Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu Unveils US $ 1200 billion investment opportunities in new urban initiatives

Invites Overseas Indians to partner in building modern Urban India

Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today made a fervent appeal to millions of Overseas Indians to join hands in the task of 'building a modern urban India'. Presiding over the Plenary Session on 'Opportunities in India' at the Pravasi Bharati Divas programme at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat, Shri Naidu outlined investment need of over US $ 1200 billion in building 100 smart cities, development of 500 cities and towns, Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas, Rejuvenation of cities of cultural heritage, construction of over 20 million low cost and affordable houses and skill development.

Elaborating on the ambitious urban development initiatives of the central government, Shri Venkaiah Naidu informed the participants that domestic and foreign private investments will be the main sources of investments for new urban initiatives. He said that about 60 lakh crore (950 billion US $) investments would be required for providing urban infrastructure across the country and as Operation & Maintenance costs of urban utilities over the next 20 years. About Rs.45,000 cr (US $ 7.50 billion) private investment in Clean India initiative in urban areas besides another Rs.15 lakh crore (US $ 238 billion) in ensuring housing for all is also required.

Giving details of various urban initiatives, Shri Naidu informed that 12 cities with rich cultural heritage assets would be taken for development of core heritage areas and making them more tourist friendly with all services and facilities. The cities identified under HRIDAY (Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana) include: Amritsar, Ajmer, Gaya, Mathura, Varanasi, Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh), Warangal(Telangana), Badami (Karnataka), Kanchipuram and Vellankini (Tamilnadu), Dwaraka (Gujarat) and Puri (Odisha).

Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu said that the mission of the Modi led government is 'Resurgent India' and various initiatives are being taken to improve investment climate and the 'ease of doing business' in the country. He noted that 'the sentiment within and outside the country has changed significantly after Shri Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister. The country is firmly on the path of recovery. Shri Modi's simple mantra is to Make India through Skill India, Digital India and Clean India. The secular aspirations of the people of the country for development were clearly expressed during the recent elections to the Lok Sabha and assemblies of 8 states. These wishes and aspirations of the people constitute the Gita, Bible and Koran for our government. Some efforts are being made to divert the attention from our agenda of development and governance and we will not allow them to succeed. Gandhi ji arrived in India 100 years ago on a mission of liberating our county and Shri Modi has come to Delhi as Prime Minister with a mission of Resurgent India. '

Shri Naidu observed that since the formation of Shri Modi led government at the centre, inflation has been steadily declining with Wholesale Price Index recoding Zero during November last year, economic growth rate increasing from 4.60% to 5.70%, Foreign Institutional Investments touching US $ 42 billion in 2014 as against only 12 billion US $ in the previous year, core manufacturing picking up, power generation going by 22% etc. He further said that with emphasis on punctuality and accountability, actual working hours by employees too increased. Shri Naidu noted that in nut-shell, the management of the economy and governance is marked by clear sense of purpose and direction creating the right environment for realizing a 'Resurgent India'.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News