Key Points

As PM Modi launched youth-focused initiatives worth more than Rs 62,000 crore, he said that the NDA government in Bihar prioritises women and youth.

Addressing the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, he said, "ITIs are not only premier institutions of industrial education; they are also the workshops of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Our focus is on upgrading them, along with increasing their numbers. There were 10,000 ITIs till 2014, and in the last decade, 5,000 new ITIs have been established."

The Prime Minister added that India needs to take forward the "local talent, local skills, and local knowledge".

"Today, this is a mega program of empowerment of Bihar's youth. This shows how the NDA government prioritises youth and women in Bihar. India is a country of knowledge and skill. This intellectual strength is our greatest power. The 21st century demands that, keeping India's needs in mind, we have to take forward local talent, skills, and knowledge. The ITIs will play a role in it. More than 1.5 crore youth have been trained in the last 11 years. They have been taught the skills in their local languages," he said.

Earlier today, he felicitated 46 all-India toppers from Industrial Training Institutes and said that skills and labour should be respected in public life.

"The idea behind the convocation was that if we did not give prestige to skills and people with skills were not respected in public life, maybe they would think less of themselves. This is an initiative to change the mindset. We say 'Shram ev jayate, shram ev pujyate' (Labour is victorious and labour is respected)," PM Modi said.

Today, PM Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU), a centrally sponsored scheme with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, PM Modi launched Bihar's revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Svyam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana, under which nearly five lakh graduate youth every year will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for two years, along with free skill training.

He also launched the redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, which will provide completely interest-free education loans of up to Rs 4 lakh, significantly easing the financial burden of higher education. More than 3.92 lakh students have already availed loans worth more than Rs 7,880 crore under the scheme.

- ANI