NITI Aayog report suggests adoption of Turkiye's program to address skill gaps in India
New Delhi (PTI): A NITI Aayog report on Monday mentioned Turkiye as one of the nations from which India can adopt global best practices for addressing skill gaps in the country’s medium enterprises.
The report titled 'Designing a Policy for Medium Enterprises' listed programmes of Turkiye in addition to Canada, Singapore and Australia for encouraging medium enterprises.
The report said Turkiye's "KOSGEB provides distance training on entrepreneurship; an effective, easy and flexible entrepreneurship training without time and space constraints by E- Akademi Programme … Entrepreneurship Support Programme, with preferential treatment for women, youth and handicapped entrepreneurs."
Also, observing that Turkiye’s e-Academy is an online training platform providing subsidised courses, enhancing accessibility for SMEs across regions, the report said, "online training programs can be offered at a subsidized rate, and free of cost for marginalized groups (as provided in Turkiye’s e-Academy)."
Turkiye is facing backlash in India for its support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which was launched by the country to destroy terror infrastructure following the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people including tourists, were killed.
India's aviation security regulator BCAS earlier this month revoked the security clearance of Turkish firm Celebi Airport Services India on grounds related to national security with immediate effect.
The NITI report said for medium enterprises to succeed in a globalized market, there is a clear need for a tailored, data-driven approach to skill development that can align with industry needs and ensure a competitive, skilled workforce.
To address challenges faced by medium enterprises, it recommended the introduction of a working capital financing scheme linked to enterprise turnover, a Rs 5 crore credit card facility at market rates and expedited fund disbursal mechanisms through retail banks, overseen by the Ministry of MSME.
The report also suggested the upgradation of existing technology centres into sector-specific and regionally customised India SME 4.0 Competence Centers to promote the adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions.
The Aayog also recommended the establishment of a dedicated R&D cell within the Ministry of MSME, leveraging the Self-Reliant India Fund for cluster-based projects of national significance.
The MSME sector contributes approximately 29 per cent to India's GDP, accounts for 40 per cent of exports, and employs over 60 per cent of the workforce.
Despite its critical role, the composition of the sector is disproportionately weighted -- 97 per cent of registered MSMEs are micro-enterprises, 2.7 per cent are small, and only 0.3 per cent are medium enterprises.
Medium enterprises, though only 0.3 per cent of MSMEs, contribute 40 per cent of MSME exports, showcasing immense untapped potential.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
