Five ITI Clusters Across Maharashtra, Odisha and J&K to Get Rs 1,195 Crore for Upgradation Under PM-SETU

New Delhi, Oct 17 (KNN) The Centre has approved five Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) worth Rs 1,194.92 crore for upgrading Industrial Training Institute (ITI) clusters across Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir under the PM-SETU scheme.

With the latest approvals, the cumulative investment sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) has reached Rs 3,687 crore.

The approvals were granted at the sixth meeting of the National Steering Committee (NSC), chaired by Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The projects will be implemented through partnerships between state governments, industry partners and participating ITIs. They will focus on modernising infrastructure, introducing industry-aligned courses, strengthening trainer capacity and improving industry engagement and employment opportunities, according to the MSDE release.

Five ITI Clusters To Receive Investment

The approved plans include Rs 240.50 crore for the Kataka ITI Cluster in Odisha in partnership with Tata Steel Foundation, Rs 241 crore for the Pune cluster in Maharashtra with BVG India Ltd, and Rs 238.01 crore for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cluster with Belrise Industries Ltd. 

In Jammu and Kashmir, Rs 240 crore has been approved for the Jammu cluster in partnership with Eagle Infra India Ltd and Rs 235.41 crore for the Srinagar cluster with Inderdeep Infra India Ltd. 

Each cluster will comprise one hub ITI and four spoke institutes.

Focus On Training Quality, Industry Participation

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.

(KNN Bureau)