Bhubaneswar, Aug. 17: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today gave away prizes to the successful candidates of state-level Prativa Anweshana competition.

Various contests held under the scheme, Chief Minister's Trophy, were aimed to create awareness among the youth, especially students, about the state's cultural heritage and tradition. Launched by the culture department in 2015, the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi are jointly implementing the scheme.

Talents in different performing and visual arts discipline, including Odissi, song and instrumental music, mono acting and fine arts, were identified through various competitions under the Prativa Anweshana banner.

The competitions were conducted in a three-tier level - block, district and state. More than 5,000 students took part in two categories this year - junior (Plus Two) and senior (Plus Three). Around 240 youngsters selected in the district level took part in the state-level event here on August 16.

Skill development

Odisha Skill Development Authority chairman Subroto Bagchi today inaugurated a state-level seminar on education and skill development as tools for elimination of child labour.

"There is an urgent need to skill-train youth and children in the Not Educated Not Employed (NENE) category," Bagchi said.

He said his organisation was focussed on improving the standards of the state's 44 Industrial Training Institutes and converting these to the advanced skill training institutions.

"While every year, only around 16,000 students pass from these institutes, the government has set our training target at eight lakh in the next three years. We have designed a short-term vocational training course. Even after skill development training, 80 per cent youth have to move out of the state because of the lack of industries and low economic development," said Bagchi.