The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a $80 million loan to help modernize technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and improve the skills ecosystem in the state of Himachal Pradesh to boost employability of the state's youth.

Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, signed the loan agreement for the Government of India, and Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB Country Director in India, signed on behalf of ADB.

"The project will support the government of Himachal's skills policy to guide the reform and scale-up skills development efforts in the state," said Khare. "It will fund short-term and long-term training programs in growth areas including cars, electronics, pharmaceutical, tourism and hospitality, banking and financial services, health care, etc., to help state youth enhance their skills set and get better paying jobs."

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