Maharashtra: Skill Development Department Renames 26 ITIs After Notable Personalities, Including Dr APJ Abdul Kalam And Rani Lakshmibai

Mumbai: The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department, Maharashtra government, on Tuesday announced changing names of 26 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in different districts of the state. The decision to change the names was approved in a cabinet meeting that took place on September 30.

According to the government, these ITIs have been renamed after great personalities “who have made outstanding contributions in the field as well as social reformers”. For instance, ITI (Women) in Thane district has been renamed as Rajmata Jijau Government Industrial Training Institute (Women). Similarly, ITI in Pune district’s Aundh has been renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Government Industrial Training Institute and the Nashik district’s ITI has been renamed as Swatantryaveer Savarkar Government Industrial Training Institute.

The announcement comes a week after the state government had announced the renaming of 14 ITIs in the state. After a cabinet meeting on September 23, the state government had announced that the ITIs in Thane and Beed district will be renamed after Shiv Sena leaders Anand Dighe and Vinayak Mete respectively.

There are 419 government ITIs and 585 private ITIs in the state with an objective to provide livelihood oriented training and to supply skilled manpower to the industries.

Other prominent personalities whose names the ITIs have been renamed after include former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (ITI Mandvi), Rani Lakshmibai (Jalgaon women’s ITI), Savitribai Phule (Pune women’s ITI), Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Ratnagiri ITI), Ramabai Ambedkar (Dadar women’s ITI), Shri Guru Gobind Singh (Nanded ITI), Chakrabarty Raja Bhoj (Karanja ITI), among others.

The department also announced that going forward, a one-member committee of Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mangal Prabhat Lodha in consultation with the Guardian Minister of each district will take a call on renaming of ITIs, which will be approved by the Director, Directorate of Vocational Training.