The 6th National Steering Committee meeting of the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) approved five Strategic Investment Plans worth ₹1,194.92 crore for ITI clusters across Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir. This approval brings the cumulative investment under PM-SETU to ₹3,687 crore, representing a significant milestone in the government's efforts to transform Industrial Training Institutes into modern, industry-aligned skill institutions.
The meeting was chaired by Smt. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and attended by senior officials including Shri Niranjan Kumar Sudhanshu (Additional Secretary, MSDE) and Smt. Manasi Sahay Thakur (Joint Secretary, MSDE), along with representatives from State Governments, Union Territories, industry partners, multilateral development banks, and other stakeholders.
The approved clusters include the Kataka ITI Cluster in Odisha (₹240.50 crore) to be implemented with Tata Steel Foundation, comprising Government ITI Kataka as Hub and four other ITIs as Spokes. The Pune ITI Cluster in Maharashtra (₹241 crore) will be upgraded by BVG India Limited in consortium with BVG Foundation, featuring Government ITI Aundh as Hub. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar ITI Cluster in Maharashtra (₹238.01 crore) will be implemented with Belrise Industries Limited. Two clusters in Jammu & Kashmir were approved: Jammu ITI Cluster (₹240 crore) with Eagle Infra India Limited and Srinagar ITI Cluster (₹235.41 crore) with Inderdeep Infra India Limited.
Each cluster follows a hub-and-spoke model with one Government ITI as the hub and four others as spokes. The projects will focus on modernizing infrastructure, introducing industry-aligned courses, strengthening trainer capacity, enhancing industry engagement, and improving employability outcomes. The Committee encouraged clusters to work towards ISO certification and include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade or competency area in their implementation plans.
The Committee also reviewed progress under the Training of Trainers (ToT) under Component II of PM-SETU, which has trained 3,744 trainers through National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) as of October 2026, aiming to build a robust pool of industry-ready instructors with contemporary technical and pedagogical competencies.