Five government ITIs in Surat get a ₹240 crore makeover: agreements signed under PM-SETU, with 3,528 extra training seats planned

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) says shareholders’ agreements were signed on 12 October 2026 to upgrade government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Surat under PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs). The signatories were the Directorate General of Training (DGT), the Government of Gujarat and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), which is the cluster’s anchor industry partner. A matching agreement was signed for four ITIs in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. With these agreements in place, work can start on the investment plans that were approved earlier.

Which ITIs are covered

The Surat cluster follows a hub-and-spoke model. ITI Surat is the hub, and four spoke institutes are linked to it:

• ITI Surat (Women)
• ITI Hajira
• ITI Bardoli
• ITI Sachin

The numbers

Item	Surat cluster
Approved investment	About ₹240 crore over five years
Trainees targeted over five years	About 25,000
Additional training seats	3,528, across upgraded and new programmes
Ownership of the company that runs the cluster	AM/NS India 51%, Government of India 24.5%, Government of Gujarat 24.5%
Academic partner	New Age Makers’ Institute of Technology (NAMTECH)

The Visakhapatnam cluster has been approved for about ₹200 crore, bringing the two clusters to around ₹440 crore. The Surat plan was first cleared at PM-SETU’s fourth National Steering Committee meeting, announced on 10 July 2026, after Gujarat’s state steering committee had approved it.

What changes for trainees

• A dedicated special purpose vehicle (SPV) will now be set up to run the upgrade and the day-to-day operation of the five ITIs.
• The plan covers new and modernised workshops and labs, smart classrooms, digital learning, curriculum updates and training for instructors.
• Existing trades will be upgraded. New long-term programmes in emerging technologies and short industry-oriented courses will be added, with a focus on apprenticeships and jobs.
• The target sectors named in the approved plan include advanced manufacturing, steel, engineering, process industries, textiles and Industry 4.0 technologies. That matches what employers in the Hazira–Surat belt hire for.

The bigger picture

PM-SETU has a total outlay of ₹60,000 crore and aims to upgrade 1,000 government ITIs in hub-and-spoke clusters, each run by a company in which industry holds the majority stake.

What to do now: if you are finishing Class 10 or 12 in south Gujarat and want a trade job, keep an eye on the admission notices of these five ITIs over the next two sessions, because new trades and extra seats will be added there. If you are already enrolled, ask your institute which trades are being upgraded and whether apprenticeships with the anchor partner are planned.

CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship’s announcement of 12 October 2026 on the PM-SETU shareholders’ agreements for the Surat and Visakhapatnam ITI clusters, and its release of 10 July 2026 (PIB Release ID 2283387) on the approval of the Surat cluster. Official portal: msde.gov.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.