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Vaishnaw Urges Industry to Back Skilling for Viksit Bharat

2025-05-26

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, has called for coordinated action to strengthen India’s talent base in support of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at a roundtable with leaders from industry and academia, the Minister stressed the urgency of building a future-ready workforce to accelerate India's growth in high-tech manufacturing.

The discussion focused on scaling talent and capacity for sustainable, technology-driven manufacturing. Shri Vaishnaw applauded the emergence of a new sector—Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology (MET)—being pioneered by the New Age Makers Institute of Technology (NAMTECH). The initiative aims to bridge India’s talent gap in Industry 4.0 and future technologies, nurturing skilled professionals and leaders for tomorrow’s industrial landscape.

Supported by flagship initiatives like Digital India, Skill India, the National Manufacturing Mission and various Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, NAMTECH aligns with national ambitions to position India as a global manufacturing and innovation hub. The Government has already launched missions in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, mobility, and hydrogen—all underpinning this vision of advanced technology adoption.

Efforts are complemented by the National Education Policy 2020, which integrates digital and vocational training into mainstream education, and skilling platforms like the Skill India Digital Hub, Chip to Startup, and the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).

Welcoming representatives from MIT, Shri Vaishnaw described it as one of the world’s finest technical institutions, and underscored the critical role of industry players—such as Suzuki, Siemens, ABB, and Inox—in ensuring that NAMTECH is outcome-driven and impactful. He referenced the Gati Shakti platform as a success story of industry-academia collaboration, where firms contributed expertise to design job-ready curricula at no financial cost.

NAMTECH aims to equip talent across all tiers—from shopfloor technicians to researchers—supported by government backing and MIT mentorship. The Minister encouraged stakeholders to seize this moment to help create a transformative skilling ecosystem.

The MET platform is expected to act as a knowledge-sharing and infrastructure development hub aligned with India’s broader technology and manufacturing goals. MeitY will continue supporting such initiatives to close critical skill gaps and expand access to next-generation learning.

The event also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NAMTECH and Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), Vadodara, in the presence of GSV Vice Chancellor Prof Manoj Choudhary. The partnership aims to foster joint efforts in smart manufacturing, transport systems, logistics innovation, and industry-aligned skilling.

NAMTECH has also signed MoUs with Siemens India, Analog Devices Inc., and Applied Materials Inc. to establish laboratories, training centres, scholarships, and skill infrastructure across key sectors such as semiconductors, robotics, and smart manufacturing. Industry leaders and academic institutions present reaffirmed their commitment to driving forward the Prime Minister’s vision for a developed India by 2047.