New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow unveil a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing youth skilling, education, and employment across the country.
The cumulative value of these programmes exceeds Rs 62,000 crore, and several of them are targeted specifically at poll bound Bihar, which has one of the youngest populations in the country.
The launch event, to be held at Vigyan Bhawan, will also include the fourth edition of the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh, where the Prime Minister will felicitate 46 All India Toppers from Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), as per a government statement.
At the centre of the announcements is the launch of PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs), a centrally-sponsored scheme aimed at transforming 1,000 government-run ITIs into modern skill hubs. With an allocation of Rs 60,000 crore, the scheme will follow a hub-and-spoke model, linking 200 major ITIs (hubs) with 800 smaller units (spokes).
The modernised ITIs will be equipped with advanced infrastructure, digital learning platforms, incubation centres, and will be operated with the participation of Anchor Industry Partners. International financial institutions, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, will support the scheme’s first phase, with Patna and Darbhanga among the initial focus areas.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate 1,200 vocational skill labs across 400 Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools spanning 34 states and union territories. These labs, developed in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, will offer practical training in sectors such as IT, electronics, agriculture, and tourism. Around 1,200 vocational teachers have been trained to deliver this curriculum.
A significant portion of the new initiatives is focused on Bihar, with the objective of addressing the state’s youth unemployment and educational access challenges. The Prime Minister will launch the revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Svyam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana, under which five lakh graduate youth in the state will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for two years, along with free skilling opportunities.
Additionally, the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme has been redesigned to offer interest-free loans of up to Rs 4 lakh for higher education.
To further institutionalise youth engagement, the Bihar Yuva Ayog, a statutory commission for individuals aged 18 to 45, will also be formally launched. In a move aligned with the PM-USHA (Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan), the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for academic and research infrastructure in four Bihar universities — Patna University, Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University in Madhepura, Jai Prakash University in Chhapra, and Nalanda Open University. These projects, worth Rs160 crore, are expected to benefit over 27,000 students.
Further, the PM will dedicate to the nation the new Bihta campus of NIT Patna, which has the capacity to host 6,500 students and houses facilities such as a 5G lab, a Regional Academic Centre for Space in collaboration with ISRO, and an Innovation and Incubation Centre that has already supported nine start-ups.
The Prime Minister will distribute appointment letters to over 4,000 newly recruited government employees in Bihar.
He will also release Rs 450 crore in scholarships through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 25 lakh students of Classes 9 and 10 under the Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika Protsahan Yojana. Officials said the overarching objective of the new programmes is to create an ecosystem that seamlessly integrates education, skill development, entrepreneurship, and employment. With the PM-SETU programme being positioned as a “government-owned but industry-managed” model, the Centre aims to make India’s skilling architecture globally competitive.
