1396 ITIs to be upgraded into centres of excellence

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) As many as 1396 Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) have been proposed to be upgraded into Centres of Excellence in specific trades and skills under public-private partnership (PPP).

This was announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, while presenting the Budget proposals for the year 2007-08 in the Lok Sabha today.

Under the proposed scheme, the State Government, as the owner of the ITI, will continue to regulate admission and fees; the new management will be given academic and financial autonomy and the Central Government will provide financial assistance by way of seed money.

The Finance Minister also proposed to grant an interest-free loan upto Rs 2.5 crore to each ITI for upgradation and revision of courses. He sought the cooperation of the State Governments in upgrading at least 300 ITIs every year beginning 2007-08 under the PPP mode. He further stated that Rs. 750 crore have been kept aside for this purpose.

UNI