Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday called for aligning skilling with India’s manufacturing and defence ambitions. He said if India wants to build an ‘aatmanirbhar’ defence industry, it must also build an ‘aatmanirbhar (self-reliant)’ talent pipeline.
Singh was addressing the PM-SETU Industry Conclave organised by the Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship in collaboration with the state government here.
Jayant Chaudhary, Union minister of state (independent charge) for skill development and entrepreneurship as well as Union minister of state for education, and Kapil Dev Agarwal, minister of state (independent charge) for vocational education in the state government, were also present.
Singh said India’s ambitions in defence manufacturing, aerospace, electronics, drones, robotics, precision engineering and advanced manufacturing would require a large pool of skilled and future-ready manpower. He underlined that a strong defence industrial base and a strong skilling ecosystem must grow together to advance self-reliance and technological capabilities.
He also emphasised that industry participation should extend to identifying future skill requirements, shaping curricula, modernising equipment, training instructors, providing apprenticeships and creating pathways to employment. “Industries should not merely support ITIs; they should actively participate in shaping them,” he said.
He highlighted the opportunity to align PM-SETU with the UP Defence Industrial Corridor and encouraged exploration of specialised capabilities in selected PM-SETU Hub ITIs aligned with emerging requirements of defence manufacturing including precision manufacturing, aerospace, electronics and unmanned systems.
{{/usCountry}}He highlighted the opportunity to align PM-SETU with the UP Defence Industrial Corridor and encouraged exploration of specialised capabilities in selected PM-SETU Hub ITIs aligned with emerging requirements of defence manufacturing including precision manufacturing, aerospace, electronics and unmanned systems.
{{/usCountry}}He added that UP has the potential to emerge as a model for skill-defence-MSME integration given its high standards, industrial capability, large youth population and defence industrial corridor.
Jayant Chaudhary said PM-SETU represents a new partnership model between the government, industry and training institutions to bridge the gap between training and employment.
It was informed at the event that approved industry partnership proposals currently represent more than ₹1,500 crore of committed industry-led investment across seven clusters in five states.