June 21, 2011 To,

Professor Dr Uday Salunkhe Prin L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research Lakhamshi Napoo Road, Near Matunga (Central Rly) Mumbai – 400 019 Maharashtra, India

Dear Sir, Subject: Invitation for Vocational Skills Enterprise Plan Competition Skill development has become a national agenda in India and is getting a major policy thrust. Despite hosting the world’s largest working population and labor force the Indian economy which has been averaging unprecedented annual GDP rates of 8-9% is experiencing the paradox of a massive and growing shortage of skilled manpower. This is a challenge but at the same time a huge business opportunity. The Honorable Prime Minister of India has set an ambitious target of creating a 500 million globally employable workforce by 2022; which undoubtedly will require the creation of an ecosystem with innovative and sustainable solutions. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been set-up as part of National Skill Development Mission to fulfill the growing demand in India for skilled manpower across sectors which are to play an important part in India’s growth story. It is a one of its kind, public-private partnership which aims to promote skill development by catalysing the creation of large, quality, sustainable businesses in the vocational training space. The Confederation of Indian Industry - India@75 initiative (India@75) is committed to delivering on an inclusive Vocational Skill Development agenda so as to narrow the existing gap between the demand and supply of skills in India. In an attempt to encourage young Entrepreneurs to be part of this mammoth business opportunity, India@75 and NSDC are co-organizing a Vocational Skills Enterprise Plan Competition focused on encouraging innovative and implementable business solutions that contribute to the development of a sustainable vocational skills ecosystem in India. The Indian School of Business (ISB) is the Knowledge partner; and Ernst & Young is the Process partner for the competition. The Enterprise solutions would revolve around various intangible and delivery mechanisms, in the form of technology solutions, content development, financing models, etc. The broad layout of the competition involves a screening of ideas, followed by two rounds of evaluation with mentorship support. The evaluation parameters will include innovativeness, scalability and sustainability. The key differentiator of this competition is its focus on creating solutions with the objective of converting these into reality. The purpose of this letter is to invite your esteemed Institution to be part of the competition. The competition will commence in July 2011 with sessions focusing on sensitizing potential participants

with the aspirational aspects vocational skills, including the size and nature of the opportunity; besides taking them through the contours of the competition. The competition will conclude in November 2011 with a boot camp and final evaluation by an eminent panel. The finer details of the competition are currently being finalized and will be intimated shortly. Since we are in the process of crystallizing the competition schedule, we request you to let us know of your interest in participating in this competition by 27 June 2011. Also, request you to let us know a convenient range of dates for the above mentioned sensitization session in your Institute between mid July 2011 and August 2011. Look forward to your participation and a long-term relationship on building the Vocational Skill landscape in India.

Kind Regards,

For Confederation of Indian Industry

For National Skill Development Corporation

Signature:

Signature:

Name: Bhairavi Jani

Name: Dilip Chenoy

Designation: Executive Director - India@75

Designation: MD and CEO

RSVP: Sandeep Kirpalani Project Manager – India@75 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 249-F, Sector 18, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon – 122 015, Haryana, India Tel : +91 124 - 401 4060-67 (Board) Fax : +91 124 – 401 4080 Email : [email protected] Website: www.cii.in and www.indiaat75.in

Gouri Gupta Lead, Strategy and Program Development National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) D-4, The Clarion Collection (Qutub Hotel) Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg New Delhi 110016, India Phone : +91 11 – 4656 0412 Fax : +91 11 – 4656 0417 Email : [email protected] Website: www.nsdcindia.org