Guwahati: Tata Technologies Ltd, a global engineering and product development, digital services corporation, announced a cooperation with the Assam government on Wednesday to turn 34 state polytechnics and 43 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) into the future Centres of Excellence (CoEs) with an investment of around Rs 2,390 crore.

Tata Technologies stated in a statement that it has inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Assam government for a 10-year period for this purpose.

Following their upgrade, these COEs will not only cater to the advanced skill requirements of students associated with Assam's core sectors but will also serve as a technological and industrial center for MSMEs and boost entrepreneurship. It stated that the overall projected investment for this project will be around Rs 2,390 crore.

Tata Technologies Chairman Subramanian Ramadorai commented on the partnership, saying that "technology is fast advancing, and there is a severe scarcity of trained workers".

To stay up with these expanding technology trends and the lateral move toward Industry 4.0-powered smart business operations, the country's state polytechnics and ITIs must be upgraded.

"The enhanced COEs will provide a wide range of courses to upskill Assamese youngsters in different conventional and new age industries, empowering the northeast region of India, a key emphasis for the Tata Group," he said. "Through this cooperation with the Assam government, we will utilise our product engineering experience and manufacturing domain knowledge to produce future-ready courseware and training platform that allows students at polytechnics and ITIs to enhance their skill sets and capacities in accordance with the requirements of Industry 4.0 technologies and be part of the fast-evolving ecosystem," said Tata Technologies' Managing Director and CEO Warren Harris.

Also, we feel that this effort will substantially assist MSMEs that cannot afford high-end technical equipment, which will be made available for use at polytechnic and ITIs," he said.

This initiative would also provide a profitable platform for all individuals working in industries that are the backbone of Assam's occupational strength, such as tea processing, food processing, handicrafts, and textiles, to improve their skill sets and job chances in line with Industry 4.0-relevant smart operations of the future, according to Sarma. The COEs will cover a variety of Industry 4.0 technical courses, including additive manufacturing (3D printing), EV product design and development, design for craftsmen and handicrafts, modern automotive maintenance, repair and overhaul, battery electric vehicle training, IoT and digital instrumentation, advanced manufacturing, and prototyping, industrial robots with arc welding, AI-based virtual welding, and painting.

The firm has stated that it will upskill youth in traditional Assamese industries like tea processing, food processing, handicrafts, and textiles in order to boost Assam's industries.