New Delhi: As the demand for skilled labor and manpower increases with the growing economy in India, the Delhi government has decided to increase the number of seats by 3,000 in various Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) as well as polytechnic institutes that are run by it.

Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday asked the Department of Training and Technical Education (DTTE) to make the required arrangements for increasing the number of seats in these institutes.

According to officials, the increased number of seats will be made available in the institutes from the next academic session. At present, the number of seats in the ITIs and polytechnics run by the Delhi state government amount to about 14,300.

Sheila Dikshit directed the DTTE to introduce more seats at the first meeting held for the reconstituted State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT). DTTE was also asked by Dikshit to revise the current curriculum of the courses offered at these institutes to see whether their quality meets the standards of the industry.

"The curriculum for the existing courses at ITIs and polytechnics in the state should be modified according to the guidelines which have been prescribed by the Delhi Skill Mission," she said.

Dikshit told the department to initiate efforts for optimally utilizing the existing infrastructural facilities at the institutes and to modify the existing admission process in order to make it more convenient for students.

It was concluded at the meeting of the SCVT that academicians as well as experts from the industry would be consulted before the present curriculum is modified.

A proposal for the establishment of a Construction Academy in Delhi was also discussed at the meeting.