Cabinet clears more funds to National Industrial Corridor

Cabinet clears more funds to National Industrial Corridor The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared an additional Rs 1,584 crore to the re-designated National Industrial Corridor Development & Implementation Trust (NICDIT). "The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sanctioned an additional Rs.1,584 crore for the integrated development of industrial corridors

within the extended period up to March 31, 2022," said a cabinet communique. The Cabinet also approved the re-designation of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project Implementation Trust Fund as National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust with permission to utilise financial aid sanctioned earlier. The government has decided to develop five industrial corridors across the country in partnership with state governments to accelerate the growth in manufacturing and planned urbanisation. These are the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor and Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor. The government had already approved Rs.18,500 crore for the DMIC project and the new Trust will use the unspent fund from it. The corridors cover Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. "As the apex body under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the Trust will coordinate the development of the corridors and channelise the state's and institutional funds," said the statement.

The state-run DMIC Development Corporation Ltd will be a knowledge partner to the Trust till such partners are identified for the other four corridors.

"An apex monitoring authority with the Union Finance Minister as its Chairman will soon be set up to review the Trust's activities and progress of the projects," noted the statement.

The authority will also have the Ministers of Commerce & Industry, Railways, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, policy think tank NITI Aayog Chairman and Chief Ministers of the states concerned as its members.

"The Trust will implement the projects holistically through planning, design development and funding to enhance the share of manufacturing in the national GDP, attract investments in production and service sectors with effect on upgradation and skill development of the workforce and creation of new jobs," added the statement.

The Board of Trustees will be DIPP secretary as its chairman and secretaries of Expenditure, Economic Affairs, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Railway Board Chairman, Niti Aayog Chief Executive and Member Secretary.