Srinagar, Oct 16: The Centre has approved ₹475.41 crore for modernising two clusters of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Jammu and Srinagar, a move aimed at upgrading vocational training infrastructure and improving the employability of youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
The approvals, granted under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme, cover 10 government ITIs across the two clusters. While the Jammu cluster has been sanctioned ₹240 crore, the Srinagar cluster has been allotted ₹235.41 crore.
An official said the National Steering Committee of the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship cleared the proposals at its sixth meeting, chaired by ministry secretary Debashree Mukherjee on Friday. The J&K approvals are part of a larger ₹1,194.92-crore investment cleared for five ITI clusters across Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Odisha, taking the cumulative investment under PM-SETU to ₹3,687 crore.
In the Jammu cluster, Government ITI Jammu will serve as the hub institution, with government ITIs at R S Pura, Nowshera, Samba and Kathua as spoke institutions. The project will be executed in partnership with Eagle Infra India Limited.
The Srinagar cluster, to be developed with Inderdeep Infra India Limited, will be anchored by Government ITI Srinagar as the hub, with government ITIs at Ganderbal, Kangan, Budgam and Charar-i-Sharief as spokes, the official said.
The projects are designed to upgrade training facilities, introduce courses aligned with industry requirements, strengthen instructor skills and draw greater industry participation into vocational education.
The committee urged the approved clusters to work towards ISO certification and to include at least one trade or competency area aligned with WorldSkills standards in their implementation plans. It also reviewed progress under the scheme’s Training of Trainers programme; 3,744 trainers have been trained through National Skill Training Institutes as of October 2026, according to the ministry.
Alongside Jammu and Srinagar, the committee approved ₹240.50 crore for the Kataka ITI cluster in Odisha, ₹241 crore for the Pune cluster in Maharashtra and ₹238.01 crore for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cluster, also in Maharashtra.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the clearances bring a substantial infusion into the government ITI network. The PM-SETU scheme envisages transforming ITIs into modern, industry-aligned skill development institutions through government-industry-training institute partnerships. How far the promised gains reach trainees, however, will hinge on the execution of the proposed infrastructure upgrades, industry-linked courses and instructor training at the participating institutes.
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