Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : India and Japan signed the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) on October 17, 2017, during the visit of Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan to Tokyo.
The MoC was signed by Dharmendra Pradhan on behalf of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, and Katsunobu Kato, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan at the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare at Tokyo, Japan. The MoC on TITP is expected to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation between India and Japan in the field of skill development. India is the third country with which Japan has signed the MoC as per the requirements of the Technical Intern Training Act scheduled to come into force in November 2017, according to a PIB release.
The MoC on TITP paves the way for sending Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years. As per Government of Japan’s data for end-2016, approximately 2,30,000 technical intern trainees from different countries are on training in Japan. In 2016, about 1,08,709 technical interns entered Japan from various partner countries such as Vietnam, China and Indonesia that account for large numbers.
According to Ambassador of India to Japan, Sujan R. Chinoy, there is scope for India to enhance its participation in Japan’s Technical Intern Training Programme, thereby contributing to PM Narendra Modi’s vision of India as the largest provider of skilled workforce for the world, according to the PIB release.
During the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016, India and Japan had concluded an MoC on skill development under the “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme” through the establishment of Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIM) and the Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in engineering colleges designated by Japanese companies in India.
The Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme aims to train 30,000 persons over next 10 years with Japanese style manufacturing skills and practices. The first four JIMs were established in the States of Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in July-August 2017 by Suzuki, Toyota, Daikin and Yamaha. The first Japanese Endowed Course (JEC) was established in NBKR Institute of Science & Technology, Andhra Pradesh, by Meidensha Co. in September 2017, according to the release.