Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday dedicated the permanent campus of Skill Development Institute (SDI) at Bhubaneswar to the nation.
The Chief Minister virtually inaugurated the campus in the presence of Union Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State for Petroleum Rameswar Teli.
On this occasion, Bhumi Pujan of the permanent campus of ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology)-IOC (IndianOil) Bhubaneswar was done. IndianOil has contributed Rs 95 crore in nurturing this institute that is offering multiple courses, including MTech, Executive MTech, Integrated M Tech, and PhD. The Government of Odisha has allotted 111.79 acres of land at Delang Tahsil.
Speaking on occasion, Mr.Patnaik, said, “I hope this institute will excel and provide training and placement support to the youth of Odisha. I am also delighted to note that the construction of ICT-IOC’s new permanent campus is going to begin on the land provided by the State Government of Odisha.”
The institute is known for its brilliant academic record and is expected to provide higher-order technical education and research facilities in chemical technologies and the allied sector, he said.
Odisha has seen phenomenal growth in the industrial sector in recent years. A progressive and conducive business environment and forward-looking administration have helped the State to attract more investment, Patnaik said.
“The State Government has been focused on promoting skill development while adhering to global standards to facilitate industrial growth. And, our efforts to make our children globally employable will soon be a reality. I hope the SDI and ICT-IOCs will add value to the industrial ecosystem in Odisha,” the CM added.
Elaborating on the Government of India’s focus on skilling the Indian youth, Pradhan said skill development of the new generation is a national need and the foundation of Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Skill Development Institute is one such unique example of leveraging the CSR partnership by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, wherein all PSUs in the Oil & Gas Sector i.e. IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, HPCL, BPCL, OIL, EIL and Balmer Lawrie as part of the Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council have joined hands for setting up 6 state-of-the-art Skill Development Institutes (SDIs) to cater to the need for skilled manpower in the Hydrocarbon sector at Bhubaneswar, Vizag, Kochi, Rae Bareli, Ahmedabad and Guwahati.
Mr.Pradhan thanked to Chief Minister for allotting 60 acres of land for the permanent campus of the Skill Development Institute.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri remarked, “To increase efficacy, it is imperative that our youth is exposed to the latest technologies and are given a conducive environment to innovate. We must also provide them with opportunities to explore the unexplored by leveraging their talent, zeal and hard work.”
Chairman IndianOil, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya commented, “Skill India Mission is leveraging India’s rich demographic dividend. Driving that mission forward, the Energy PSUs of India, under the guidance of the Petroleum Ministry, have undertaken major endeavours to strengthen the skilling infrastructure in the country. IndianOil is proud to have been given the opportunity to steer this Mega Model Skill Academy of International standards”.
IndianOil has contributed Rs 255 crore for setting up this institute and planned a further investment of additional Rs 80 crore. The permanent campus of SDI, located at Jatni Tahsil of Khurda district, has been built over an area of 16 acres allotted by the Government of Odisha, and the foundation stone of this campus was laid by the President of India Ramnath Kovind on 18th March 2018.
This Institute envisages world-class industry-based skill training using state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology to create an industry-ready talent pool.
Over the next ten years, SDIB aims to strengthen the Government of India’s Skill India and Purvodaya mission by training more than 50,000 trainees in multidisciplinary courses through its new campus.