NEW DELHI: The skills development and entrepreneurship ministry (MSDE) is set to create a national advisory body to steer “long-term reforms and holistic transformation” of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), in an effort to align vocational education with industry needs, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The body, Saarthi (Strategic Advisory and Reforms Taskforce for Holistic ITI Transformation), will be chaired by the minister of state (independent charge), MSDE, and will provide strategic direction, facilitate policy convergence, and enable long-term planning for reforms under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS). Under the CTS, 14,615 ITIs — comprising 3,316 government and 11,299 private institutes — provide industry-oriented skill training to young students with the objective of supplying a skilled workforce to industry.
Currently, the Directorate General of Training (DGT) under MSDE oversees standards, curriculum and certification at the national level, while the day-to-day administration of ITIs lies with state governments. The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) acts as the regulator of the skilling ecosystem, and industry contributes to technical aspects in ITIs such as curriculum development.
“While each of these entities plays a critical role, the absence of a single unified platform for strategic dialogue and coordination among them has limited the system’s responsiveness to evolving skill demands,” reads the concept note of Saarthi. HT has a copy of the note.
{{/usCountry}}“While each of these entities plays a critical role, the absence of a single unified platform for strategic dialogue and coordination among them has limited the system’s responsiveness to evolving skill demands,” reads the concept note of Saarthi. HT has a copy of the note.
{{/usCountry}}An MSDE official said Saarthi will function as a central council for CTS, bringing together the Centre, states, industry, and key regulatory institutions on a single platform to guide long-term reforms in ITI training. “It will guide curriculum standards, certification, ITI regulation and industry alignment to address long-standing coordination gaps in India’s vocational training ecosystem,” the official added, asking not to be named.
According to the concept note, Saarthi is envisaged as an apex strategic advisory council that will provide policy direction on curriculum standardisation, trade testing and certification, accreditation norms for ITIs, and the introduction of new trades aligned with emerging industry needs. It is also tasked with advising the government on examination reforms, modern assessment practices, and pathways for ITI graduates to transition to higher qualification levels under the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), which standardises skill qualifications by level, enabling quality assurance and mobility across vocational and formal education systems. Saarthi will also work to strengthen industry-institute linkages and promote public-private partnerships in skill development.
A state minister overseeing vocational training will serve as the body’s vice-chairperson on a rotational basis. Its membership will include representatives from multiple central ministries, including labour, education and MSME, state governments, public and private sector employers, industry associations, regulators such as NCVET, AICTE and UGC, as well as NITI Aayog.
Presidents of the Congress’ labour wing, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), and the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will also be part of Saarthi as “experts with special knowledge and experience in matters relating to labour”.
All appointed members of SAARTHI will serve for a period of three years.
Krishna Dutt Mishra, principal of Government ITI Ghaziabad, said: “I hope that Saarthi will help us in facilitating more industry visits for our students. Industry leaders and experts will give their recommendations and suggestions to help government officials in formulating new policies and guidelines for improving training of ITI students which will improve their employability.”
Harshil Sharma, who holds a PhD in labour economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has worked with the governments of Delhi, Odisha and Maharashtra on designing skilling programmes, said meaningful reform would require deeper and outcome-linked involvement of the private sector. “Private sector participation has to go beyond representation on committees or boards. It must be embedded in certification, training delivery and assessment, because this is where most trainees eventually find employment. Without aligning skilling systems to real industry demand and incentives, merely creating new bodies or boards will not address the structural gaps in vocational training,” Sharma added.