National Cooperative Union of India recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) on 15th September, 2021 with an objective for enabling both parties to identify mutual collaboration opportunities.
The MoU aims at creating sustained development of entrepreneurial skills and education aimed at enhancement of self-employment opportunities. Dr Sudhir Mahajan, IAS (Retd), CE, NCUI and DG of NIESBUD Ms Neelam Shami Rao, IAS signed the MOU.
India has more than eight lakh cooperatives in the country. In order to professionalize their functioning, there exists a need to create a technical workforce, said NCUI Chief Executive while talking to Indian Cooperative.
The goal of the MoU is to cater to the needs of cooperative organizations in the country and through this simultaneously solve problems of employment and income generation for youth, women and weaker communities, Mahajan underlined.
Mahajan also felt that to attain this objective, NCUI should enter into MoUs with different skill and entrepreneurship institutes so as to organize collaborative programs for the beneficiaries. The MoU signed between NCUI and NIESBUD is a step in this direction, he added.
Some of the major areas of collaboration according to the MoU signed between NCUI and NIESBUD are to plan and develop the curriculums of different courses for capacity building and vocational training programs in different areas; cluster development; workshops and incubation support through industries as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); promoting entrepreneurial activities amongst stakeholders of skill ecosystems and promoting self-employment opportunities for trainees.
The methodology of training will be imparted through classroom lectures, workshops, study visits and laboratory-based practical studies supported by different audio-visual aids, stated the CE.
The faculty which will disseminate this training will be exchanged between NCUI and NIESBUD and they will also prepare and exchange Course design, materials and software, said the CE. The organizations will also utilize infrastructure mutually for incubation of practical knowledge of trainees, he added.