Thirty government ITIs, a ₹1,446 crore upgrade plan, and two landmark MOUs signed in a single day — Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, announced a major push to rewire the state's vocational training ecosystem under the Centre's PM-Setu Yojana.

What the ₹1,446 Crore Modernisation Actually Means

The PM-Setu Yojana — a central scheme designed to upgrade government Industrial Training Institutes and align their curricula with live industry needs — will channel a proposed ₹1,446 crore into 30 state-run ITIs across Chhattisgarh. The investment is intended to replace ageing workshops and machinery with modern, industry-standard equipment, and to redesign training modules around what employers in steel, mining, and allied sectors are actually hiring for. CM Sai framed it as part of the broader national direction set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: creating fresh pathways to both employment and self-employment for young people through aadhunik kaushal — modern skills.

The scheme builds on foundations laid by the Skill India Mission (launched 2015) and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which brought short-cycle skill certifications to millions. PM-Setu goes a step further by anchoring upgrades inside existing ITI infrastructure rather than building parallel systems — a harder problem to solve, but the one that has persistently held back vocational outcomes.

Bhilai Steel Plant and NMDC Step In for Durg and Bastar

The most concrete development on Tuesday was the signing of MOUs at the Chhattisgarh Mantralaya between the state government and two public-sector giants: the Bhilai Steel Plant (a flagship SAIL subsidiary and one of the largest employers in the state) and NMDC Limited (the country's premier iron-ore mining company, with deep operations in Bastar). The agreements cover the Durg and Bastar clusters — a deliberate geographic choice that places skill infrastructure exactly where industrial demand already exists.

The cluster model reflects a well-established pattern in mineral-rich states: rather than expecting trainees to travel for industry exposure, it brings PSU expertise, equipment access, and potential placement pipelines directly into the ITI ecosystem. Bhilai anchors the Durg cluster, while NMDC's presence makes Bastar — long associated with insurgency and underdevelopment — a site of industrial skill-building instead.

Bastar's Bigger Stakes

The inclusion of Bastar in this rollout is not incidental. The region has historically suffered from low human-development indicators and limited formal employment, with successive governments struggling to convert its mineral wealth into local livelihoods. Tying an ITI modernisation drive to NMDC's operational footprint in the area signals a deliberate attempt to make that conversion real — though outcomes will depend on what courses are actually offered, how many seats are created, and whether placement linkages follow. Those details, alongside the full allocation of the ₹1,446 crore across the 30 ITIs, are what policymakers and students alike will now be watching for.

For CM Sai, Tuesday's announcements are also a visible state-level expression of the Modi government's skill agenda — a chance to demonstrate that central schemes can be operationalised, not just announced. The MOU signings with two PSUs give the plan industrial credibility. Whether the classrooms follow is the next chapter.