The National Steering Committee (NSC) of the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme on Friday approved five Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) worth ₹1,194.92 crore to upgrade Industrial Training Institute (ITI) clusters across Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir.
With these approvals, the cumulative investment sanctioned under PM-SETU has reached ₹3,687 crore, marking a further step towards transforming ITIs into modern, industry-aligned and future-ready skill institutions.
The 6th NSC meeting was held under the chairpersonship of Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The Committee also reviewed the progress of the scheme.
The meeting was attended by senior MSDE officials, including Additional Secretary Niranjan Kumar Sudhanshu and Joint Secretary Manasi Sahay Thakur, along with representatives of the Directorate General of Training, State Governments and Union Territories, industry partners, multilateral development banks and other stakeholders, according to a press release issued by the Ministry.
Addressing the meeting, Mukherjee said the approvals would help strengthen ITIs, improve training quality and increase industry participation. She encouraged the clusters to work towards ISO certification and include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade or competency area in their Approved Implementation Plans. She also highlighted the progress made by Jammu and Kashmir in strengthening skilling opportunities for youth.
The five approved ITI clusters are:
Kataka, Odisha: ₹240.50 crore in partnership with Tata Steel Foundation.
Pune, Maharashtra: ₹241 crore in partnership with BVG India Limited, in consortium with BVG Foundation.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra: ₹238.01 crore in partnership with Belrise Industries Limited.
Jammu: ₹240 crore in partnership with Eagle Infra India Limited.
Srinagar: ₹235.41 crore in partnership with Inderdeep Infra India Limited.
The projects will focus on modernising ITI infrastructure, introducing industry-aligned courses, strengthening trainer capacity, enhancing industry engagement and improving employment prospects for young people. Each cluster will operate through a hub-and-spoke model involving a lead government ITI and four associated ITIs.
The Committee also reviewed progress under Component II of PM-SETU, which focuses on Training of Trainers (ToT) to develop instructors with contemporary technical and teaching competencies. As of October 2026, 3,744 trainers had been trained under the programme through National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
-PIB Inputs
