Rajasthan : Land of Opportunities

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against the vast backdrop of sand and desert. It has an unusual diversity in its entire forms- people, customs, culture, costumes, music, manners, dialects, cuisine and . The history of the land has a saga and tale; every roadside village has its own of and sacrifice, the winds singing them and the sands shift to spread them. The panoramic outlook of the state is simply mesmerizing; with lofty hills of - one of the oldest mountain ranges of the world and the golden sand dunes of the Great Indian Desert- the only desert of the sub-continent.

Entrepreneurial spirit of people of Rajasthan especially from the region has a proven track record at national and global level.Despite vast reserves of natural resources such as land, mines, minerals and sunlight, the growth prospects of the state have been hampered by lack of infrastructure and suitable programmes for tapping the rich skill base in the state.In recent months, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Government and people of Rajasthan, has undertaken many projects to unleash the reservoir of skill, entrepreneurship and business acumen of the people of Rajasthan.These efforts can be summarized as institutional development, skill up-gradation and creating the demarcated eco-systems of industrial and investment development.

Keeping that in mind the Commerce and Industry Ministry has started work on a Rs. 100 project for a Footwear Designing and Development Institute (FDDI) at Jodhpur, encompassing a 15 acrecampus entailing the training capacity of 1000 students.Rajasthan has a traditional advantage in leather industry because of strong historical background, availability of leather due to high livestock population and rich tradition of craftsmanship in the areas. There is a high demand for the courses offered by FDDI because of high employability in the fields of fashion merchandizing, retail management, footwear technology and leather goods and accessories designing.Other campuses of FDDI have been maintaining 100% placement record; therefore, it will give a boost to the employment along with making Rajasthan hub of leather industry in the country.Laying the foundation stones of the Campus recently, Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry said that, “The establishment of the Institute will give the talented youths of Rajasthan one more avenue of up grading their skills and compete with strength in the job marketâ€