Madhya Pradesh inaugurates a dedicated Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Madhya Pradesh

The Entrepreneurship Development Centre ofin Madhya Pradesh, under the State Skill Development Mission (MPSSDM), Department of Technical Education and Skill Development, was recently inaugurated in the presence of Deepak Joshi, Minister of State for Technical Education & Skill Development.    Madhya Pradesh is one of the first states to have established a dedicated Entrepreneurship Development Centre for youth who have acquired skill training under various skilling initiatives of the state. The Centre has been established using a hub and spoke model, with EDC being at the centre and the network of Training and Entrepreneurship Officers (TEOs) providing the last mile support at the division and district level.   As Sanjeev Singh (IAS), Director, Directorate of Skill Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, shared, the centre has been set up under the technical assistance provided by the Government of United Kingdom, under their Skills for Jobs Programme. According to him, under the new National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship has emerged as one of the national priorities. Madhya Pradesh, through this centre, aims at establishing the infrastructure and capacity to support entrepreneurship development among youth.   Deepak Joshi, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Department of Technical Education & Skill Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, who was present on the occassion, highlighted that the state in the last two years has taken up skill development in a mission mode. He also reportedly shared that the state will be training 7.5 lakh youth annually, of which a large proportion will be supported by this centre in entrepreneurship domain. According to him, the centre should focus its efforts in prioritising support to first generation entrepreneurs from the marginalised and economically weaker sections of the society. As reported, he also emphasised that this was an important step towards realising the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s dream of transforming Madhya Pradesh into a state where youth aspires to become a job provider rather than a job seeker.   The first batch of ED Centre begins in February 2017.