The cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved three industrial projects worth 7,725 million rupees under the National Industrial Corridor Program. These include multimodal transport and logistics hubs in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, and industrial corridor nodes in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishnapatnam and Karnataka’s Tumakuru region, said Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Prakash Javadekar.
The Krishnapatnam industrial area in Andhra Pradesh and the Tumakuru industrial area in Karnataka will be in the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), the minister said, adding that the total estimated cost of these projects will be 7,725 million rupees and the generation estimated employment is over 2.8 lakh. people.
These projects will position India as a strong player in global value chains with parcels of land developed in cities for immediate allocation to attract investment, he added.
Government approves industrial nodes in Krishnapatnam, Tumakuru and Multi Modal Logistics Hub & Multi Modal Transport Hub in Greater Noida #DecisionsDeDecisions #IndustrialCorredores pic.twitter.com/HBwhoOpff7
– GDP India (@PIB_India) December 30, 2020
Cabinet approves opening of missions in Estonia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic
In addition to the decision on industrial projects, the Cabinet also approved the opening of Indian missions in Estonia, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, to help promote commercial and cultural relations with these countries, reported Javadekar.
He said that Prime Minister Modi has always strived to maintain good relations with all countries and this move was part of his efforts to strengthen ties with other nations.
Cabinet approves interest subsidy for ethanol distilleries
The cabinet also approved an interest grant of Rs 4,573 crore for new distilleries that produce ethanol, which can be used for doping in gasoline, said Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
He added that a modified scheme was approved to improve ethanol distillation capacity and this will help produce first generation ethanol from raw materials such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn and sorghum), sugar cane and sugar beet, etc.
India will need about 1 billion liters of ethanol for gasoline doping by 2030 in order to reduce dependence on imports to meet oil needs, he said, adding that the nation currently has a capacity of 684 million liters.
The government has purchased 173 crore liters of ethanol during December 2019 to November 2020 and this year they have secured us 325 crore liters in this sugar year, Pradhan said.
The government has set a goal of blending 10% fuel-grade ethanol with gasoline by 2022 and 20% blending by 2030.
Cabinet approves export of Akash missile system
The Cabinet also approved the export of the locally developed Akash surface-to-air missile system and established a panel to ensure faster approvals for procurement proposals from various countries.
Akash missile systems have more than 96% indigenous components and the weapon can hit targets at a distance of 25 km.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the export version of the Akash missiles would be different from the system currently deployed with the Indian armed forces.
–With PTI inputs
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