MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurates Manthan 2023 Exhibition

Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 2 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday inaugurated the ‘Manthan 2023 – North Eastern Region Skill & Entrepreneurship Conclave’ in Guwahati.

The Union Minister also inaugurated an Exhibition organized as part of Manthan 2023 and more than 80 exhibitors are participating in the three-day exhibition.

Khyochano, an entrepreneur of Nagaland’s Dimapur told ANI that, the government has taken up various initiatives for the entrepreneurs and skill development and they are getting lots of benefits from it.

“We are very happy that the government is helping us. We are thankful to the Modi government for giving us this type of platform where we can showcase our produced products. We have made bamboo products, handicrafts, and handloom products and also exporting our products to Italy, and Germany. We have seven groups and each group consists of 30-40 members and we are working in different fields. We are also thankful to the Prime Minister for giving us this opportunity,” Khyochano said.

Bhupen Bharali, another entrepreneur from the Lakhimpur district of Assam who also participated in the exhibition said that our cooperative society received a scheme from the government and we highly benefited from this.

“At present 400 people are working in our society and we have made different silk dresses including Muga silk dress, Mekhela-Chador etc.,” Bhupen Bharali said.

Many entrepreneurs, women’s help Groups, and Cooperative societies have participated in the three-day-long exhibition.

Puja Hujari, another entrepreneur who runs a company that makes different products by using Pani-Meteka or Water Hyacinth told ANI that, they are giving training to the village women and skilling them and making the products by using Water Hyacinth.

“Give more employment to the rural women and skill them – this is our main aim. We are also getting support from the government. We want to bring our products to a global level and sell our products in Dubai and Canada. The government and IIE have organized the Manthan conclave and it is a very good initiative where we are showcasing our products. We are also working on women’s empowerment. At present more than 300 women from 7-8 districts are engaged with us and we are planning to cover entire the state,” Puja Hujari said.

The Conclave unveiled a strategic partnership of IIE Guwahati and IIT Guwahati, launching 3 residential training programs starting from September 1 these programs offer training in vital job roles like an electrical technician, EV technician, and solar panel installation technician, all conducted at the esteemed IIT Guwahati campus. This initiative underscores MSDE’s commitment to shaping an inclusive and skilled workforce for a brighter future.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that, over the past 9 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the narrative of North East and he has sowed seeds of entrepreneurship, and investments and created jobs with modern infrastructure.

“The mission of Naya Bharat, Naye Skills, Naye Avsar and Naye Rozgar in North East will be accomplished by skilled young Indians. Skilling programmes or North East will be based on the aspirations of young Indians in the region. By creating a tremendous amount of job opportunities, it will foster a more prosperous economy. It will also benefit the self-help groups and FPOs by connecting them to wider markets through e-commerce,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and other officials were also present in the programme.