Govt press to be upgraded at cost of Rs 338 crore

The government press at Minto Road here will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 338 crore, an initiative which will increase its production capacity from 16 lakh pages per day to 45 lakh pages per day.
The press meets printing needs of Parliament and various ministries and departments of the central government, among others.
Some of the machines at the facility were installed in 1968 and non-availability of spare parts is posing a hindrance in the smooth functioning of the press.
"The present building of the press will be redeveloped at a cost of Rs 238.56 crore into three blocks of ground plus six floors suitable to locate modern equipment to be installed at a cost of Rs 100 crore," according official release said.

Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has accepted the recommendation of the Standing Finance Committee in this regard, it added.
With the initiative, the production capacity of the printing press will increase from the present 16 lakh pages per day (60 crore pages per year) of A-5 size to 45 lakh pages per day (164.96 cr pages per year), an increase of 177 per cent.
Multi-colour printing, which is not available presently, will be made available.
The entire redevelopment and modernisation work would be completed in 52 months.