Jayant Chaudhary Chairs ‘Skill Milan’ Session with Five NSTI

NEW DELHI:
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Jayant Chaudhary, today chaired a high-level interaction titled Skill Milan with the heads of five National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) selected for transformation into National Centres of Excellence under the National Scheme for ITI Upgradation approved by Union Cabinet of 07 th May 2025. During the Skill Milan interaction with five(5) selected NSTIs focused on strategic alignment to guide India’s skilling ecosystem toward future-readiness and global relevance.

The discussion centered on the strategic upgradation of the five NSTIs, with the goal of increasing the availability of qualified instructors. These institutes will be strengthened for instructor training, offering standardized, high-quality. As National Centres of Excellence (NCoEs) for skilling, these NSTIs will also address sector-specific skilling needs. Positioned at the forefront of India’s skilling ecosystem, these institutions are a cornerstone of the ₹60,000 crore scheme recently approved by the Union Cabinet.

Calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” the Minister emphasized the initiative’s potential to reshape the technical training landscape of India—creating institutions that not only meet today’s workforce demands but also anticipate and prepare for the needs of the future. “These NSTIs will set the pace of skill development in India,” said Jayant Chaudhary.

“We must move beyond infrastructure and focus on institutional excellence—by embedding work-based learning, training of high-quality instructors, and close industry collaboration. These Centres should become the anchors of innovation, employability, and global competitiveness in technical training.”
During the discussion, the Minister underlined the importance of building these institutions around real industry needs—through sectoral focus areas such as Automotive, Manufacturing, Textile and new age skills like Artificial Intelligence, EV and advanced manufacturing. The Centres will also aim to support entrepreneurship, research, and lifelong learning, while offering a full vertical pathway from certificate to advanced diploma levels in alignment with the National Credit Framework.

The Minister highlighted the need to maximize industry participation in the upgradation of NSTIs with strong coordination with State Governments to
ensure that industry-institution partnerships are locally relevant, sustainable, and aligned with regional economic priorities. Representatives from the five NSTIs—located in Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, and Ludhiana—shared their vision for the upgradation process. They spoke about aligning the curriculum with local industrial clusters, enhancing instructor capabilities through global exposure, and creating Centres or Industrial Collaboration to facilitate on-the-job learning and recruitment partnerships. Several representatives emphasized the importance of residential
campuses to attract top faculty and learners from across the country.

The upgraded NSTIs will be provided with academic, financial, and administrative autonomy and will operate under a strengthened governance framework. These institutions are envisioned to serve as hubs of excellence that support the broader ITI network with curriculum redesign, pedagogical innovation and multiple entry multiple exit options to the trainees.

The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to building a future-ready workforce through bold, systemic reforms in vocational education. These Centres of
Excellence will play a critical role in realizing the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.