NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled a series of youth-centric initiatives worth over Rs 62,000 crore, with a special focus on poll-bound Bihar. PM 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.The scheme aims to modernise 1,000 government ITIs under a hub-and-spoke model, including 200 hub ITIs and 800 spoke ITIs. Each hub under the scheme will be linked to an average of four spokes, forming clusters with upgraded infrastructure, digital learning systems, and incubation centres, ANI reported.The initiative is backed by global co-financing from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, with the first phase focusing on Patna and Darbhanga ITIs.Speaking at Vigyan Bhawan during the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh, PM Modi said the move underlines the NDA government’s commitment to empowering youth and women in the state.“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 said.He further said 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.” he added.The PM also inaugurated 1,200 Vocational Skill Labs across 400 Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools in 34 states and union territories. These labs will offer training in 12 high-demand sectors including IT, automotive, electronics, agriculture, logistics, and tourism – aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the CBSE curriculum. Around 1,200 vocational teachers will be trained to provide industry-relevant education.PM unveils redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card SchemeAhead of the Bihar elections, PM Modi launched a revamped Mukhyamantri Nishchay Swayam Sahayata Bhatta Yojana, under which nearly 5 lakh graduates every year will get a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 for two years, along with free skill training.He also unveiled a redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, offering interest-free loans up to Rs 4 lakh for higher education. So far, 3.92 lakh students have availed loans worth Rs 7,880 crore under the scheme.PM Modi also inaugurated the Bihar Yuva Ayog, a statutory body for people aged 18 to 45, aimed at harnessing the state’s young talent. Taking forward NEP 2020, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for new academic and research facilities under the PM-Usha (Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) in four Bihar universities — Patna University, Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University (Madhepura), Jai Prakash Vishwavidyalaya (Chapra), and Nalanda Open University (Patna).The Rs 160 crore projects will benefit over 27,000 students, offering modern infrastructure, laboratories, hostels, and multidisciplinary learning opportunities.NIT Patna’s Bihta campus dedicated to nationPM Modi dedicated the Bihta campus of NIT Patna to the nation. The facility can accommodate 6,500 students and includes advanced infrastructure such as a 5G use case lab, a Regional Academic Centre for Space (with ISRO), and an Innovation and Incubation Centre that has already supported nine startups.He also distributed appointment letters to 4,000 new recruits in Bihar’s government and released Rs 450 crore in scholarships via Direct Benefit Transfer to 25 lakh students under the Mukhyamantri Balak/Balika Scholarship Scheme.Inauguration of ‘Jan Nayak’ Karpoori Thakur Skill UniversityPM also inaugurated the Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University in Bihar, which will focus on industry-oriented and vocational courses to build a globally competitive workforce.“Karpoori Thakur wasn’t made ‘Jan Nayak’ by social media trolls. He was made ‘Jan Nayak’ by the people of Bihar, and they did so after observing his life. I would urge the people of Bihar to be vigilant. Nowadays, people are trying to steal even this title of ‘Jan Nayak’. Therefore, I urge the people of Bihar to be vigilant so that this honour bestowed upon Karpoori Thakur by the people is not stolen… the double engine government of NDA is continuously engaged in modernising the educational institutions of Bihar,” PM Modi said.He added that the “double-engine government of NDA is continuously modernising Bihar’s educational institutions.”PM felicitated 46 all-India toppers from ITIsEarlier, he felicitated 46 all-India toppers from Industrial Training Institutes and stressed the need to value skills 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.