Hyderabad: The Telangana government has launched three skill development training initiatives meant for providing livelihood to transgender people in the state, such as car driving, food production and flying drones.
The inaugural ceremony of the three programmes was held at the National Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (NITHM), Gachibowli, on Saturday, April 4.
Through these three programmes, a total of 91 transgender people will receive training with an expenditure of Rs 17.72 lakh, for which the state government has allocated special funds.
Skill development
Under the car driving training programme, 50 transgender people will receive car driving training through the Maruti Suzuki Driving School. This training will enable them to secure employment as drivers and also create opportunities for self-employment.
Through the hotel management – canteen chef training programme being offered by NITHM, 25 transgender people will be trained in hotel management and canteen chef skills. It is aimed at helping them get employment in hotels, restaurants and catering establishments.
Under the drone pilot training programme, 16 transgender people will receive training to fly drones at the Telangana State Aviation Academy, Begumpet. This is a modern and advanced skill programme catering to the growing demand in sectors such as agriculture, surveying and industry using drone technology.
The programmes were formally inaugurated by Minister for Scheduled Castes Development, Tribal Welfare, Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Senior Citizens and Transgender Persons Adluri Laxman Kumar.
Addressing the gathering, the minister emphasised that the state government has taken note of the long-standing socio-economic challenges being faced by the transgender community, and was implementing several initiatives to ensure that the transgender people could live with dignity and respect in the society.
The minister said that the state government was focusing on education, skill development and employment opportunities for transgender people, enabling them to achieve economic self-reliance and self-respect.
Around 80 transgender people from different regions participated in the programme.
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