Maharashtra government issues LOIs to start 20 new private ITIs, adds courses in existing ones

The Maharashtra government has approved the issuance of letters of intent (LOIs) for starting 20 new private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and addition of new courses and divisions in 32 existing ITIs. The ITI vocational courses offered will run permanently on a non-grant basis.

All the procedures laid down by the government regarding trade selection, land ownership, financial status, application process and fees, bond, institution's resolution, LOIs, affiliation and attachment, earnest money deposit, permission for direct admission, admission procedure, training fees, validity of LOIs, expenditure, etc, should be followed strictly.

According to the official Maharashtra government statement, all institutions recommended for the approval of trades have to be obtained from the Directorate General of Training (DGT) New Delhi, after fulfilling all the norms. Otherwise, student admission and commencement of unauthorised courses will lead to legal action.

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New ITIs admission requirements

As per the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department, Government Resolution (GR) for new ITI admission will not be granted without depositing a security amount of Rs 1 lakh for the first four batches and Rs 25,000 for each subsequent batch, and for existing institutions, Rs 25,000 per batch with the directorate.

If admissions are granted to students without obtaining affiliation from DGT New Delhi and permission from the directorate of vocational education and training, students will not be allowed to appear for exams, resulting in academic loss. Students will be offered admission as per the rules established by the government. Additionally, admissions will not be allowed beyond the approved intake for the vocational courses as recognised by the Maharashtra government and DGT New Delhi.

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ITI mandatory affiliation within three years

ITIs must obtain affiliation from DGT New Delhi within three years from the year in which the LOI is obtained; otherwise, LOIs issued for new trades, additional batches, trade changes, etc, in new and existing ITIs will automatically expire. Also, all the GRs issued by the government or the directorate have to be followed. In case of irregularity, recognition granted to the institution can be cancelled at any time.

ITI training fees, other charges

All the vocational courses being offered should be available for training in the existing private industrial training institutes as per the standards of DGT New Delhi. All the training fees and other charges fixed by the government shall be binding on private industrial training institutes, and no other charges shall be levied on the trainees by the institute. However, if the student admission count remains less than 50% of the approved capacity for three years, the recognition of the course will automatically be cancelled.

Also, ITIs running vocational course batches in the third shift should be converted to GST. However, institutions that have received an LOI for third shift batches from the state government will only be able to run third shift batches under the DST method.

As per the government resolution, institutions approved for the year 2025-26 shall be charged a processing fee of Rs 10,000 and a triennial approval fee of Rs 50,000. The approval fee shall be utilized for improving the quality, control, and standard enhancement of educational institutions. The control regarding this will rest with the District Level District Vocational Education and Training Officer of the Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department.