SKILL BOOST: IIT Palakkad Empowers Minority Youth

The Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad has taken a bold step toward inclusive tech education by habanero online casino signing a Memorandum of Understanding under the PM VIKAS scheme aimed at developing technical skills among minority communities.

Launched in a campus ceremony attended by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian, Ministry Secretary Chandra Shekhar Kumar, and IIT-Palakkad Director A. Seshadri Sekhar, the initiative will offer three specialized training courses: Junior Chip Designer, Embedded Software Engineer, and Junior Drone Engineer. The program intends to train roughly 400 youth from minority backgrounds in the upcoming sessions, providing them with hands-on skills that align with emerging technology sectors.

According to George Kurian, these courses will bridge opportunity gaps by equipping trainees to thrive in domains like semiconductors and drone systems, while also encouraging entrepreneurship under the “Brand India” vision. He emphasized that the PM VIKAS initiative—fully funded by the central government—is designed to uplift minority youth through education and employability.

This development arrives at a critical moment: India’s push for technological self-reliance demands that marginalized communities are not left behind. The choice of domains in the training program reflects national priorities—drones, embedded systems, and chip design are pivotal areas as India seeks a stronger position in global tech manufacturing. IIT Palakkad’s role as the third institution to partner under PM VIKAS demonstrates growing institutional buy-in.

Challenges ahead include ensuring high-quality curriculum delivery, infrastructure support, placement linkage, and sustained funding. But if executed well, this scheme could serve as a model of how elite institutions can play a role in inclusive development—and how technology education can become a lever for social mobility.