Government to give Rs 3500 crore support to manufacturing, infrastructure to boost growth and create jobs | Mint

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved infrastructure projects with a total investment of about $10 million, including 12 new industrial hubs or cities and three railway projects connecting major industrial hubs. ₹35,000 crores.

Further, the Cabinet approved provision of Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to state governments in the North-Eastern region for equity participation in development of hydropower projects while extending central sector loan facilities under the ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’ to help increase farmers’ income.

The proposal for the third e-auction under the Private FM Radio Phase III Policy was also approved. These auctions will cover 730 channels in 234 new cities with an estimated minimum bid of 10,000 bids. ₹784.87 crores.

The value of the Cabinet approved projects is ₹2 trillion in 3 months

Cabinet has approved infrastructure projects totalling more than $10 million in the past three months. ₹Wednesday’s $2 trillion decision further underlines the government’s focus on nurturing manufacturing and strengthening infrastructure to move closer to its goal of universal coverage by 2047, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said.

He said the new smart industrial city is an extension of the existing industrial corridor and will boost manufacturing while also attracting more than $10 billion in investment. ₹$1.5 trillion investment and 1 million direct jobs created. The median total investment in projects is ₹28,602 crores.

“These projects, in line with the vision of Vikshit Bharat, will consolidate India’s role in the global value chain by providing readily allocable land to investors. These projects have been identified in such a way as to create a grand necklace of industrial smart cities on the backbone of the Golden Quadrilateral,” Vaishnaw said.

Strategically planned across 10 states and along six major corridors, these new industrial clusters are expected to transform the country’s industrial landscape, creating a network of industrial hubs and cities that will significantly boost economic growth and global competitiveness.

The approved projects will also improve logistics efficiency by connecting unconnected regions, increasing existing line capacity, and strengthening transportation networks, resulting in streamlined supply chains and accelerated economic growth.

The new industrial city will be developed as a global standard greenfield smart city, built ahead of demand with “plug-and-play” and “walk-to-work” concepts. This approach will equip the city with advanced infrastructure to support sustainable and efficient industrial operations.

According to a government statement, these industrial zones will be located in Kurupia (Uttarakhand), Rajpura Patiala (Punjab), Dighi (Maharashtra), Palakkad (Kerala), Agra and Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Gaya (Bihar), Zaheerabad (Telangana), Orvakkal and Kopparthi (AP) and Jodhpur Pali (Rajasthan). The cities will see a range of activities focusing on sectors already linked with the proposed industrial clusters such as food and agro processing, information technology, telecommunications, garnet, textiles, engineering, manufacturing and pharmaceutical equipment.

The proposal to provide central financial assistance to state governments in the North-Eastern region will be for equity participation in developing hydroelectric projects through joint ventures between state and central governments. The outlay for this scheme is ₹4,136 crore will be implemented between 2024-25 and 2031-32. A cumulative hydropower capacity of about 15,000 MW will be supported under the scheme.

Apart from e-auction under the Private FM Radio Phase III policy, it also approved the proposal to collect Annual Licence Fee (ALF) from FM channels at 4 per cent of their total revenue excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST).

This applies to 234 new municipalities.

The rollout of private FM radio in 234 new cities and towns will fill an unmet demand.

Vaishnau added that this would create new employment opportunities, promote local dialects and culture, and foster “local advocacy” efforts.

Many of the approved cities and towns are in aspirational districts and areas affected by left-wing extremism. Setting up private FM radio stations in these areas will further strengthen the government’s outreach, a government statement said.

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the extension of the loan facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is an extension of the government’s efforts to increase farm income by supporting value addition of agricultural produce. The initiative seeks to expand the scope of eligible projects and integrate additional support measures to foster a strong agriculture infrastructure ecosystem. This will provide funding to all eligible beneficiaries for infrastructure construction covered under the Viable Projects for Community Agriculture Asset Building. Primary and secondary processing projects are now included in the list of eligible activities for AIF. It also allows for the integration of Component A of PM-KUSUM for farmers/farmer groups/farmer producer organisations/cooperatives/panchayats with AIF. The alignment of these initiatives aims to promote sustainable clean energy solutions in tandem with the development of agriculture infrastructure.

Since its launch by the Prime Minister in 2020, the AIF has supported the creation of 6,623 warehouses, 688 cold storage and 21 silo projects, leading to increased storage capacity. ₹So far, Rs 47,575 crore has been sanctioned for 74,508 projects under the AIF. These sanctioned projects are: ₹Of the Agriculture sector 78,596 crores ₹78,433 crore has been mobilised from the private sector. Moreover, infrastructure projects sanctioned under the AIF have contributed to creation of over 8.19 lakh rural employment opportunities in the agriculture sector, a government statement said.

The Prime Minister begins X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, “The Cabinet’s decision to extend the Central Sector Scheme of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is another example of the importance of agriculture and farmers’ welfare. This decision will ensure increased income for farmers and promote sustainability.”

“The Cabinet has taken a very important decision to set up 12 industrial hubs/cities under the National Industrial Corridor Development Plan, which will boost growth and create jobs for many people besides significantly boosting infrastructure,” he said.