PM-SETU: Rs 440 Crore Cleared for Nine Government ITIs

Shareholders' agreements have been signed under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme to upgrade nine Government Industrial Training Institutes in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced on 12 October 2026. The industry partner is ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India).

Who signed, and for what

The agreements bind the Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the skill development ministry, the Governments of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, and AM/NS India. They clear the way for approved Strategic Investment Plans in two clusters: five Government ITIs in Surat and four Government ITIs in Visakhapatnam. Special Purpose Vehicles will now be set up to run the upgradation and day-to-day operations of each cluster. In these vehicles AM/NS India will hold a 51 per cent stake, while the Union Government and the respective state government will each hold 24.5 per cent equity.

The money

This is among the largest industry commitments cleared under PM-SETU so far, out of a total approved 3,446 crore rupees of proposed investment across the first 14 Strategic Investment Plans under the scheme.

What the ITIs will get

• Workshops, laboratories and training infrastructure brought up to date.
• New trades and technologies that industry is actually hiring for.
• Existing curricula revised against emerging industry requirements.
• Stronger instructor training and capacity building.
• More hands-on, practical learning for trainees.

AM/NS India will work with the New Age Makers' Institute of Technology (NAMTECH) as its academic and technical partner. The company brings manufacturing experience, while NAMTECH is to handle curriculum work, reforms in how training is delivered, faculty development and academic innovation. Together these steps are expected to lift training quality, employability and industry readiness among ITI graduates.

The scheme itself

PM-SETU carries a total outlay of 60,000 crore rupees and aims to remake vocational education through industry partnership and institutional reform. It plans to upgrade 1,000 Government ITIs across the country and strengthen five National Skill Training Institutes. Skill Development Secretary Debashree Mukherjee said the signing is a starting point rather than a finish line, and pointed to India's recent place among the top 10 performers at the WorldSkills competition in Shanghai as the standard PM-SETU institutions should aim at.