On February 2, 2020, the Vice President of India, the honorable Shri Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the Deshpande Skilling center, one of the largest in India. Speaking at the occasion he said that while over half of India’s population consists of youth, it is both an opportunity and a challenge. Most youth lack the skills to get jobs and there is an urgent need to change formal education by giving greater emphasis on skilling. Both schooling and skilling are critical in education.
The formal inauguration of the Deshpande Skilling center was the culmination of the annual Development Dialogue weekend which included a daylong conference focusing on Agriculture, Micro-entrepreneurship and Skill Development; the annual Startup Dialogue that brought together over 450 entrepreneurs to focus on the opportunities for startups in rural India and smaller metros; and the LEAD Yuva Summit, a gathering of over 1000 student leaders from five states.
One of the highlights of the weekend was a passionate Evening with the Legends where the audience heard from luminaries such as Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Arrin Capital and Manipal Global Education; and Ajai Chowdhry, Founder of HCL.
