Hyderabad: The Directorate General of Training under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship organised an industry consultation at the National Skill Training Institute in Kanpur to discuss the proposed aeronautics centre of excellence under the PM-SETU scheme.
The meeting focused on establishing a National Centre of Excellence for Aeronautics and Allied Sectors. Officials said the initiative would strengthen advanced skill development and align training programmes with industry requirements.
Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Debashree Mukherjee chaired the consultation. Director General of Training Dilip Kumar also attended the meeting along with senior officials, representatives from the Uttar Pradesh Department of Vocational Education and Skill Development, and industry partners.
More than 25 organisations participated in the discussion. These included companies from defence aerospace, civil aviation, precision engineering and manufacturing sectors. Representatives from multilateral institutions also joined the consultation.
Officials said the discussions emphasised stronger industry participation in curriculum design, training delivery, infrastructure development and apprenticeship linkages. Moreover, stakeholders stressed the need to match skill programmes with emerging requirements in the aerospace ecosystem.
The proposed aeronautics centre of excellence will operate under the PM-SETU framework and will develop training capacity in high-end manufacturing and aeronautics trades. In addition, the ministry said the centre will support a skilled workforce for India’s expanding aerospace sector.
Aeronautics centre of excellence to strengthen ITI ecosystem
Under Component-I of PM-SETU, the scheme follows a hub-and-spoke model to modernise Industrial Training Institutes. Officials stated that hub ITIs in Uttar Pradesh will mentor spoke ITIs to improve training quality and industry linkages.
The ministry identified several ITI clusters across the state, including locations in Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gorakhpur. Consequently, the model aims to strengthen regional skilling ecosystems and expand vocational training opportunities.
Furthermore, the aeronautics centre of excellence is expected to train thousands of professionals each year. Officials said the initiative would enhance employability, support industrial growth and contribute to India’s goal of self-reliance in advanced manufacturing.
The consultation forms part of ongoing efforts under PM-SETU to modernise training institutes and deepen collaboration between industry and vocational education institutions.
