Uttarakhand govt signs key agreements to boost skill development and digital education

In a significant push towards technological advancement and social development, the Uttarakhand government signed three major agreements at the Secretariat on Wednesday in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

The first agreement was signed between the Uttarakhand government, the Setu Commission, and Tata Trust, focusing on long-term collaboration to promote social and economic development in the state.

As part of the 10-year agreement, the partnership will work on critical areas such as water management, nutrition, telemedicine, rural livelihood, and green energy.

The second agreement, a tripartite MoU between the Setu Commission, the Higher and Technical Education Departments, and the NASSCOM/IT-ITES Sector Skill Council, aims to make Uttarakhand a leading skill hub in the field of technology.

Under the initiative, courses aligned with modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cyber Security, and Python will be introduced in all government and private higher education institutions. A model college in every district will be developed as a 'Mentor Institute'. The program is expected to benefit approximately 1.5 lakh students via the Future Skills Prime platform.

The third agreement was signed between the Setu Commission, the Higher Education Department, and the Wadhwani Foundation. The three-year agreement focuses on emerging technologies and employment-oriented personality development. From the upcoming academic session, government higher education institutions will offer AI-based courses aimed at enhancing personality development and self-employment skills. This initiative is expected to benefit around 1.2 lakh students.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami praised the efforts and said, “The agreements signed today for social development, making the state a centre of digital talent and starting modern courses of AI-based personality development will be extremely useful for the people of the state.”

He further stated, “To make Uttarakhand the country's leading state in every field, the state government is working on schemes keeping in mind the people at the end of the society. Many new initiatives are being taken by bringing people from every sector and class together for the overall development of the state.”

Highlighting the significance of these collaborations, the Chief Minister added that these agreements are important steps toward preparing modern, skilled human resources and establishing Uttarakhand as a hub of artificial intelligence and cyber security.

He extended his gratitude to Tata Trust, NASSCOM, and the Wadhwani Foundation for their commitment to partnering with the state in this transformative journey.