India’s Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs programme, known as PM-SETU, reached its first anniversary on 4 October 2026. A Press Information Bureau explainer posted on 3 October reports that 850 government Industrial Training Institutes have been identified for the scheme: 172 as hubs and 678 as spokes. The programme’s overall five-year outlay is ₹60,000 crore, split in the published design among the Centre, states and industry. Identification is a planning milestone; it does not establish that every institute has completed upgrades or that trainees have already secured jobs.

The first component is designed around 1,000 government ITIs, including 200 hubs and 800 spokes. Each hub is expected to connect with four spokes on average, allowing institutions to share access to advanced equipment, modern trades, digital learning and incubation facilities. Hubs are envisaged to host innovation centres, trainer-development infrastructure, production units and placement services, while spokes widen local access. The second component concerns five National Skill Training Institutes in Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana, where National Centres of Excellence and advanced trainer preparation are planned.

The scheme’s funding envelope comprises ₹30,000 crore from the central government, ₹20,000 crore from states and ₹10,000 crore from industry. By the one-year update, the National Steering Committee had approved Strategic Investment Plans for 14 ITI clusters in eight states and one union territory, with a combined approved investment of ₹3,446 crore. Approval means the plans have cleared a national decision point; it is not the same as disbursement or construction completion. The PIB notice does not give a current expenditure total for the approved cluster plans.

The update also describes uneven steps in state-level implementation. Thirty-six states and union territories had identified clusters and created dedicated budget heads; 35 had constituted State Steering Committees, and 26 had begun inviting industry participation. The national committee had approved moving from a pilot to a nationwide rollout across 200 identified clusters. These counts measure administrative preparation and the rollout’s reach. They do not show that each jurisdiction has selected all institutes, signed operating agreements or started every course.

Under the proposed governance model, cluster Special Purpose Vehicles would be led by an anchor industry partner holding 51%, with the Centre and state each holding 24.5%. The PIB describes these vehicles as responsible for cluster development and operations, including proposals on curriculum, delivery, infrastructure and exposure to workplaces. States and union territories select institutions in consultation with industry, while the national committee sets policy direction and can monitor implementation or adjust guidance. The design therefore distributes operational decisions across national, state and industry actors rather than putting all delivery in one department.

PM-SETU also sits within a larger vocational-training system. The PIB explainer reports that the total number of public and private ITIs rose from 9,776 in 2014 to 13,888 in 2026, while enrolment increased from 9.51 lakh in academic year 2014–15 to 14.70 lakh in 2025–26. These are system-wide figures, not outcomes attributable to PM-SETU, which began in October 2025. The first-year progress note gives no placement, earnings, completion or employer-satisfaction results. Such measures will be needed to judge whether institutional upgrades translate into better training and work prospects.