Press Release

● DIKSHa, the skill training centre, is set up by Dalmia Bharat Foundation in association with Odisha Skill Development Authority
● 21 trainees from Cuttack and Jajpur districts get placed in Bengaluru with an average monthly salary of Rs 14,000 per month
● 300 students have been trained till now in Cuttack branch
● Students from 40 villages belonging to 13 gram panchayats participate in the DIKSHa initiative

Cuttack, 28th January 2021: Dalmia Bharat Foundation (DBF), an arm of Dalmia Bharat Group, felicitated 21 DIKSHa trainees today at Kapilas Cement Manufacturing Works (KCMW) in Cuttack. The students were provided 75-days training in Industrial Sewing Machine Operator (ISMO) trade. The center also imparts 3-months training in General Duty Assistant (GDA) trade.

The ceremony was addressed by Mr. Ramawatar Sharma, Unit Head, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd., Cuttack, Mr. S. V. N. Rao, Nodal Officer, Odisha Skill Development Authority, Bhubaneswar, Saswat Kumar Jena, ABDO, Tangi and Mr. Suvendu Das, District Employment Officer, Cuttack. Despite the pandemic and its impact on the job market, 21 trainees of ISMO trade have been recruited by Shahi Exports Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru at an annual salary of Rs. 1,68,000.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ramawatar Sharma, Unit Head, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. said, “I heartily congratulate all the students of Diksha training centre for their hard work, dedication, and willingness to move towards a brighter future. Dalmia Bharat Foundation’s aim is not only to impart training but to make these students employable. We are committed to increase the scale by providing quality training to the underprivileged youth, thereby contributing towards skilling India.”

“In our centre, 300 students have been enrolled till now from nearby Gram Panchayats such as Safa, Garudagaon, Uchapada, Kotasahi, Byree, Paria, Solar, Barunia, Salapada, Samia, Kalakala, Kanheipur, and Chhatia. Of which, 180 students have passed and 120 have been placed with an average salary between Rs. 10,000-15,000.” added Mr. Sharma.

DIKSHa has been positively impacting lives of trainees since its inception. Local community members including Sarpanchs, PRI members and parents present on the occasion praised efforts of Dalmia Cement and Diksha in shaping lives of the local youth in the area.

The initiative is a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by DBF with the National Skill Development Corporation to impart vocational training and skills to 60,000 youth in the country in 10 years. DBF has centres at Rourkela, Rajgangpur, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, and Barkote where they provide training under the trades like bed side attendant, retail sales, electrician, beauty and wellness, and sewing machine operator.

About Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skills Harnessing (DIKSHa)-
DBF has been working on improving the skills of the neighboring community to ensure better livelihoods. Foundations’ focus has been to make the communities more resilient and sustainable with additional avenues of income. To ensure this, the foundation is actively involved in imparting skill trainings in farm and non-farm sector, building Community based organizations and enabling access to finance. DBF signed an MoU with National Skill Development Corporation in 2016, with an aim to train 60,000 youth. These centres are now popularly called DIKSHa - Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Harnessing. With the first centre set up in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, DBF now has 11 centres at Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The partnership with NSDC has been scaled up to include state skill development missions of Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu; NABARD, NSFDC and also Schneider. DBF is working with continuous passion to skill the youth and set them on a path to bright future. 

About Dalmia Bharat Foundation (DBF)-
Dalmia Bharat Foundation, DBF, is a registered not-for profit organization set up under the India Trust Act 1882.The Foundation was set up in 2009 to expand the programmes and projects of the Dalmia Bharat Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) division. With this independent entity, we re-affirm our determination to be an aware and effective corporate citizen. We believe in the limitless potential of the human being and we focus on community driven, beneficiary centric development programmes. DBF is the natural evolution of corporate social partnership beyond CSR compliance. It is our conviction, that progress and sustainable development depend greatly on partnerships and shared values.

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