J&K L-G asks stakeholders to collaborate to build strong professional community

Jammu, March 25 (IANS) J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday asked stakeholders to collaborate and create an environment that fosters a strong professional community.

The L-G directed stakeholders to prioritise collaboration and to create an environment that fosters a strong professional community through networking, best practices, national and international exposure, and joint training programmes.

“Today’s challenges are complex and multi-dimensional. Their solution is possible only through collective effort, and we must focus on this to actively drive Jammu Kashmir's rapid growth,” the L-G said.

He emphasised that people from different sectors must come together to deliberate, share experiences, and find solutions together. He said that through cooperation and dialogue, a strong, inclusive development model for the Union Territory could be forged.

The L-G was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Indian Society for Training & Development's Jammu Chapter at Padma Shri Padma Sachdev Government PG College for Women, Gandhinagar, Jammu.

He extended his felicitations to the entire team of the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) for the new beginning. He said the ISTD’s Jammu Chapter would play a crucial role in strengthening the learning and development ecosystem and would position Jammu as a regional hub for training and professional development.

The L-G asked the ISTD's Jammu Chapter to focus on job creation and entrepreneurship, and make local talent more globally competitive. “The future is full of challenges, but it is also brimming with opportunities. We must ensure we are ready to seize the new opportunities,” he said.

The L-G observed that the purpose of education is not merely to impart knowledge, but to prepare students for life’s challenges and opportunities. He called for focusing on soft skills, research, entrepreneurship, and a startup culture. He added that the education sector must bring about broad transformation through mentoring and academia–industry collaboration.

The L-G called upon the ISTD members to put special focus on training, research, and collaboration in industries, startups, and the agriculture sector of Jammu and Kashmir to sharpen both productivity and market linkage.

He noted that the entire industrial ecosystem was changing and that, given the shifts underway, Jammu and Kashmir's industrial landscape must continually invest in new skills to enhance productivity.

“We must train our farmers in modern technology, scientific methods, and resource management to understand climate change, water crisis, and soil quality. At the same time, we must train them to produce more crops with fewer resources and to market their products more effectively,” the L-G said.

The L-G stated that administration is the backbone of any nation, and today, citizens expect transparency, accountability, and efficiency from it. He said that the administrative machinery must also evolve with time and become completely citizen-centric.

“We must empower individuals and institutions to confront emerging challenges head-on, so that India’s dream of becoming the world’s greatest nation is realised. Universities and institutions must join hands with the ISTD to give concrete shape to this resolve,” the L-G said.

He observed that amid all transformation, one truth holds firm: the most powerful instrument of change available to any state, nation, or institution is not technology alone, nor capital alone, nor natural resources alone, but a trained, developed, and awakened mind.

“The real instrument of change is a trained, developed professional mind. Trained human resources will become the foundation of our progress, the energy behind our inclusive growth, and a real vehicle for shaping the future,” the L-G added.

Senior officials, heads of educational institutions, and students attended the inaugural ceremony in large numbers.

--IANS

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