A concerted effort towards skill development of the population with an amalgam of citizens’ as well as government initiatives to make India a global workforce has been stressed by National Skill Development Agency (NSDA). “In the current scenario only seven per cent of India’s working population is organised, only 2.4 lakh apprentices find their way into industry and only 25 per cent of engineers are employable,” said NSDA chairman, S. Ramdorai. The NSDA is constituted to coordinate and harmonise skill development efforts of the central and state governments and public, private sector industries. “The agency is also exploring how the rural broadband that connects 2,50,000 panchayats across the country can be leveraged for skilling people in the remotest parts of the country,” he said. He added that many countries believe in “on-job training”, offering internships and apprenticeships to students. This practice can be started in cities like Pune, which is an educational hub and houses a large number of small-scale industries.
*** Court sets aside lifer for 4 Aamir Khan Mumbai, Sept. 28
Stating that the testimony of the eyewitness was not one it could “implicitly rely” on, the HC quashed a sessions court order sentencing four people to life imprisonment for killing a journalist. A division bench of Justice P.V. Hardas and P.N. Deshmukh was hearing the appeal of Kumar Jaisinghani and three others, awarded life sentence in 2004. According to the prosecution, on September 12, 2001, Paresh and his friend Raju, both reporters, were travelling in an autorickshaw. Since the driver didn’t have change, Paresh had gone to a nearby shop. After paying him, Paresh went to where Raju had said he’d be standing. According to Paresh’s statement, Jaisinghani had thrown a stone slab on Raju’s head. The court ruled, “Since the appellants (accused) are in jail, they be released forthwith.”
