12 industrial parks worth Rs 25,000 crore await Union Cabinet nod

To attract Rs 1.5 trn investment in boost to manufacturing

The Union Cabinet is expected to approve 12 industrial parks in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab, with a project cost of around Rs 25,000 crore, people aware of the matter said.

These projects are expected to attract investment to the tune of around Rs 1.5 trillion, one of the persons told Business Standard.

These industrial parks will function more like industrial cities, where residential and commercial setups will co-exist.

This is part of the government’s initiative to attract foreign investment, boost domestic manufacturing and spur employment generation.

The approval of the Union Cabinet can come as early as this week.

In her Budget speech last month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had spoken about the plan to sanction 12 industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development programme.

“Our government will facilitate the development of investment-ready ‘plug and play’ industrial parks with complete infrastructure in or near 100 cities, in partnership with states and private sector, by utilising town planning schemes better,” Sitharaman had said.

These industrial cities will be set up in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Kerala, among others, and will include cities such as Agra, Gaya, Prayagraj.

They will be similar to the one developed — Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh and Special Investment Region in Gujarat’s Dholera.

These hubs will see development of industries like technical textiles, fabrication, electric vehicles, aero logistics, food processing and tourism-based, among others, the person cited above said, adding that these cities are expected to be built over three years.

The government has taken steps to ensure most of the major clearances are granted so that the project is not stuck in limbo.

“Land acquisition has been done, environment and other related clearances have also been taken, which will ensure that these industrial cities are built in a time bound manner,” the person added.

The Budget also mentioned that the industrial node at Gaya will also be a ‘good model for developing our ancient centres of cultural importance into future centres of modern economy’ and will showcase ‘Vikas bhi Virasat bhi’ in India’s growth trajectory.

The fine print

> In her Budget speech last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the plan to sanction 12 industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme

> The parks will be set up in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Telangana

> States will see the development of industries like technical textiles, fabrication, electric vehicles, aero logistics, and food processing