Mangaluru, Mar 27: Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H N Ananth Kumar said that the central government wished to open two units of Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Karnataka, but there was no response from the state government in this regard.
Addressing media persons at a press conference here on Friday, he said that the Centre was ready to set up the educational institutions in Bengaluru and Mangaluru, to produce more graduates with skills in plastic engineering. While the current requirement for such skilled persons is about four lakhs, the country is producing only 44,000 persons with skills in plastic engineering and technology. To fulfill the requirement of skilled persons, the Centre wishes to set up two institutes in the state, but the state government does not show any interest in this direction, he said.
He also claimed that the state government was not keen on signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre in connection with selling generic medicines at medical stores in district hospitals for 30 percent of the market rates. The state government should issue a circular to prescribe generic medicines to poor patients instead of branded ones, so that they could procure the life-saving drugs at lesser rates at medical stores in government hospitals, he urged.
Similarly, he claimed that the State had not responded to the proposal to grant 500 acres to the union ministry of chemicals and fertilizers to establish a fertiliser plant in Karnataka.
Criticising the goverance of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said that the state government had used only 50 percent of funds sanctioned by the union government under Central Sponsored Schemes in the year 2014-15. The Centre had sanctioned Rs 21,000 crore to Karnataka out of which only Rs 11,000 had been utilised for the various schemes in the state, he alleged.
Comments
Add new comment