Sitharaman says NMP to bring greater coherence in infra investments
Over 5,400 acres of developed land is available for immediate allotment for various uses like industrial, commercial, residential, institutional and others as part of the industrialization of India, according to deliberations on projects at a Ministerial-led meeting held on 7 July 2022.
Investments in Indian electronics manufacturing has reached US$76 billion and is growing at double-digit, while a growing number of national and multi-national industrial corporations have committed Rs.17,500 crore.
These development opportunities and inflow of investments were given by officials at the 1st meeting of Apex Monitoring Authority of National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP), chaired by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, told the meeting, “There is a huge opportunity for electronic manufacturing.
“Entire global value chain is shifting away from untrusted partners and India is being seen as a trusted partner. Success of electronic manufacturing in India is being watched by the world.”
Vaishnaw also urged the State Governments to have dedicated nodes for electronic manufacturing, which he said was highly employment intensive.
Till date, 201 plots with 979 acre of land parcels have been allotted to various national companies and MNCs, drawing Rs.17,500 crore investment commitments, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a statement after the meeting.
The commercial production has already started in 12 units and nearly 40 companies are setting up factories.
Under the Industrial Corridor Programme, complete hand holding support is being provided to the plot allottees till they go into commercial production.
Anurag Jain, Secretary DPIIT, informed that supplementing the Government’s for realizing the manufacturing potential of the country, NICDC is developing 11 industrial corridors comprising 32 nodes. These projects are to be developed in four Phases for taking forward the vision set out under PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary (Logistics) and CEO & MD, NICDC, informed that NICDC has delivered four developed futuristic “Smart industrial cities” namely Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat; Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA), Aurangabad in Maharashtra; Integrated Industrial Township, Greater Noida (IITGN) in Uttar Pradesh; Integrated Industrial Township, Vikram Udyogpuri (IITVU) in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
These cities have already been developed with plug and play infrastructure up to plot level for the industries.
He further stated that with the support of Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, two new nodes in Krishnapatnam and Tumakuru are moving towards implementation.
NICDC Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Administrative Control of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, which carries out project development activities and coordinates the implementation of the various Industrial Corridor projects under ‘National Industrial Corridor Programme’.
NICDC is also developing Multi Modal Logistics Hubs (MMLH) at Nangal Choudhary in Haryana and at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.
Additionally, Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) is being developed at Boraki in Uttar Pradesh.
Along with these developments, Minister Vaishnaw has stressed that rail connectivity must be an integral part of planning of project nodes and the land acquisition must take into consideration the requirement of railways.
He informed that regional railways and hydrogen train are being planned and the infrastructure development should keep this aspect in mind.
He also asked the NICDIT to plan for data centers and ducts for laying optical fibre.
Addressing the meeting, Minister Sitharaman welcomed, “What started with about 3-4 states with few nodes, today it has gone to cover 18 States. The ecosystem for industrial development has taken a different colour and speed as we are seeing a far more liberalized environment.
“This is a rapid scaling up and as a result there should be a greater cumulative benefit, we should be able to derive,” she said, while urging the States to expedite the acquisition of land.
Emphasizing upon the need to ensure optimal utilization of resources, the Minister said that PM’s GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) was expected to bring about greater coherence in all investments in infrastructure projects.
She told NITI Aayog to map all the different projects such as Industrial Corridors, Freight Corridors, Defence Corridors, NIMZ (National Industrial Manufacturing Zones) PLI-based industry parks, PM-Mitra parks, Medical & Pharma Parks and Logistic Parks to understand the need for bringing them under PM GatiShakti.
Sitharaman has also asked the Shipping Ministry to map out all the sea ports connected to various industrial corridors to see whether there are meaningful linkages.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal underlined the need to focus on attracting investors quickly in these Industrial Corridors and asked NICDIT as well as States to have Road Shows to attract businesses.
Goyal said that the industrial parks will be regarded as successful only if investment flows in.
“We must allot the land fast. The land should be reasonably priced for the industry and we should allow innovative ways such as different lease period, lease premium payment flexibility, rental model, lease cum rent option.
“Electricity rate is another thing investors look at closely. We need to have affordable and consistent rates. High rates of electricity are a deterrent to the industry.”
Goyal warned that if the existing parks are not put to good use, then the Centre would not support any new park. The meeting carried out in-depth review of the National Industrial Corridor Development programme.
The Apex Monitoring Authority comprised of Finance Minister as Chairperson, Minister-in- charge, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Minister of Railways, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, and Chief Minister(s) of States concerned. Chief Ministers from six states, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, M.P. Maharashtra and Uttarkhand; Ministers from 7 States viz. Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan besides senior officials from all the states attended the meeting.
Sitharaman has called for the Monitoring Committee next meeting in November. fiinews.com
