World Telangana meet concludes

DETROIT: The State government is planning to set up Skill Development University to tap the latent talent of the unorganised sector, according to Vice Chairman of Telangana Planning Board, Dr S Niranjan Reddy.

In an exclusive interview on Monday with The Hans India, Dr Niranjan Reddy, who is here to attend the World Telangana Convention, said the problems of the unorganised sectors like agricultural labour, construction labour etc that constitute a major work force in the State remained unaddressed.

Dr Reddy said the board had identified a number of skills in the unorganised sector which needed special training to sharpen the skills. He said the proposed university would conduct long-term and short-term courses for the skilled and semi-skilled labour which would enhance their employment opportunities.

At the moment, there were trainings in a few areas like fitters, turners being provided by industrial training institutes. Moreover, these courses were outdated as the technology had improved by leaps and bounds, he added.

He said Telangana would be the first State in the country to start such university which was in tune with the Centre's focus on skill development programme in many areas. The detailed proposal for setting up the university and suitable location were being worked out and submitted shortly to the Chief Minister who is the brain behind this concept, he said.

In the meantime, the three-day American Telangana convention concluded here on Sunday with half-day-long Yadadri puja. Lakshimnarasimha Swamy kalayna utsavam was performed in which more than 1200 couples participated. A team of priests and officials from Yadadri temple along with utsav idols and paraphernalia arrived here yesterday.

Mr Vinod Kuknoor, co-convenor of the ATA conference told The Hans India that the first World Telangana Convention was a grand success in which more than 7,000 Telanganites from all over the US participated.

By Prof Sunkari Ram Murthy