The pilot project on skilling of design/commissioning technical personnel associated with application of geotextiles in infrastructure projects (roads, highways, railways, water resources) has been approved by the Indian ministry of textiles. It will be conducted concurrently by Indian Institute of Sciences Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras; and IIT Roorkee.

The coordinating faculty of the respective fields of engineering will look after the implementation of the special courses in consultation with the other concerned centres/offices of the respective institute. Ministry will coordinate, for all matters related to conducting these courses, with prof G I Sivakumar Babu, IISc, Bangalore; prof Rajagopal Karpurapu, IIT, Madras; and prof Satyendra Mittal, IIT Roorkee, the ministry of textiles said in a media release.

A batch will consist of minimum 75 to maximum 100 candidates. During the pilot phase, 2 batches are scheduled per institute. Further, continuation of the special skill development course will be subjected to a review by the Mission Directorate of National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) or the ministry of textiles.

The institutes will conduct these courses on no-profit/no-loss basis. The Institutes will advertise/ publicise the courses and invite application from willing and eligible candidates (who are Indian citizens with relevant educational qualifications and adequate experience related to the field). The Institute will charge ₹1,000 per candidate as a token fee. Once batch(es) with minimum 75 candidates are formed, the ministry will provide full amount or ₹4.50 lakh per batch as an advance to the respective Institute.

On completion of the batch/course, the institute will furnish a Statement of Expenditure/UC to the ministry and surplus grant, if any, will be returned to the government.

On its part, ministry of textiles will coordinate with other concerned Central government departments/ state governments for mobilising the trainees. Respective institutes have been advised to utilise their networks (including social media platforms/alumni network) for wider participation of suitable candidates.