Haryana is set to upgrade 60 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across 12 clusters under the Centre's PM-SETU programme, with new training areas including artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, drones, cybersecurity, semiconductors and green hydrogen. The state government said the aim is to align ITI training more closely with changing industry requirements.

Each cluster will have a hub ITI that provides advanced training and coordinates with spoke institutes. Under the PM-SETU framework, a hub ITI can receive up to Rs 81 crore, while a spoke ITI can receive up to Rs 40 crore for the upgrade. The Centre's overall PM-SETU programme has an outlay of Rs 60,000 crore and covers the upgradation of 1,000 government ITIs across India.

The industry-led model has already moved into implementation in Haryana. On September 21, the National Steering Committee approved a Rs 320-crore Strategic Investment Plan for the Kurukshetra ITI cluster, with Jindal Naveen Avsar Limited as the anchor industry partner. The cluster will cover seven ITIs.

Under the proposed model, anchor industry partners will hold 51% of the special purpose vehicles responsible for governing and managing each cluster. They will also help identify job roles, redesign courses, provide industry trainers and build apprenticeship and placement links.

The move comes alongside an expansion of Haryana's apprenticeship programme. According to the state government, the number of apprentices engaged annually increased from 5,225 in 2016-17 to 86,565 in 2025-26, while cumulative engagement since 2016-17 crossed 4.73 lakh by September 19, 2026.

Haryana already has an industry-linked vocational training model through Maruti Suzuki's Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing at Manesar and Sonipat. At JIM Uncha Majra, students receive classroom instruction alongside industry exposure through the dual system of training, including paid industry training.

The state's move follows an earlier direction from the Haryana government in May to modernise workshops across ITIs and redesign courses and curricula according to industry requirements.

The PM-SETU scheme nationally follows a hub-and-spoke model covering 200 hub ITIs and 800 spoke ITIs, with upgraded laboratories, smart classrooms, digital content and courses aligned with industry needs.