New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) Aiming to enhance employability and facilitate placement opportunities for 600 minority youth from Bihar by providing technology-driven solutions, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has signed an MoU with IIT, Patna, under the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme, an official said.​

Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), IIT Patna will train minority youth in emerging, high-demand roles such as AI technocrat and business analytics executive.​

The training programme is designed to equip participants with industry-relevant skills aligned with evolving market needs, the statement said.​

The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Neha Giri, Director, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Professor T. N. Singh, Director, IIT Patna, and senior officials from both institutions.​

The initiative aims to enhance employability and facilitate placement opportunities for minority youth by providing technology-driven, modern skilling interventions, said the statement.​

It reinforces the core objective of the PM VIKAS Scheme to bridge the skill gap and enable sustainable livelihood opportunities through contemporary training frameworks.​

By partnering with a premier institution like IIT Patna, the Ministry seeks to ensure quality training, industry exposure, and improved career outcomes for beneficiaries, thereby contributing to inclusive growth and empowerment, it said.​

The collaboration builds on the Ministry’s continued efforts under the PM VIKAS Scheme. Last week, the Ministry of Minority Affairs also signed MoUs with the Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad; National Institute of Technology, Manipur; CSIR–Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur; and Arunachal Pradesh Forest Corporation Ltd., further expanding its network of premier institutions for delivering high-quality, industry-oriented skill development programmes.​

The Ministry of Minority Affairs is implementing Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS), which is a Central Sector Scheme, focusing on socio-economic empowerment of six notified minority communities through the following: Skilling and Training (Non-traditional and traditional); Women Leadership and Entrepreneurship; Education (through National Institute of Open Schooling) and Infrastructure Development (through Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram).​

The scheme guidelines were approved in January 2025, and implementation commenced thereafter. So far, a target to train about 1.51 lakh beneficiaries has been allocated to Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) across States/ UTs.​

The expenditure on the scheme in 2025-26 was Rs 92.28 crore, according to official data. ​

–IANS

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