Dr. Rammanohar Lohia Seva Evam Adhyayan Kendra (Lohia Kendra) an NGO was established in the year 1994 at Bhagalpur, Deoria, U.P. to help speed up rural development programmes designed for the poor. Its thrust was women and child development through outreach programmes in the field of education, health and livelihood opportunities. Lohia Centre established a college for girls, as the drop out rate among girls after secondary school education in the area was nearly 90%. Lohia Kendra started a health unit “Jeevana Rekha” as medical facilities in the area were rudimentary and assisted government in its “Blindness Control Program” by continuously organizing camps for cataract surgeries. In order to improve employability of youth it has conducted vocational guidance courses in collaboration with Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) as its sub-center.
These courses are of short duration of 4 months leading to grant of certificate by YCMOU to successful candidates. The YCMOU certificates have helped many candidates in securing employment not only in India but also in Gulf Countries. Although unemployment among rural youth in the area is rampant (Deoria being among the most backward district in the country), there is paucity of technical institutes viz. Engineering Colleges, Polytechnics etc. in the district. There is one Government Polytechnic and three ITI in Deoria while there is no Engineering College and no other Polytechnic or qualified ITI in the entire district having a population of nearly 3 million people.
The success of its collaborative initiative with YCMOU and the great need for an ITI for upgrading skills of the rural youth, prompted Lohia Kendra with the active participation of Setu Charitable Trust an NGO, registered at Mumbai to set up an ITI to be known as RADHARAMAN ITI at Bhagalpur . It has been decided to offer courses in trades viz. (1) Fitter, (2) Electrician, which appear to hold ample opportunities for employment during the first year. There will be addition in number of trainees and courses on offer depending upon the success achieved during the first year. The ITI to be named as RADHARAMAN ITI will have all the necessary infrastructure including a computer lab, library, workshops required by a well run institute