Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated a 'School of Welding', set up at BHEL, Varanasi.

The facility, established under the 'Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector, Phase-II' scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, will provide skill training in various welding technologies to 1,000 welders per annum and help in enhancing the employability of the youth in and around Varanasi to meet the requirements of industries.

Arun Goel, Secretary (Heavy Industry) was present in the virtual ceremony, which was also attended by Nalin Shinghal, CMD, BHEL, Directors on the board of BHEL and senior officials of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and BHEL.

Speaking on the occasion, the Hon'ble Minister said that one of the most important constituents of the vision of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is to build a self-reliant nation. As the role of the manufacturing sector will be crucial in realising this vision, the government has already introduced schemes like 'Make in India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. The capital goods industry is the backbone of the manufacturing sector and provides critical inputs such as machinery and equipment to a broad set of user industries.

Initiatives such as this for skilling and capability development of manpower will not only provide improved employment opportunities to the youth, but also fulfil the need of the industries. Being the largest engineering and manufacturing CPSE, the role of BHEL in such initiatives is laudable.

In addition to training in welding technologies like Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), etc., to meet the demand of various industries, the course curriculum also envisages holistic development of welders through body and mind training. This will prepare them for the rigours of industrial and construction environment inculcating a mind-set of safety, responsibility, cleanliness and dignity of labour at work.

BHEL employees joined the program virtually from multiple locations across the country. The event was also webcast live enabling large numbers of employees to watch the proceedings through broadcast mode.