Lucknow, Sep 10 : Nearly 66 State Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Uttar Pradesh will now be lit up with solar energy. The state government is preparing to install solar power plants in ITI buildings. It will be a massive power saving decision besides ensuring uninterrupted power supply. ITI students in the rural areas will benefit the most from this scheme. According to the Vocational Education and Skill Development Department spokesman, the solar power plants with the capacity of 40 KW each will be set up in 66 ITIs of the state. Currently, more than 300 government ITIs are being operated in the state. The number of seats in these is more than 1.19 lakh. Recently, 44 new state ITIs have been made functional by the government for skill development of students. This has resulted in an increase of more than 58,000 seats. According to Kunal Silku, the director of Vocational Education and Skill Development, most of the ITIs are being conducted in the rural areas. In the first phase, solar power plants are being set up in the ITIs of rural areas where the uninterrupted power supply will facilitate the students in their practical and experimental works. Also, the installation of power plants will meet the electricity requirement for online teaching, as and when required. /IANS