Pariksha SaathiPM-SETU committee approves Rs 1,194.92 crore for five ITI clusters in Maharashtra, Odisha and J&K
The sixth meeting of the National Steering Committee of PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs), chaired by Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, approved five Strategic Investment Plans worth Rs 1,194.92 crore on 16 October 2026, taking the cumulative investment approved under the scheme to Rs 3,687 crore. Each plan upgrades a cluster of one hub ITI and four spoke ITIs with an industry partner: Kataka in Odisha with Tata Steel Foundation (Rs 240.50 crore), Pune with BVG India (Rs 241 crore), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with Belrise Industries (Rs 238.01 crore), Jammu with Eagle Infra India (Rs 240 crore) and Srinagar with Inderdeep Infra India (Rs 235.41 crore). The Secretary urged clusters to work towards ISO certification and to include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade or competency area in their implementation plans. The committee also reviewed the Training of Trainers component, under which 3,744 trainers had been trained through National Skill Training Institutes as of October 2026.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs) was launched by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, at the 4th National Skill Convocation (Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh), as a Rs 60,000 crore centrally sponsored scheme to transform 1,000 Government ITIs into modern, industry-aligned institutions. It follows a hub-and-spoke model of 200 hub ITIs linked to 800 spoke ITIs, and strengthens five National Skill Training Institutes, at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana, as Centres of Excellence.
Reference: PIB release of 4 October 2025 on the PM-SETU launch (DGT copy)
Check yourself: how many ITIs make up each cluster approved on 16 October?
Five: one hub ITI and four spoke ITIs. For example, Government ITI Kataka is the hub, with Choudwar, Paradeep, Jajpur and Dhenkanal as spokes.
Revision task: from this release, note the five clusters with their partners and amounts, the cumulative Rs 3,687 crore and the 3,744 trainers, and keep them apart from the scheme’s standing design above.
Test yourself
Under PM-SETU, which industry partner will upgrade the Kataka ITI cluster in Odisha, approved on 16 October 2026?
Show the answer
Answer: Tata Steel Foundation
The National Steering Committee approved a Rs 240.50 crore plan for the Kataka cluster with Tata Steel Foundation; BVG India takes Pune, Belrise Industries Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Eagle Infra India Jammu.
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