Ministry of New Renewable Energy allots 220 CR to Skill 50000 'Surya Mitras'

Launch of the Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs Skilling people as ‘Surya Mitras’ to create a cadre to meet the energy demands of the future, taking India from Megawatt to Gigawatt.

As renewable energy gains ground in India, propelled by efforts of the Government and industry, the renewable energy sector is estimated to generate two million green jobs in the next decade. There is an urgent need to create a pool of appropriately trained manpower which could accelerate India’s efforts to go green. Mr Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of New Renewable Energy allots Rs 220 Cr to Skill 50,000 ‘Surya Mitras’. 

To help bridge this gap in trained manpower, a Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs (SSCGJ) was launched by Mr Upendra Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of New Renewable Energy, Government of India, in New Delhi today in presence of Mr Pawan Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Mr Sumant Sinha, Chairman, CII National Committee for Renewable Energy and Mr Atul Bhatnagar, COO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

The SSCGJ being set up by CII, in partnership with the Ministry of New Renewable Energy, under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and the National Skill Development Council. Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs (SSCGJ) will draw up job roles, train 1500 Trainers, accredit 60 training organizations in the sector and certify 10.60 lacs students in the first year of its operations. Over the next decade, the Council will work towards creating a comprehensive skill development plan to be executed in phases spread over 10 years each.

Mr N B Raju, Director, National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) stated that curriculum and standards of training will be designed keeping in mind Industry needs. The target for India is pegged at 100 GW for the future. The skilled workforce created will not only address the local needs of India but also meet the demands of regions abroad such as Africa and Gulf Nations. He further added that NISE is also launching a GPS backed mobile application to provide solar services within the next 3 months.

Mr Pawan Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship stated that Sector Skill Council for Green Jobs (SSCGJ) was the first Sector Skill Council that will cut across horizontally and work with several other Sector Skill Councils. He also congratulated CII and MNRE to help create this SSC keeping in mind the growing demand for clean energy in India. He also added that the creation of SSCGJ has happened at an opportune time as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) scheme is being launched with an outlay of Rs 1500 Cr to skill and certify workforce throughout India.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Sumant Sinha, Chairman, CII National Committee for Renewable Energy and Founder-Chairman & CEO, ReNew Power Ventures Ltd, said that faced with the twin concerns of energy security and climate change, the Government is committed to mainstreaming renewable energy in India’s fuel mix. He added that while the Government is providing the policy levers, the multi-fold scaling up of renewable generation capacity requires commensurate development of appropriately skilled personnel to conceive, plan and build these facilities. The new Sector Sill Council should help produce appropriately skilled people.

As industry realizes the criticality of skill development, Sector Skill Councils become increasingly important to provide manpower that meets the needs of industry. They complement the efforts of vocational training institutes in creating a workforce that is employable, and will raise the productivity levels. This assumes great significance given the thrust of the Government on manufacturing, and the launch of the ‘Make in India’ campaign.