The sons of a rickshaw puller and an agricultural labourer, both Dalits, are all set to earn Rs 23,000 a month. They were picked up during campus recruitment by IT giants Wipro and Infosys.

C Prasad (22), an engineering student of Nellore, was trained in soft skills in the JKC set up in his college — in spoken English, communication skills and so on.. He was selected at a campus recruitment drive by Infosys, which offered him a pay package of Rs 2.7 lakhs a year. While his father is a rickshaw puller, his mother works as a domestic maid. Prasad was felicitated at a function here by Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for being the best JKC student of the year.

N Kondaiah of Prakasam district narrated a similar story. His parents are agricultural labourers in Prakasam district. He got a seat in an engineering college in Kandukur. Luckily for him, the JKC was launched in his college when he was in the final year.

The JKC not only developed his communication and English skills but also organised a campus recruitment drive, where Wipro inducted Kondaiah for Rs 2.7 lakh a year. His mother Annamma said, “I’ve not seen so much money even in my dreams… I am very happy.” While she plans to continue to work for daily wage, Kondaiah plans to take care of her health.

The JKCs are run by the government-run Institute of Electronic Governance. As Mr Reddy explained, the JKC was an idea that took fruition after many industries lamented that most engineering graduates were unemployable.

That even MNCs were going to the JKCs for recruitment now is proof of the programme’s success, he said.