India’s union cabinet April 20 approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Wadhwani Foundation, and India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and National Skill Development Corporation.
The MoU conceives a partnership to build skill development in the country.
According to a Wadhwani Foundation statement, it will work on “program management and specific projects in identified areas of collaboration to catalyze the government of India’s broad policies on skill and entrepreneurship development.”
The three-year pact, to be carried out nationwide, will be executed through online multimedia technologies, as well as government, academia and industry partnerships, “fostering an ecosystem of mentors and investors, supporting policies for both entrepreneurship and skilling,” it added.
Specifically, the MoU by the Silicon Valley-based foundation, founded by Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist Romesh Wadhwani, will focus on initiatives relating to program, institute and curriculum design and development, among other responsibilities.
A joint National Project Implementation Committee will be set up by the three organizations to see that the work is progressing.
The government of India said in a statement that, over the span of three years, the foundation would contribute roughly $30 million to $40 million to promote mutually-agreed skill and entrepreneurship development initiatives.
The ultimate goal of the partnership is to create and fulfill 25 million organized sector jobs by 2020. If achieved, the foundation said it will “go a long way in meeting the overarching objective of combining job growth with economic growth.”
