15 Batswana go for training in India
15 Batswana will jet off to India this week for the Indian Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. The 15 will add to the 69 candidates that have attended this programme since April 2018 to date, making a total 85 participants so far. According to the High Commissioner of India to Botswana Dr Rajesh Ranjan, the ITEC programme is the flagship of the government of India for capacity building.He told The Midweek Sun in an interview recently that the main aspect of the cooperation is to enhance the local capacity and opportunities as possible for Batswana in a wide range of specialised areas. Ranjan said that over the last four years, 650 participants have benefitted from the ITEC programme that offers training for various training courses such as solar energy, public sector administration, banking and entrepreneurship to name a few. “The training is all-expenses paid, including airfare and participants can train in India for two years depending on their choice of course. Each course has its own qualifications and requirements laid down by the institute for the course concerned,” explained Ranjan. India has 162 partner countries for the ITEC programme. However, Ranjan said Africa remains at the top of their priorities. He said developing Botswana is an important pillar of India’s foreign policy and hopefully, participants will return to Botswana pregnant with ideas on how best to develop the country. One of the participants, Mmikanyana Busang employed by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer will be in India for three weeks. He told this publication that he will train in Enhancing Management Skills at V Giri National Labour Institute. “I hope the course will develop, sharpen and enhance my skills in leadership management. It is a golden opportunity for me and I cannot wait to interact with the international community to share skills and experiences in management,” Busang said. Busang explained that the course covers a handful of topics that he hopes will improve his knowledge and competencies. Another participant, Morwalela Kesalopa, Chief Public Relations Officer at the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) said she will be leaving for India next month. She will be trained for three weeks in project and risk management at the national Institute of Financial Management in Faridabad.“I feel grateful to both my employer and the Indian government to have afforded me this opportunity because it is a programme where there will be other participants from across the globe. “We will have a chance to interact, share ideas and experiences which in turn will help us produce more quality output when we return to our workplaces,” she said.