Union govt. ready to open two more Plastics Engineering Institutes in State: Ananth Kumar

Union govt. ready to open two more Plastics Engineering Institutes in State: Ananth Kumar

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Mangaluru, March 28, 2015 (The Hindu): Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said here on Friday that the Centre is ready to open two more units of the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Karnataka. The units can come up only if the State government allots land.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Ananth Kumar said the Centre is ready to sanction the units in Mangaluru and Bengaluru. “The State has not yet responded to the Centre’s interest,” he added.

 

The country produces only 43,000 skilled persons in plastics engineering and technology as against the present demand for four lakh skilled persons. If two more units open, with the existing one in Mysuru, they could offer undergraduate, postgraduate courses and enrol candidates for research.

The Minister said of the Rs. 21,000 crore sanctioned to the State from the Centre under various schemes in 2014-15, Karnataka has utilised only half of it. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should say why the State has not been able to utilise all the funds.

He reiterated that the State has not yet responded to grant 500 acres of land to his Ministry to start a fertilizer factory in Karnataka. The State was also not interested to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Union government in connection with selling generic medicines in district hospitals 30 per cent below the market rate, he said.

Mr. Ananth Kumar said hoarding of medicines could be prevented once the government started selling generic medicine lower than the market rate.

Country produces only 43,000 skilled persons in plastics engineering and technology as against the present demand for four lakh skilled persons