K'taka govt okays Rs 4,636 cr upgradation of 150 ITIs in tie- up with Tata Technologies

Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for upgradation of 150 government-run industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the state at a cost of Rs 4,636.50 crore in partnership with Tata Technologies Limited, official sources said.

The upgradation was being done to bridge the skill gap between ITIs and the industries as per current standards and keeping in mind the future demands, they said. In collaboration with Tata Technologies training will be revamped with the state-of-the-art infrastructure in order to bridge the skill gap and provide employment opportunities.
According to the sources, Tata Technologies Limited will invest Rs 4,080 crore on 150 ITIs, which is about Rs 27.20 crore on each institute, along with five years of free annual maintenance contract (AMC), making 300 trainers in two years and providing free online platform.

The government would contribute the remaining amount, they said. In addition, the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation will spend Rs 105 crore from its own funds to take up the building expansion, repair, furniture, additional electricity requirements and other related works.

Officials said the partnership was aimed at providing advanced training, new technology and equipment, and industrial linkage to create technology hubs to train people in line with the industrial requirements in the state and in other states.

Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) has been roped in as the knowledge partner for this for a period of 24 months at the expense of about Rs 5.18 crore. There are a total of 1,713 ITIs in the state, out of them 270 are government, 196 aided and 1,247 private, with a total enrolment of about 1.8 lakh students.

Other decisions taken by the cabinet included extending the concession agreement with the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) for 30 more years, officials said. a clause that allows BIAL to operate the HAL airport in the city has also been added.