Srinagar: The Centre has approved a combined investment of ₹475.41 crore to upgrade two Industrial Training Institute (ITI) clusters in Jammu and Kashmir under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme.
The National Steering Committee (NSC) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship approved ₹240 crore for the Jammu ITI cluster in partnership with Eagle Infra India Limited and ₹235.41 crore for the Srinagar ITI cluster in partnership with Inderdeep Infra India Limited.
The approvals were granted during the committee’s sixth meeting, held on Friday under the chairpersonship of Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
The Jammu cluster will have Government ITI Jammu as its hub, with Government ITIs at R.S. Pura, Nowshera, Samba and Kathua as spoke institutions.
The Srinagar cluster will comprise Government ITI Srinagar as the hub, with Government ITIs at Ganderbal, Kangan, Budgam and Charar-i-Sharief as spoke institutions.
The projects aim to modernise training infrastructure, introduce industry-aligned courses, strengthen instructor capacity and improve industry participation to enhance employment opportunities for young people.
Commenting on the approvals, Mukherjee said the progress made by Jammu and Kashmir under the scheme was encouraging and reflected a commitment to strengthening vocational training and expanding opportunities for youth.
She also encouraged the clusters to work towards ISO certification and include at least one WorldSkills-aligned trade or competency area in their approved implementation plans.
The committee approved five Strategic Investment Plans worth a total of ₹1,194.92 crore for ITI clusters across Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Odisha. With these approvals, cumulative investments sanctioned under PM-SETU have reached ₹3,687 crore, according to the ministry.
The meeting also reviewed progress under the scheme’s Training of Trainers component, which seeks to equip instructors with contemporary technical and teaching skills. As of October 2026, a total of 3,744 trainers had been trained through National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
