From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 01:33 AM IST

Tata Motors Thursday announced selection of a group of 11 trainees from among residents of Singur village for an extensive six-month training to be provided by the company even as protests by farmers and opposition parties continue against the project.

The trainees, all of whom have in the past attended government-run Industrial Training Institute (ITI) courses, have been selected out of the 21 candidates who responded to Tata Motors' initiative and appeared for a written test and interview held Dec 25 in Singur, a Tata Motors communiqué said here.

The candidates had earlier registered with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) camp office in Singur, about 40 km from here in Hooghly district.

Tata Motors plans to hold another round of such tests for fresh registration of ITI trained local candidates. Interested eligible candidates from the Singur Project area can register their names with the WBIDC camp office in Singur.

Tata Motors will provide the trainees with hostel facilities and also pay a monthly stipend. On successful completion of the training, they will be eligible for employment in the small car project in Singur, the company said.

The 10 candidates who did not qualify in the examination will be given training in appropriate skills to enhance their employability.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)