Jamshedpur, July 6: The Union ministry of small-scale industries has decided to set up a computer training centre in Ranchi to make entrepreneurs of medium and small-scale units IT savvy.

The state unit of Small Industries Service Institute, a wing of the ministry, has been directed to make immediate arrangements. The ministry has allotted initial funds of Rs 20 lakh for the centre. The institute guides entrepreneurs of medium and small-scale units in improving their production. It also helps the units in marketing and promoting finished products.

“The centre will come up in Ranchi,” state director of the institute J.C. Pandey told The Telegraph. The centre would initially have 10 computers, he added.

According to senior officials of the institute, the centre would educate industrialists about the use of computers and other IT-related facilities, which they could implement in their units.

Apart from the basics in computers, the entrepreneurs will learn to create and use database for production. They will also be taught how to access the Net for business transaction and e-commerce etc.

“The centre will train the entrepreneurs on the use of computers in production to improve upon the quality of products,” said Pandey.

Sources said the entrepreneurs will have different IT courses to choose from. “Each course would be of different duration. While the shortest course, involving the basics of computer, would be of a two-week duration, the more lengthy courses would be for six months,” officials at the institute said, adding that the fees would be nominal.

A team of IT experts would teach the entrepreneurs. “Apart from the owners of the medium and small-scale units, even the managers would be encouraged to enrol on the course as they play an important part in the production process,” said Pandey.

The sources said more centres would come up in different parts of the state. “If the response to the Ranchi centre is encouraging, the ministry might open some more centres in other parts of the state,” they added.

Officials at the institute said: “We will invite all entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium scale industries to enroll on the course once the centre is set up. We are optimistic that it will receive a positive response,” said Pandey.