The State government has identified six clusters of government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Tamil Nadu for being upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme.This was disclosed by Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister for State (Independent charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, in the Lok Sabha recently in response to a query raised by Perambalur MP K. N. Arun Nehru on the upgradation of ITIs in his constituency.The scheme envisages the upgradation of 1,000 government ITIs in the country in a hub and spoke model. The upgraded ITIs would get smart classrooms, modern labs, digital content and new courses aligned to industry needs.The Government ITIs in Tiruchi, Coimbatore, Hosur, Madurai, Thoothukudi and Ambattur are the identified hubs. Government ITIs in Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Pullambadi (ITI for women) and Viralimalai would come under the Tiruchi hub.The government ITIs in Dharapuram, Gobichettipalayam, Coimbatore (Women) and Erode would come under the Coimbatore hub, while the Madurai Hub will have the Dindigul, Theni, Karaikudi and Paramakudi government ITIs as its spokes.The Hosur Government ITI will have as its spokes the Salem, Dharmapuri, Salem (women) and Mettur Dam ITIs. The Tirunelveli, Tiruchendur, Nagercoil and Virudhunagar ITIs will form the spokes of the Thoothukudi ITI hub, while the Chengalpattu, Perumbakkam, Vellore and Ranipet ITIs will come under the Ambattur hub.The selection of ITIs under the PM-SET scheme is done by the respective Stage governments in consultation with industry and local industrial potential, the Minister said.Improving the quality of training in the ITIs, modernising the infrastructure and equipment as per industry standards, introducing industry-aligned long-term and short-term courses, especially in new and emerging sectors, and strengthening industry linkage for demand-driven skilling were among the key objectives of the scheme. Published - July 28, 2026 05:40 pm IST