The Himachal Pradesh government in collaboration with the industry in the state's industrial hub of Baddi has established a Pharma and Food Institute in Baddi which will provide training to the local people to run various kinds of machineries used in pharma and food sectors. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will inaugurate the institute at a function in Baddi on July 16, 2010.

Dedicated to training locals to handle pharma and food machinery, there will be around 250 seats capacity in the institute from where the local people will get training in running various kinds of machineries at a very nominal fees. There will not be any employment problem for the trained people as all the trained people in the institute will be absorbed by the industries in Baddi.

The state government has provided the land and building for the institute, while all the required machineries have been provided by the industry in this public-private-partnership project.

The establishment of the institute is significant as even though an increasing number of the companies have been setting up their base in the state exploiting the tax holiday status of the state, there was severe shortage for trained personnel in the industrial hub of Baddi. With a view to address this problem and to give a chance to locals in the area to work in the companies, the state government had entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the industry and has set up this Pharma and Food Institute.

The duration of the course will be for a period of three months wherein the locals will be trained on handling different machineries.

Apart from inaugurating the Pharma and Food Institute, the chief minister will also lay the foundation stone of the hostel dedicated for working women in the pharma sector in Baddi. This hostel will have a capacity to house over 1000 women and is another ambitious project that the state is anchoring to boost the sector in the state.