INSIDE HUBBALLI-DHARWAD'S BLUE DOT EXPERIMENT

In the twin cities of north Karnataka, a pilot is trying to solve one of India’s hardest puzzles

- Pankaj Mishra

ylpmonIl September, people crowded in at the zila panchayat hall, in Dharwad, for what was billed asa “learning workshop” onjobsandskills. District officials, principals from industrial training institutes (ITIs), small and medium industrialists from the surrounding clus- . and rows of students in pressed shirts.

Outside, the late monsoon heat clung to the air; inside, a brass gong punctuated each speaker's turn at the microphone.

One official began with pride. HubballiDharwad, he said, had always been more than justa twin city: an educational capital,a cultural centre, a trading hub. “Ifthis experiment sueceedsanywhere, itshould be here,” he told the room.

But almost immediately, the conversation turned to harder truths. “Every year nearly 70,000 students pass out of Karnataka’s ITIs,” said Ragapriya R., the commissioner of industrial training. “But how many actually fit what industry needs? Howmanystay injobs instead of drifting into gig wor

Fromthe back benches, placement officers rose to add their frustrations, “Our students wantjobs only within 15 or 20 km of home, even if Honda or Toyota offer them more,” said Shivaprakash V. Chitra gar, principal of ITI Vidyanagar, HubballiDharwad, recalling how his trainees refused to migrate outside HubballiDharwad. Anotherspoke ofthe mismatch between industry expectations—"10 hours, I2 hours of duty”—and what trainees were willing, or sometimes able, to take on.

One speaker reached for a metaphor. Divya Prabhu G.R.J,, the district commissioner of Dharwad, compared the process of matching employer and employee toa matrimonial site. “Earlier, matches were made by word of mouth. Today you browse filters— slim, tall, fair. But does that guarantee compatibility? No. It takes deeper understanding.” So too with jobs, she argued—mere postingsand résumés were not enough.