NEW DELHI: About 1.2 lakh additional seats in courses on new-age emerging sectors are proposed to be added to the 1,000 industrial training institutes (ITIs) being upgraded under the newly launched PM SETU (PM Skills and Employability Transformation through Upgraded Industrial Training Institutes) programme.The sources said that these additional seats will cover more than 50 new courses, scheduled to be offered in the coming years, with a particular focus on emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, solar energy, renewable energy, semiconductors, electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, automation, and others. “This additional capacity is expected to equip young people with work-ready skills and make training more practical, industry-aligned and closely linked to employment.
This will be an important step towards expanding skills training to these new sectors.”The proposal assumes importance as it is estimated that there are around 2.3 million seats in nearly 15,000 IT institutes across the country, with institutions often finding it difficult to fill them as students cite redundant courses, unavailability of teachers and inadequate infrastructure.
Last year, the Directorate General of Training (DGT), the apex body under the Skills Ministry for development of vocational education, de-enrolled nearly 4.5 lakh seats in nearly 6,000 IT institutes.Under the scheme, ITI clusters have been identified across 32 states and union territories, of which 26 have constituted a steering committee, indicating that governance and oversight mechanisms are being put in place.The official added, “Countries are working to strengthen institutional frameworks and financial processes, while a few of them have already begun taking concrete steps to put the scheme on the ground.”The PM SETU scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25, with an outlay of Rs 60,000 crore aimed at upgrading 1,000 government-run IT institutes into a center and comprehensive model with industry participation in the next five years. Of the Rs 3,000 crore allocated in FY26, the Skills Ministry spent Rs 356 crore, though fiscal funding doubled to Rs 6,141 crore.
