Inan endeavour to improve the quality of life of underprivileged youth by providing skill training, the Amara Raja Group – India’s leading business conglomerate -launched the Amara Raja Skill Development Centre in 2014, with an investment of around 30 crores, at Pettamitta, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The centre has been established by the Rajanna Trust which is run under the aegis of the Amara Raja Group. The first batch, on successful completion of the course, was awarded ‘Multi Skill Technician’ certificates at the convocation held on August 25 at Pettamitta, Tirupati. 
The batch of 101 students received certificates at the ceremony from the chief guest Professor Avula Damodaram, vice-chancellor, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, in presence of the Amara Raja Group founder and chairman, Dr Ramachandra N Galla, Jaikrishna. B, president-Group HR, Viswanathan M, dean of the centre, management team members, representatives from the villages in the vicinity and a cross section of employees from Amara Raja Companies and other institutions of the Rajanna Trust. 

The programme is designed not only to impart technical skills but is also focussed is on making them better team players, good and disciplined citizens. Thus, equal emphasis is laid on kinesthetics, sports and games such as football, volleyball, basketball, chess, yoga, memory building, music, etc. for the all-round development of rural youth. The 24-month course was offered free of cost.  The course was designed taking into consideration the background and qualifications of the rural youth and the requirements of the industry. 

The Amara Raja Group is planning to establish its next Skill Development Centre at Diguvamagham, followed by one in Guntur – both in Andhra Pradesh. Moving forward in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Amara Raja Group is committed to developing skilled resources that would contribute to the development of the country and, in turn, give rural youth an opportunity to channelise their talent. 

Speaking on the occasion Prof. Damodaram said, “A vocation opens up tremendous opportunities for a person. The Amara Raja Centre for Skill Development is a commendable effort on the part of the Amara Raja Group towards making the rural youth of our country employable and encouraging them to see new avenues and options for a career. It is a step in the right direction to skill India. I encourage them to set up many more such centres.” 

On the occasion, Dr Galla also announced the successful completion of a 1.2MW rooftop solar unit at the plant located at Nunegundlapalli village near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. This project, spread over 1,00,000 sq ft, is the largest single contiguous rooftop project in India. The project was executed by Amara Raja Power Systems Ltd on the battery plant of Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. 

There is widespread interest in using solar energy, which provides electricity without creating carbon dioxide emissions. With the accent now on sustainable energy, this installation on a single industrial metal PUF trapezoidal roof is capable of generating more than 5000 units per day. With over 4,15,000 units generated over a period of 3 months, the impact of the rooftop instalation has translated into enormous savings of over Rs.25,00,000; the estimated payback is now pegged at 6 years. This project will result in saving of 2000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. 

Speaking on the occasion Dr Ramachandra N Galla said, “We would like to congratulate the students of the graduating batch. The Skill India initiative of the Government of India is an ambitious programme to connect government bodies, academia and industry and enable a roadmap for the development of the nation. The Skill Development Centre of Amara Raja is a unique programme aimed at providing technical and life skills to rural youth. The course aims to help the youth acquire and enrich their technical skills so as to facilitate their role in society and help them earn their livelihood through employment.” 

The Amara Raja Group’s turnover is expected to double in the next 4 years (2019-20) to approximately Rs 12,000 crores. 

To sustain the growth trajectory and achieve its ambitious objectives, the Amara Raja Group is in advanced discussions for strategic partnership ventures in some of the businesses of the group.