In a strategic meeting held in Lucknow, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Yogi Adityanath jointly decided to establish two Skill Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Uttar Pradesh — one in Greater Noida for plumbing and another in Varanasi for the services sector.
The two centres will feature world-class infrastructure developed through collaboration between the Central and State governments. The Uttar Pradesh government will provide land for the projects, while infrastructure development and training delivery will be supported by Sector Skill Councils and industry partners to ensure alignment with market demands and industry trends.
The meeting also focused on operationalising the India Institute of Skills in Kanpur. The institute, conceptualised by Narendra Modi during his visit to Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education, is being developed in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education. The institute will include 10–12 advanced laboratories and will focus on both manufacturing and service sector skills.
Assuring support from the Centre, Mahendra Nath Pandey stated that the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) would work closely with the Uttar Pradesh government to strengthen skilling infrastructure and ensure up-skilling and re-skilling of youth to meet industry requirements. He added that local employment generation would help address migration issues and contribute to sustainable development in the state.
Yogi Adityanath highlighted the state government’s focus on skill development through the One District One Product scheme and stressed the need to enhance skills among the farming community to improve productivity and livelihoods.
The meeting also reviewed efforts to modernise the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh. The state currently has 3,134 ITIs with a seating capacity of 7.58 lakh students, of which nearly 5.63 lakh students are undergoing training. Under a joint Centre-State initiative, 1,396 ITIs have already been upgraded through a public-private partnership model. Directions were issued to accelerate modernisation efforts and ensure that training standards remain industry-relevant.
Discussions were also held on strengthening skill development initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). Uttar Pradesh has emerged as one of the leading states under the Skill India Mission, with more than 11 lakh candidates trained under PMKVY. Over 75 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs) are operational across the state.
