Hyderabad, Sep 19 (IANS) Asserting that the newly-established Telangana Young India Skill University will be a role model for the country, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday appealed to industrialists and blue-chip companies to join as partners to impart skills and help the youth get jobs.

The Chief Minister held a meeting with the Telangana Young India Skill University Board headed by noted industrialist Anand Mahindra and representatives of industries from various sectors.

Revanth Reddy entrusted the University Board with the responsibility of promoting Skill University as the best institution in the country.

The Chief Minister said that the government has already allotted 150 acres of land and earmarked Rs 100 crore for the university.

He appealed to industrialists to become partners and create a Corpus Fund for running the institution.

He also urged the industrialists to come forward and construct buildings on the university campus.

The buildings will be named after companies and donors who contribute for their construction.

He exuded confidence that the university would get its own brand image in the country under the leadership of Anand Mahindra, who has already made his own mark in the field of skill development.

Revanth Reddy told the meeting the government will now focus on the establishment of the Young India Sports University coming up on 200 acres.

The sports university will provide training to enthusiastic athletes with an aim to win gold medals for the country in the 2028 Olympics.

The Chief Minister urged industrialists to take part in the development of the sports university also.

Stating that there is no dearth of funds, the Chief Minister said the government was ready to spend Rs 1,000 crore, out of Rs 3 lakh crore in the state annual budget, to promote sports.

Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, Industry and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu, University Board Chairman Anand Mahindra, Co-Chairman Srini Raju, Board Members P. Devaiah, Suchitra Ella, Satish Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Special Chief Secretary to Government Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to CM Seshadri, CM's Special Secretary Ajith Reddy and other senior officers participated in this meeting. Board members Manish Sabharwal, Sanjeev Bikchandani, MM Murugappan, Dr. KP Krishnan participated in the meeting through video conference.

The Chief Minister noted that degrees are not enough for youth to get jobs. On the other hand, the industries are facing a shortage of skilled manpower. Skill University is aimed at bridging this gap.

State IT and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu said that the state government is working hard to promote Hyderabad city as a world-class destination for investments.

As part of this, the government decided to set up a new Future City and also envisaged plans for the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) city.

University Board Chairman Anand Mahindra praised CM Revanth Reddy for the idea of Skill University to produce skilled youth from Telangana for the world.

Stating that the Chief Minister is a highly competent leader and his vision is commendable, Anand Mahindra said this was the reason for him to accept the responsibility of University Board Chairman at his request.

"The governments used to give top priority to subsidies but CM Revanth Reddy showed vision by giving importance to skill development for jobs," he said.

The University Board decided that Skill University will start teaching the courses this year. The courses will begin next month after Dasara.

The classes will be started in the Engineering Staff College of India temporarily.

The courses in healthcare, commerce, and logistics will be launched first. Apollo, AIG, Lenskart, Flipkart, Amazon, All Cargo, Pro Connect, and O9 Solutions companies have come forward to offer courses. The university will train 2,000 youth in the first year.