NEW DELHI, July 15 (Xinhua) -- An institute jointly set up by India and Japan near Delhi to boost skilled manpower for manufacturing industry, particularly automobile and auto component has called for admissions.

The Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM), located in Delhi's neighbouring town of Gurugram, opened admissions for its first batch of students, an official statement said on Monday.

The institute is a joint initiative between the state government of Haryana and largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki to enhance skill levels among students.

JIM is one of the model industrial training institutes run by Maruti Suzuki to contribute to the Indian government's ambitious "Skill India" initiative.

"Automotive industry is known for its ability to adapt to new trends and technology. Therefore, it is important that workers within automobile and auto component sector also have the required skill sets," A.K. Tomer, an executive in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., was quoted as saying in the statement.

"With introduction of greener technologies, Indian automobile industry requires huge skilled manpower," it added.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and India's Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in 2016 to train 30,000 youths in India over 10 years.