Bhubaneswar, 28/06/2018: Pitching for creating a conducive environment that enables creativity and innovation in the skill development landscape, NALCO CMD Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, said, ‘’Contemporary time is not the age of Capital, it is the age of Ideas.’’

Speaking at the International Seminar on ‘Skilling India : Need for Redefining Commerce Education in India’ organized by Utkal University, which was attended by large number of delegates from different parts of the country, including from abroad, Dr Chand said the consumption of Steel and Aluminium are expected to grow three-fold by 2030 and skilled manpower will be highly valued. To drive across his point, Dr, Chand said, ‘’The pattern of employment is undergoing a drastic change. The skill sets need to be realigned to meet the demands of the industries and cutting edge technology will provide the competitive edge.’’

Stressing on the importance of generating employment, Dr. Chand said, ‘’As Aluminium sector is expected to grow substantially, NALCO is geared up for the next wave of expansion. More than 1100 people will be recruited by NALCO in the near future and we will shortlist the candidates from UPSC screened list. We will not take written test for these candidates since they have already been screened by UPSC.’’ Appraising the gathering about NALCO’s roadmap, Dr. Chand added, ‘’Out of Rs 28000 crores that is planned to be pumped in for expansion, NALCO has already committed around Rs 8000 crores for expansion of various mega projects which will help generate employment.’’

Dr. Chand praised the contribution of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for their role in creating employment opportunities for nearly 15 lakh people in Odisha, but opined the MSMEs were limited by their ability to leverage purchasing power parity and lack of brand recognition. To address these issues, Dr. Chand said, ‘’As a responsible Mother Plant in Odisha, we are ready to offer cashless model to help the MSME players and lend NALCO’s credible brand name for their sustainability. All of us must come together to foster entrepreneurship of small and medium enterprises. There is huge scope as India is poised to be the 3 rd largest economy, leading to huge increase in the GDP.’’

Dr. K.C. Panigrahi, CGM, NABARD, Prof. R.S. Pradhan, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, Prof. S.M. Patnaik, VC, Utkal University were notably present.