New Delhi: The Government of India and the Republic of Korea conducted the signing of exchange of notes for the technical cooperation project titled "Strengthening Vocational Education and Training in Mechatronics in India" on 20 January 2025 in New Delhi. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) of the Government of the Republic of Korea. This is the first project to be implemented with the assistance of KOICA in India.

The signees were Manisha Sinha, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Lee Seong-ho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, for the Republic of Korea.

The project, spanning two years, aims to establish a foundation for vocational education and training in mechatronics in India. It will be implemented by NCERT at the Regional Institute of Education (RIE) in Bhopal, where it will create an environment to pilot education in mechatronics by developing curriculum, textbooks, teacher manuals, and equipment. The initiative will also build the capacity of teachers in mechatronics and facilitate networking between industry and RIE, Bhopal.

The Republic of Korea was designated as India’s Official Development Assistance partner for development cooperation in October 2016. The bilateral relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a "Special Strategic Partnership" in 2015. The signing of the exchange of notes for the NCERT project will further consolidate and strengthen this partnership.

BI Bureau