ITIs will have an important role to play in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and therefore the government has ensured modern courses such as coding, AI, robotics, 3D printing, drone technology, and telemedicine are offered by ITIs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
The youth of India should be equally proficient in education as well as skills, and the government has given top priority for creation of new institutions for skill training, he added.
The PM was addressing more than nine lakh students of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) through a video message on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti. The occasion marks the birth of Hindu God Vishwakarma, who in Hindu mythology is believed to be the creator of the universe. Artists, craftsmen, weavers, carpenters, construction workers offer prayers on this day.
“The first ITI in our country was established in 1950. In the following seven decades, 10,000 ITIs were formed. In the eight years of our government, about 5,000 new ITIs have been created in the country. More than four lakh new seats have also been added to ITIs in the last eight years,” the Prime Minister said.
The PM said that the government’s efforts to ensure expansion of technology has provided more job opportunities, including to those who pass out of ITIs. “Be it mobile repair work in the village or work concerning new technology in agriculture, spraying fertiliser or be it supplying medicine with the help of drones, many such new jobs are being added to the rural economy,” Mr. Modi said.
The government was also continuously working to upgrade ITIs and has opened National Skill Training Institutes, Indian Institute of Skills, and thousands of skill development centres across the country, he added.
The PM also said that the government will open more than 5,000 skill hubs to promote skill development at schools as per the National Education Policy 2020, which harps on skill courses in schools.
