The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) is planning to create 10,000 professionals in commodity futures trade this financial year compared with 4,700 professionals last year.

There is a huge manpower shortage in commodity futures trade, which needs to be addressed. The country would need more than 100,000 trained experts by 2010.

Trade in commodity futures is growing at a scorching pace and with the proposed entry of mutual funds, foreign institutional investors and banks, volume and turnover of commodity exchanges are expected to grow substantially.

The MCX is currently organising various awareness programmes and courses ranging from a duration of a day to a part-time, three-month diploma course and a one-year, full-time degree course. The exchange is also conducting specialised programmes on soybean in Indore, chana in Delhi and mentha in Chandousi.

In its latest initiative, the commodity exchange has launched Project Pragati, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, under which members of the Rotary International will be trained in commodities trading.

Later on, these trained professionals will be utilised to train rural youths.

This was a special training initiative conceived and designed by the MCX Centre of Academia with the Rotary International Club and an ambitious attempt of the exchange to empower the rural youth with education and spread awareness to aid rural development, said Dr Chiragra Chakrabarty, head of training at the MCX.

For the Rotarians, the exchange would charge no fee, but a nominal fee would be charged to train the rural youth, said Lamon Rutten, joint managing director of the MCX. The exchange has not worked out the fee for training.

About 60 Rotarians took part in the first training programme organised on Friday in Borivli in suburban Mumbai.

The programme, initially confined to Mumbai, would later be held throughout the country depending on the response to two other courses to be conducted this month.