In a significant move to overhaul vocational education in India, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the National Scheme for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Upgradation and the setting up of five National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) for Skilling.
The initiative, announced under the Budget 2024–25 and 2025–26, will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a total outlay of ₹60,000 crore. The funding will be shared between the Centre (₹30,000 crore), States (₹20,000 crore), and Industry (₹10,000 crore), with additional co-financing from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank covering 50% of the central share.
The scheme targets the upgradation of 1,000 government ITIs following a hub-and-spoke model aligned with industry needs. It also includes capacity augmentation of five National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) in Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana, which will each house a Centre of Excellence.
Over the next five years, the program aims to skill 20 lakh youth through revamped, industry-aligned courses, addressing workforce needs in high-growth sectors such as electronics, automotive, and renewable energy.
For the first time, the scheme will introduce an industry-led Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model for planning and execution, allowing greater flexibility and outcome-driven implementation. The government has highlighted the inadequacy of past funding models and aims to address infrastructure gaps, relevance of training, and employability through need-based investment.
The plan also includes enhanced Training of Trainers (ToT) infrastructure and will support training for 50,000 instructors, both in-service and pre-service.
By tackling longstanding challenges in vocational education, the scheme is aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat, creating an aspirational, industry-integrated ITI ecosystem as India marches toward becoming a global innovation and manufacturing hub.
