TG aims skilling 50k graduates in life sciences

C4IR, one of the aims being skill development training, aligns with the Chief Minister’s vision of generating five lakh new jobs - D Sridhar Babu, IT & Industry Minister

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Wednesday launched the Telangana Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Hyderabad, in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF). Under one of the three initiatives of the Centre, nearly 50,000 local graduates will undergo skill development training over the next five to six years in sectors including life sciences, research and manufacturing. By next week, the first batch of skilling in two specialised courses - Medicinal and Analytical Chemistry, is likely to take off.

Speaking at the launch of C4IR, Telangana IT and Industry Minister D Sridhar Babu, said: “To expand skilled workforce, skilling of nearly 50,000 local graduates will take place over the next five to six years, and make them industry ready in the sectors of life sciences, research and manufacturing. In a week, the Centre will pilot the first batch of skilling initiative with the launch of two specialised courses Medicinal and Analytical Chemistry.”

The Telangana government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, during their visit to World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024, had entered an agreement with WEF president Borge Brende for setting up of the C4IR in Hyderabad.

The Minister further informed that C4IR will lead to 10,000 new job opportunities in healthtech, besides R&D, and manufacturing jobs. Moreover, the Centre will nurture 20 to 25 emerging companies and startups in this domain that will generate about 25 novel ideas.

“C4IR, one of the aims being skill development training, aligns with the Chief Minister’s vision of generating five lakh new jobs. Through initiatives undertaken at the Centre, 10,000 new jobs in healthtech, besides R&D, and manufacturing, will be created,” he added.

Elaborating further on the focus areas of C4IR, Shakti Nagappan, Director, Life Sciences and Pharma, Telangana, said that “the centre will focus on three areas such as, real world evidence (RWE)- a market which is growing at 20 per cent y-o-y, healthcare analytics and informatics - to bring in data driven decisions in delivering healthcare and the third being, software medical device”.

Under these areas various initiatives have been rolled out which includes, establishment of Clinical Registry at the State level focused on haemophilia and other rare diseases. The Registry is in its pilot stage at three different hospitals which will be rolled out later in phase-wise across the State, he added

To fasten validation of innovative products and devices, a Clinical Innovation Sandbox, in partnership with 15 Clinical sites, is being launched. This will promote startups in innovation to get their products and prototypes tested in the clinics. Also in the pipeline is a data and analysis laboratory that will propel innovation on clinical and wearable devices, he added.

Jayesh Ranjan, Telangana Principal Secretary for IT and Industries; Jeremy Jergens, Managing Director, WEF, and others were also present at the event.