🗞️ Why in News PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs) completed one year on 4 October 2026. A PIB backgrounder of 3 October reports that 850 Government ITIs have been identified, Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) for 14 ITI clusters worth Rs 3,446 crore have been approved, and the National Steering Committee has cleared the move from the pilot to a nationwide rollout across all 200 clusters.
The Scheme in Brief
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launched | 4 October 2025 |
| Ministry | Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) |
| Outlay | Rs 60,000 crore: Centre Rs 30,000 crore, States Rs 20,000 crore, industry Rs 10,000 crore |
| Component I | 1,000 Government ITIs upgraded in a hub-and-spoke model: 200 hubs and 800 spokes, about four spokes per hub |
| Component II | Capacity augmentation of 5 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs), at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana, with sector-specific National Centres of Excellence and advanced training of trainers |
| Governance | Each upgraded cluster is run by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV): 51 per cent owned by an Anchor Industry Partner, 24.5 per cent by the Centre and 24.5 per cent by the State |
| National oversight | National Steering Committee, chaired by the Secretary, MSDE |
Hubs and spokes. A hub ITI gets innovation centres, training-of-trainers facilities, production units and placement services. Its spokes share access to that infrastructure, modern trades, digital learning and incubation. The design spreads expensive equipment across a cluster instead of duplicating it in every institute.
Year One: From Paper to Clusters
| Indicator | Progress (PIB, 3 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| ITIs identified | 850: 172 hubs and 678 spokes |
| States and UTs with clusters and budget heads | 36 |
| State Steering Committees constituted | 35 |
| States and UTs inviting industry | 26 |
| SIPs approved | 14 clusters in 8 States and 1 UT, Rs 3,446 crore |
| Rollout | From pilot to all 200 identified clusters |
| New-age courses | 32 introduced by the Directorate General of Training (DGT), in areas such as AI, cyber security, electric vehicles, semiconductors, drones, green hydrogen and 5G |
| International partners | MoUs with Singapore (NSTI Chennai), France (NSTI Kanpur) and Australia (NSTI Bhubaneswar); a Joint Declaration of Intent with Germany (NSTI Hyderabad) |
Who the anchors are. The 14 approved clusters show the spread. Telangana has four (Old City with Apollo MedSkills in healthcare, Sangareddy with Neuland Foundation in pharmaceuticals, Patancheru in diversified manufacturing and Medchal with Zen Technologies in defence electronics). Maharashtra has two (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in automotive, Pune in facility management), as does Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar and Jammu, both construction). ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India anchors two steel clusters (Kancharapalem in Andhra Pradesh and Surat in Gujarat), and Jindal anchors Keonjhar-Barbil (Odisha) and Kurukshetra (Haryana), the largest at Rs 320 crore. Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) and Meerut (Uttar Pradesh, with the NSDC) complete the list.
The ITI System PM-SETU Inherits
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Training scheme | Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), courses of six months to two years in engineering and non-engineering trades |
| Apex body | Directorate General of Training (DGT), MSDE: norms, curriculum, affiliation, instructor training, trade testing |
| Control | ITIs are under the administrative and financial control of States and UTs |
| Growth | ITIs rose from 9,776 (2014) to 13,888 (2026), up 42 per cent; enrolment from 9.51 lakh (2014-15) to 14.70 lakh (2025-26), up 54 per cent |
What It Must Fix
1. Relevance. Many ITI trades lag behind what employers use. Industry-led SPVs and the 32 new-age courses aim to close that gap, but States must adopt the courses, since ITIs are under State control.
2. Placements and trust. Employers have long preferred to train their own workers. An anchor partner that owns 51 per cent of a cluster has a stake in hiring its graduates, which is the scheme’s central bet.
3. Instructors. Modern labs without trained instructors stay idle; the NSTI centres of excellence and foreign partnerships target that bottleneck.
4. Unequal readiness. The rollout lets States move “based on industry readiness and implementation capacity”. Regions with few large firms may struggle to find anchors, so the scheme could widen the gap between industrial and lagging States.
5. Measuring outcomes. One year in, the reported numbers are about inputs (ITIs identified, committees formed, plans approved). The test will be placement rates, wages and apprenticeships.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 2. Government policies and interventions; issues relating to development and management of education and human resources. GS Paper 3. Employment; inclusive growth; public-private partnership.
A question worth preparing. “India’s skilling problem is less about the number of institutes than about their link to employers.” Discuss with reference to the PM-SETU scheme for Industrial Training Institutes. (250 words)
The Mains framing. Note the growth in ITIs and enrolment, then the quality and employability gap; explain hub-and-spoke, SPV ownership and NSTI centres of excellence; weigh the risks (State capacity, uneven industry presence, instructor shortage); suggest outcome-linked funding, apprenticeship integration and tracking of placements.
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- PM-SETU launched 4 October 2025; outlay Rs 60,000 crore (Centre 30,000; States 20,000; industry 10,000).
- 1,000 Government ITIs: 200 hubs + 800 spokes; 5 NSTIs upgraded as National Centres of Excellence.
- SPV: 51 per cent Anchor Industry Partner, 24.5 per cent Centre, 24.5 per cent State.
- Year one: 850 ITIs identified; 14 SIPs approved, Rs 3,446 crore; rollout to 200 clusters.
- DGT (MSDE) runs the Craftsmen Training Scheme; ITIs are under State control.
Prelims, the traps:
- The Centre holds a minority (24.5 per cent) in each SPV; industry holds the majority.
- The five NSTIs are Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana; Pune is a cluster, not an NSTI under the scheme.
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Demand-driven skilling; industry-led governance; hub-and-spoke; training of trainers; outcome-based funding; demographic dividend.
Interview, be ready for:
- “Will industry really invest Rs 10,000 crore in government ITIs?” Only where it needs the workers; the 14 anchors so far are firms with local hiring needs, which is the model working as intended.
Sources: PIB backgrounder, 3 October 2026, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Source: PM-SETU at One Year: ITI Hub-and-Spoke Upgrade Explained — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
