New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS): A skill-development programme to empower thousands of youth in Maoist affected areas of the country has been launched in Bihar and Jharkhand.
The year-long programme, launched in a phased manner by NGO Prayas Sunday, would enable 2,000 youths to pursue courses like hospitality, computer applications and retail management.
It will soon be extended to other Maoist affected states of the country, an official said.
"Around 2,000 youngsters above the age of 16 are undergoing skill-development education in three districts of Bihar and two districts of Jharkhand affected by Maoists," Amod Kanth, general secretary of Prayas, told IANS.
Kanth said the participants could choose from five courses - hospitality, retail management, automobile engineering, computer networking and software and computer hardware.
"This is the first batch of students getting trained. From the next year, we will increase the number of students as well as states," said Kanth, adding that the NGO would also help the students to get jobs.
"We have a placement cell which is in talks with several corporate firms. We will not only get all the students employed but also track them for an year to make sure that they adjust to the working environment," he said.
The programme is being supported by United Arab Emirates-based entrepreneur A.M. Shroff.
Prayas operates in eight states helping people to become self-dependent.