The next time you stop by at your favourite dhaba to tuck into those juicy chicken kebabs, dont be surprised if the waiter, who generally served you with an air of insolence, goes out of the way to make you comfortable. The change in his attitude could be the result of a three-day crash course in upgrading his hospitality skills to serve you better.

Alarmed at poor service standards and the huge shortage in skilled manpower, the Union tourism ministry has launched a two-pronged programme to give customers a true taste of Indian hospitality. In the first part of the programme, waiters and cooks can enroll for a six and eight weeks course respectively at hotel management (IHM) institutes to improve their skills. They need to be below 25 years and should have studied till class VIII.

In the second initiative, employees of any restaurant across the country can enroll for a three-day crash course in developing their hospitality skills after which they will be tested. They will also get a wage compensation of Rs200 per day. "It will be an orientation course and improve their employable prospects," Devesh Chaturvedi, additional director general, tourism ministry, said. "All those who take these courses will get a certificate from the ministry," he said.

The courses are for free. Since the governments hotel management institutes will be able to train only 5,000 people per year, the Centre has directed the state tourism departments to empanel all the private and government-sponsored centres to enable them to start these courses against 100% funding from the Union government.

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