Lok Sabha Question No. 326 (STARRED), answered on 2026-03-16
Subject: Skill Centres of  Excellence
Ministry: SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Asked by: Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Shri G M Harish Balayogi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *326

ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026

## SKILL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

- *326.  SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY: SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:

Will  the  Minister  of  SKILL  DEVELOPMENT  AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP be pleased to state

- (a)        the  details  of  the  number  of  Skill  Centres  of  Excellence  (SCoE)  proposed,  under construction  and  presently  functional  across  the  country,  State/UT-wise,  particularly  in  Andhra Pradesh;
- (b)       the details of the total number of beneficiaries (male, female and others) of SCoEs across the country, State/UT-wise, including the above State during the last five years and the current year;
- (c)         the  details  of  the  total  funds  allocated,  released  and  utilised  for  functioning  of  SCoEs across the country, State/UT-wise, including the above State during the last five years and the current year, year-wise; and
- (d)       whether the Government has any proposal for increasing the number of SCoEs across the country, State/UT-wise, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a) to (d):   A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *326 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY, SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:

(a)  to  (d):         In  2019,  the  Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship  (MSDE)  issued guidelines  for  the  recognition  of  institutions  already  engaged  in  research  and  development activities in the skilling domain and related fields as Centres of Excellence.

In  accordance with these guidelines, the Ministry has recognized six institutions as Centres of Excellence. The details of these six Centres of Excellence, along with the number of candidates trained  during  the  last  five  financial  years  (FY  2020 -21  to  FY  2024 -25),  are  provided  in Annexure-I . As per the guidelines, there is no provision for providing financial assistance to the Centres of Excellence recognized by MSDE.

Five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling were announced in the Union Budget 2025 -26 with the objective of equipping youth with the skills required to support the 'Make for India, Make for  the  World'  manufacturing  initiative.  As  part  of  the  announcement,  it  has  been  proposed  to leverage  global  expertise  and  partnerships  for  curriculum  development,  training  of  trainers, establishment of a skills certification framework, and periodic review of the Centres of Excellence. This initiative builds upon the announcement made in the Union Budget July 2024, which, inter alia, envisaged capacity augmentation of five National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).

Subsequently,  the  Union  Cabinet  has  approved  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Skilling  and  Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme aimed at improving the quality and relevance of vocational training across the country, with a total outlay of ₹60,000 crore. Under Component -II of the scheme, approval has been accorded for the establishment of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling at the National Skill Training Institutes located in Bhubaneswar, Chennai,  Hyderabad,  Kanpur,  and  Ludhiana.  The  estimated  cost  for  establishing  these  five Centres of Excellence has been incorporated within the overall financial outlay of the PM-SETU scheme.

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN  REPLY OF  PARTS  (a)  to  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO. *326 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026.

State-wise details  of  six  Centres  of  Excellence  recognized  by  the  MSDE  along  with  no.  of candidates trained during last five FYs (FY 2020-21 to 2024-25) are as under:

|   S.N. | Institute                                                  | State       | Validity   | No. candidates trained during last 5 FYs   |
|--------|------------------------------------------------------------|-------------|------------|--------------------------------------------|
|      1 | School of Vocational Education and Training (SoVET)        | Odisha      | 17.11.2025 | 23,999                                     |
|      2 | State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (SIDAC) | Odisha      | 9.12.2025  | 526                                        |
|      3 | Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII)     | Gujrat      | 25.10.2026 | 8,75,707                                   |
|      4 | Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship (XIME)   | Karnataka   | 25.10.2026 | 1352                                       |
|      5 | Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST)              | Karnataka   | 23.12.2026 | 7471                                       |
|      6 | Centre of Excellence (Marine Engineering) INS Shivaji      | Maharashtra | 23.12.2026 | 20,996                                     |

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