The Union Cabinet authorised a ₹60,000 crore project to upgrade more than 1,000 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIS) across India. The effort aims to address the growing gap between industry requirements and workforce capabilities in rapidly growing areas.
The national and state governments will jointly fund the project, alongside contributions from the private sector. The Centre will fund ₹30,000 crore, while state governments would pay ₹20,000 crore. Industry partners plan to contribute ₹10,000 crore. International financial institutions, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, will contribute half of the Centre’s funding.
This nationwide initiative intends to train two million young people over the course of five years. Electronics, renewable energy, and the automobile industry are among the primary focus areas. Outdated courses will be changed, and the training infrastructure will be much improved.
The strategy also includes the establishment of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling. These would be located at existing National Skill Training Institutes in Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana. Each centre will focus on advanced trainer development, with a target of 50,000 teachers.
Addressing institute-specific requirements will be accomplished through a flexible, need-based investment mechanism.
