New Delhi: In a bold move to empower young Indians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on October 4 at 11.00 am, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, launch a suite of youth‑oriented initiatives valued at over ₹62,000 crore. The push aims to enhance education, skilling and entrepreneurship nationwide.

The event will also host the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh, the fourth National Skill Convocation, where top 46 students from Industrial Training Institutes under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be honoured.

A central feature of the launch is PM‑SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs) — a flagship scheme backed by ₹60,000 crore.

What’s PM-SETU all about?

Under this plan, 1,000 government ITIs will be upgraded in a hub‑and‑spoke model: 200 hub ITIs connected to 800 spoke institutions. These clusters will be outfitted with modern infrastructure, digital learning, incubation centres, production units and placement services.

Industry partners will manage these hubs to ensure market‑aligned skills training. The scheme also includes innovation centres and teacher training. The aim is a government owned, industry managed ITI network, bolstered by co‑financing from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. In its first phase, emphasis will be placed on ITIs in Patna and Darbhanga.

Vocational labs for schools

The Prime Minister will also launch 1,200 Vocational Skill Labs across 400 Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools in 34 States and Union Territories. These labs will deliver practical training in 12 high-demand sectors—IT, automotive, agriculture, electronics, logistics and tourism, among others.

Aligned with NEP 2020 and CBSE curriculum, the scheme includes training 1,200 vocational teachers to impart industry‑relevant learning from an early stage.

Major boost for Bihar’s youth

Special focus is being placed on Bihar. PM will roll out the revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Swayam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana, offering ₹1,000 per month for two years to nearly 5 lakh graduate youth, in addition to free skilling. The redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme will grant interest‑free education loans up to ₹4 lakh. Already, over 3.92 lakh students have availed loans exceeding ₹7,880 crore. He will also inaugurate Bihar Yuva Ayog, a statutory youth commission for ages 18–45.

Further, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University in Bihar for vocational and industry‑oriented education. He will lay the foundation for new academic and research infrastructure in four Bihar universities under the PM‑USHA scheme, with an investment of ₹160 crore, benefiting more than 27,000 students.

He will dedicate the Bihta campus of NIT Patna—with capacity for 6,500 students, a 5G lab, a regional space centre (in collaboration with ISRO), and an innovation hub supporting nine start-ups.

PM will distribute job appointment letters to over 4,000 new recruits in Bihar’s government and release ₹450 crore in scholarships via DBT to 25 lakh Class 9 and 10 students under the Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika scheme.

These launches are expected to generate transformative opportunities for India’s youth by fusing education, skills, entrepreneurship and infrastructure—particularly spotlighting Bihar as a future skills hub for national growth.
ANI