Jammu :Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday inaugurated the Jammu Chapter of the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) and called for a collective effort to position the region as a hub for professional development, asserting that trained human resources would be the foundation of the Union Territory’s rapid growth.
Inaugurating the chapter at Padma Shri Padma Sachdev Government PG College for Women, Gandhinagar, Sinha said the ISTD’s Jammu Chapter would play a crucial role in strengthening the learning and development ecosystem while focusing on job creation, entrepreneurship, and enhancing the global competitiveness of local talent.
“The future is full of challenges but it is also brimming with opportunities. We must ensure we are ready to seize the new opportunities,” the Lieutenant Governor said, adding that today’s challenges were complex and multi-dimensional, with solutions possible only through collective effort.
Sinha directed stakeholders to prioritise collaboration, calling for an environment where a strong professional community is built through networking, best practices, and joint training programmes. He emphasised that people from different sectors must come together to deliberate, share experiences, and jointly find solutions to actively drive Jammu and Kashmir’s rapid growth.
Observing that the purpose of education was not merely to impart knowledge but to prepare students for life’s challenges, the Lieutenant Governor called for a focus on soft skills, research, entrepreneurship, and a startup culture. He urged the education sector to bring about broad transformation through mentoring and academia-industry collaboration.
Sinha also called upon ISTD members to put special focus on training, research, and collaboration in industries, startups, and the agriculture sector to sharpen both productivity and market linkage. Noting the shifts underway in the industrial ecosystem, he stressed the need to continually invest in new skills.
“We must train our farmers in modern technology, scientific methods, and resource management to understand climate change, water crisis, and soil quality. At the same time, we must train them to produce more crops with fewer resources and to market their products more effectively,” he said.
The Lieutenant Governor further stated that administration was the backbone of any nation and that citizens today expect transparency, accountability, and efficiency. He said the administrative machinery must evolve with time and become completely citizen-centric.
“We must empower individuals and institutions to confront emerging challenges head-on, so that India’s dream of becoming the world’s greatest nation is realised. Universities and institutions must join hands with ISTD to give concrete shape to this resolve,” Sinha said.
Observing that amid all transformation, one truth held firm, the Lieutenant Governor said the most powerful instrument of change available to any state, nation, or institution was not technology alone, nor capital alone, nor natural resources alone, but a trained, developed, and awakened mind.
“The real instrument of change is a trained, developed professional mind. Trained human resources will become the foundation of our progress, the energy behind our inclusive growth, and a real vehicle for shaping the future,” he added.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by ISTD National President Atul Shah, Cluster University of Jammu Vice Chancellor Prof K.S. Chandrasekar, ISTD Jammu Chapter Chairman Prof Ashok Aima, Regional Vice-President (North) Ankita Sharma, along with senior officials, heads of educational institutions, and students.