Union Minister George Kurian urges young people to become job creators

Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian said the PM VIKAS program helps members of minority communities become entrepreneurs and tech-savvy professionals, stressing that the initiative aims to build a highly skilled and empowered society.

George Kurian resigns as Union minister and is likely to return to Kerala politics

He was speaking at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT-C), which hosted the formal signing of the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday (May 18).

Mr Kurian said many women have successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship under the PM VIKAS programme, while several others have acquired technical qualifications. He added that the program is not limited to students or working professionals but aims to uplift the minority communities as a whole.

Reflecting on initial regional hurdles in cutting-edge domains — such as the Internet of Things (IoT) course launched at IIIT Kottayam and chip design at IIT Palakkad — the minister urged students at India’s elite engineering institutions to rethink their career trajectories.

Mr. Kurian strongly appealed to the youth of India to move from job search to job creation. He urged the nation’s youth to adopt the mentality of becoming job creators to remain competitive in the modern world. The minister urged the students to use the available government funds to start startups from their homes, experiment with their ideas and eventually scale these businesses.

The event was organized by the institute’s Center for Continuing Education and Skill Development (CCESD) at the NIT-C campus. The MoU was signed and exchanged by VB Sameer Kumar, Registrar, Central University of Kerala, Sunil Jacob John, Registrar, NIT-C, and Shah Faiz Ahmed, Assistant Minister for Minority Affairs, in the presence of NIT-C Director Prasad Krishna and Central University of Kerala Vice-Chancellor (VC) Algur Siddu P.

Under the initiative, NIT-C has been allotted training for 1,100 candidates under the non-traditional component. Courses include Marketing Manager (E-commerce), Process Instrument Technician (Oil and Gas), Supply Chain and Logistics Analyst and Essentials of VLSI Design. Out of the total allocation, 500 places are earmarked for the VLSI program and 200 each for the other three courses.

Central University of Kerala has been allotted 400 seats for women leadership and entrepreneurship training.

The PM VIKAS program is the flagship of an integrated effort by the Ministry of Minority Affairs to modernize the traditional livelihood of minority and marginalized communities while equipping the youth with 21st century skills.

Published – 18 May 2026 20:18 IST