Indus Valley Times

By Tapaswini Sahoo

Bhubaneswar/Odisha, Oct 11 : ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) commenced new training batches across its Digital Skill Centres in Paradeep, Keonjhar and Barbil under its flagship CSR initiative, Project ‘Daksh’. Set up in collaboration with the NASSCOM Foundation, the Digital Skill Centres aim to bridge the skill gap by equipping local youth with critical digital literacy and vocational competencies.

The centres aim to equip local youth with critical digital skills for Business Process Management (BPM) roles, such as Data Entry Operator and Domestic IT Helpdesk Attendant, enhancing their employability and opening doors to promising career opportunities across the region. Over the course of 200 to 225 hours, participants will receive training in domain-specific and soft skills, along with exposure to real-world work environments and industry mentorship. The initiative also promotes gender inclusiveness, with 60% of the enrolled candidates being women. Annually, the project will benefit 600 youth across all locations in Odisha.

As part of the commencement of the new training batches, events were organised at all three locations in the presence of community representatives, AM/NS India officials and representatives from the NASSCOM Foundation.

In Paradeep, an event marking the commencement of the new training batch at Pipal village under Bhutamundai Gram Panchayat was attended by Shri Bhawesh Jha, Plant Head, Paradeep Pellet Plant, AM/NS India, Shri Debendra Rout, Sarpanch, Nuagarh, Shri Rohit Jena, Sarpanch, Bhutamundai, and Shri Sanjay Behera, Senior Advocate and representative of the Sarpanch, Paradeepgarh, along with other community representatives and AM/NS India officials.

Similarly, in Keonjhar, an event marking the commencement of the new training batch witnessed the presence of AM/NS India officials, including Shri Jaiwardhan Paroha, Head, Dabuna Beneficiation Plant, and Shri Ajit Singh, Head, Tailing Storage Facility, along with trainees and community members.In Barbil, AM/NS India officials, including Shri Indrakant Saha, Mines Manager, Thakurani, Shri Uday Verma, Head, Security, and Shri Pramod Kumar Acharya, Welfare Officer, Thakurani Mines, attended the event marking the commencement of the new training batch.Shri Tilak Dwivedi, Project Manager, NASSCOM Foundation, also participated in the events across all three centres.

Through Project Daksh, AM/NS India is enhancing employability and livelihood opportunities for local youth through industry-relevant skill development and employment linkages. Across its operating locations in Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, the programme aims to train 1,600 youth from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) annually, with a target of achieving 70% post-training placement. AM/NS India currently operates eight Digital Skill Centres across India and has trained over 4,000 educated and unemployed youth from its operational areas to date, of whom 2,652 have secured employment opportunities. The initiative continues to build a future-ready workforce while contributing to sustainable community development.