Srinagar, Oct 16: The Centre has approved investment plans worth Rs 475.41 crore for upgrading 10 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across Jammu and Kashmir under the PM-SETU scheme, with private industry partners set to participate in modernising training facilities and introducing employment-oriented courses.
The approvals were granted during the sixth meeting of the National Steering Committee, chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Debashree Mukherjee, in New Delhi on Friday.
According to the ministry, Rs 240 crore has been approved for the Jammu ITI cluster, while Rs 235.41 crore has been sanctioned for the Srinagar cluster.
The Jammu cluster will be developed in partnership with Eagle Infra India Limited, with Government ITI Jammu serving as the hub and Government ITIs at R S Pura, Nowshera, Samba and Kathua functioning as associated institutes.
In Kashmir, Inderdeep Infra India Limited will partner in upgrading the Srinagar cluster, comprising Government ITI Srinagar as the hub and institutes at Ganderbal, Kangan, Budgam and Charar-i-Sharief as spokes.
The investment plans aim to modernise training infrastructure, introduce courses aligned with industry requirements, improve instructor skills and strengthen links between technical institutions and employers.
The ministry said the projects would be implemented through partnerships involving the government, industry and participating ITIs.
Mukherjee said the progress made by Jammu and Kashmir under the scheme was encouraging and stressed the need to improve training quality and employment opportunities.
She urged participating clusters to work towards ISO certification and include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade or competency area in their implementation plans.
Besides Jammu and Kashmir, the committee approved Rs 240.50 crore for the Kataka ITI cluster in Odisha in partnership with Tata Steel Foundation.
In Maharashtra, Rs 241 crore was approved for the Pune cluster in partnership with BVG India Limited and BVG Foundation, while Rs 238.01 crore was sanctioned for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cluster in partnership with Belrise Industries Limited.
The five clusters together account for an approved investment of Rs 1,194.92 crore.
With the latest approvals, the cumulative investment approved under PM-SETU has reached Rs 3,687 crore.
The committee was also informed that 3,744 trainers had undergone training through National Skill Training Institutes under the scheme as of October 2026.
However, the ministry did not specify when the proposed upgrades at the 10 ITIs in Jammu and Kashmir would be completed or when the new training courses would become available to students.
