New Delhi: In a massive push for youth empowerment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a bouquet of education, skilling and entrepreneurship initiatives worth over ₹62,000 crore at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on October 4, with a special emphasis on Bihar, which will go to the polls by the end of this year.
The programme, anchored by the fourth edition of the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh (National Skill Convocation), will also felicitate 46 All India Toppers from Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
At the centre of the announcements is the PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs), a centrally-sponsored scheme with an investment of ₹60,000 crore. The initiative will modernise 1,000 government ITIs nationwide through a hub-and-spoke model comprising 200 hubs and 800 spokes. Equipped with innovation centres, incubation facilities, digital learning systems and placement services, the clusters will be government-owned but industry-managed, with global co-financing support from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The first phase will prioritise ITIs in Patna and Darbhanga.
The PM will also inaugurate 1,200 vocational skill labs set up in 400 Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools across 34 States and Union Territories. These labs, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, will offer training in 12 high-demand sectors including IT, logistics, agriculture and electronics. Nearly 1,200 vocational teachers have been trained to deliver industry-ready curriculum.
With a strong focus on Bihar, PM Modi will roll out several state-centric projects. These include the revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Svyam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana, providing a ₹1,000 monthly allowance for two years and free skill training to nearly five lakh graduate youth annually; and the redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, offering interest-free loans of up to ₹4 lakh for higher education. Already, over 3.92 lakh students have benefited with loans worth ₹7,880 crore. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Bihar Yuva Ayog, a statutory youth commission for those aged 18–45.
In higher education, PM Modi will dedicate the Bihta campus of NIT Patna, equipped with a 5G use case lab, an Isro-supported regional academic centre for space, and an innovation and incubation centre nurturing startups. He will also lay foundation stones for new facilities in four Bihar universities -- Patna University, Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University, Jai Prakash Vishwavidyalaya and Nalanda Open University -- under the PM-USHA scheme, benefiting over 27,000 students.
Adding to this, the PM will inaugurate the Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University, distribute appointment letters to 4,000 new recruits in Bihar, and release ₹450 crore in scholarships through DBT to 25 lakh school students.
Collectively, these initiatives are expected to transform Bihar into a hub of skilled manpower and significantly enhance opportunities for India’s youth, aligning education, skilling and entrepreneurship with the nation’s growth trajectory.