PM-SETU: Five ITI Clusters Get ₹1,195 Crore Industry-Led Investment Plans
The National Steering Committee of the PM-SETU scheme approved five Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs) worth ₹1,194.92 crore for ITI clusters in Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir.
The industry partners for these five clusters are Tata Steel Foundation, BVG India, Belrise Industries, Eagle Infra India and Inderdeep Infra India.
With this, the total investment approved under PM-SETU so far is about ₹3,687 crore.
The meeting was chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Clusters were encouraged to aim for ISO certification and to include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade in their plans.
The plans will be carried out jointly by state governments, industry partners and the ITIs. They focus on modern infrastructure, industry-linked courses, better trainers and better job outcomes for youth.
Earlier, in September 2026, the committee had approved SIPs worth ₹735.70 crore for clusters in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
PM-SETU Scheme: Design and Institutional Structure
PM-SETU stands for Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs. It is a Government of India scheme to modernise 1,000 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) with the help of industry. It has a total outlay of ₹60,000 crore over five years. The main idea is simple: let companies that actually hire skilled workers help decide what ITIs teach and how they are run.
The five plans approved now, for clusters in Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir, are exactly the Strategic Investment Plans described above, each led by an anchor industry partner. They take the total approved investment under PM-SETU to about ₹3,687 crore, showing how the scheme is moving from approval on paper to cluster-by-cluster action.
Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS)
Industrial Training Institutes, or ITIs, are institutes that train young people in practical, hands-on trades such as electrician, fitter, welder, plumber, mechanic or computer operator. Most students join after Class 8 or Class 10 and train for six months to two years. The main course they follow is the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), India's oldest national vocational training programme. ITIs are the backbone of India's supply of skilled workers for factories, workshops and services.
The five clusters approved under PM-SETU are groups of government ITIs, one hub and several spokes, that run courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme. The industry money is meant to fix the very problems listed above: old machines, few trainers and weak job links.
- SIPs approved in this meeting: 5, worth ₹1,194.92 crore, for clusters in Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir
- Industry partners: Tata Steel Foundation, BVG India, Belrise Industries, Eagle Infra India, Inderdeep Infra India
- Total investment approved under PM-SETU so far: about ₹3,687 crore
- SIPs approved in September 2026: ₹735.70 crore (Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana)
- PM-SETU outlay: ₹60,000 crore over 5 years; 1,000 ITIs (200 hubs, 800 spokes)
- Cabinet approval 7 May 2025; launch 4 October 2025; nationwide rollout approved 7 July 2026
- National Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary, MSDE