Maruti Suzuki Signs MoU With Gujarat to Set Up Manufacturing Labs in Five ITIs

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Directorate of Employment and Training (DET), Government of Gujarat, to set up Advanced Manufacturing Labs (AMLs) at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Palanpur, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Godhra and Dahod.

According to the company, the initiative is aligned with the central government's Skill India mission and is intended to improve employability by building a workforce suited to industry needs. The labs, developed under Maruti Suzuki's Corporate Social Responsibility programme, are designed to replicate shop-floor conditions and offer hands-on training in assembly, welding, painting, machining, mechatronics and safety. The company said it invested ₹125 crore (₹1,250 million) in skill development initiatives under its CSR programme in FY 2025-26.

The announcement comes as Maruti Suzuki expands its manufacturing footprint in Gujarat. The company said it plans to start a fourth production line at its Hansalpur facility this year, which would take total annual capacity there to 1 million units from the current 750,000. It is also setting up a separate plant with a capacity of 1 million units at Sanand, Gujarat. Combined, the company said its annual production capacity in the state would rise to 2 million units.

Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs at Maruti Suzuki, said the company's collaboration with the Skill India mission is meant to create livelihood opportunities for young people through relevant skill training. He said the Advanced Manufacturing Labs are intended to give students practical experience with modern equipment to help them enter the automotive sector, and added that the company's planned expansion in the state would require a correspondingly skilled workforce.

Stuti Charan, IAS, Director of the DET, Government of Gujarat, said Maruti Suzuki has shown a sustained commitment to skill development in India and that the labs are intended to narrow the gap between classroom instruction and industry requirements. She linked the initiative to the state government's broader skilling goals and cited the involvement of Gujarat's labour and skill development department in supporting the programme.

Maruti Suzuki currently supports 31 ITIs across India in manufacturing-related trades, including the five named above, and operates 18 Advanced Manufacturing Labs nationally. With the addition of the five Gujarat labs, the company said it will operate 23 AMLs across seven states and union territories — Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Chandigarh. The company also operates four Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIMs) in Gujarat and Haryana, established as a joint initiative between the governments of India and Japan.