Bhubaneswar, December 03: The Odisha government on Monday signed a loan agreement of $85 million with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to train 1.5 lakh youths in the state, officials said.

With this assistance, youths in the age group of 15-34 years will be given skill development training to make them competent to get better work and higher paying jobs, a government statement said.

The total cost of the project is $193 million with the Odisha government contributing $108 million, it added.

In addition, the Japanese government will provide technical aid for capacity building through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

The ADB would also provide $2 million as technical assistance for capacity building component of the project.

In the project, the Odisha Skill Development Authority and ITE Education Services, Singapore will cooperate in the establishment and operation of World Skills Centre (WSC) in Bhubaneswar.

Training programmes at WSC have been designed to cater to the requirement of the industry through experiential learning.

The WSC would also act as a hub for all the Spoke ITIs to train the youths, advising on the curriculum development and developing the infrastructure of the ITIs.

The project aims to significantly reduce unemployment and under-employment rates in Odisha by 2025, it said.