vani carded 7 birdies, displayed good golf by scoring 4 under in the final round, which also turned out to be the best round in the 54 strokeplay championship. She carded birdies on holes 2,3,8,13,16,17 and 18 with only 2 bogies on hole 7 and 9. Tied in at 3^rd position were Ankita Tiwana and Rani Sonti with a total of 222. Rookie Pro golfer Shweta Galande was at 5^th position with a score of 223 carding 2 birdies and 3 bogies in today’s play.

The next leg, Leg 8 will be played from 20^th 23^rd August at KGA Bangalore.

Neha Tripathi                       - 214

Vani Kapoor                         - 217

Ankita Kedlaya (AM)             – 218

Ankita Tiwana & Rani Sonti – 222

Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Uncategorized

NATIONAL WORKSHOP on Rethinking Economic Policies

17 08 2013

NATIONAL WORKSHOP on

Rethinking Economic Policies to Ensure Income Security in Agriculture

September 5^th, 6^th, 2013

Venue: India International Centre, New Delhi

Organized by

Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture – ASHA

(A national network of farmer groups, organizations and individuals working for the well-being of Indian agriculture and farming communities) &

Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)

Edit : Edit
Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Business, culture, Education, Uncategorized

Hey guys — Because of you, Washington accomplished something big.

17 08 2013
Hey guys –
Because of you, Washington accomplished something big.

After rates on new student loans doubled on July 1st, a group of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came together to help solve the problem. The compromise keeps rates low for students, guaranteeing that borrowers can lock in low rates currently available, and capping rate increases in the future.

Last Friday, President Obama signed that bill into law.
And we have you to thank for it. It happened because you raised your voices, and Washington saw how much you cared about this issue.

Now, the typical undergraduate will save about $1,500 on new loans this year. And that’s incredibly important for the sophomore waiting tables to pay tuition, or the senior working in her college library to help make ends meet.

So when President Obama signed the bill last week, there were students on hand to talk about what this meant for them. It’s a powerful thing to watch.

Check out this video of students telling their stories, then share it so that others know how important this issue is, too.

This was your victory. You took to Facebook and Twitter, you told your friends, and you made your voice so loud and clear that you couldn’t be ignored. You got it done.

But even with this success, we need to make sure more Americans have access to higher education — that young Americans are preparing for the kinds of jobs we need in a 21st century economy, and aren’t saddled with mountains of debt while they do it.

A college education is so critical for success — a lesson I learned from my parents, who worked hard every day to make sure I had the opportunity to excel. It’s a lesson that rang true for me as ever when I watched these young students tell their stories.

I hope you’ll take a minute to watch, too:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/big-win-for-students

Thanks!

Cecilia

Cecilia Muñoz
Director, Domestic Policy Council
The White House
@Cecilia44