 "Cabinet approves Rs 7,798 crore for railway and space initiatives")
The Central government on Thursday gave its nod to two key railway projects worth Rs 6,798 crore for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, pinning its proposed capital Amaravati on the railways map. Interestingly, both these states are currently being governed by the alliance partners of the ruling BJP. But Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that these are not political decisions.
The Union cabinet, which cleared these two rail projects, also launched a venture capital (VC) fund of Rs 1,000 crore for the space sector.
The two railway projects include a 57-kilometre long Amaravati rail link project, and doubling of the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur sections, covering a total of 256 km.
The new line between Errupalem and Namburu will pass through Amaravati and connect 168 villages through nine stations. The line will provide connectivity to 1.2 million people, a statement issued by the cabinet said.
While announcing the decisions, Vaishnaw said the line will feature a multi-modal logistics hub and will provide connectivity to Machilipatnam Port, Krishnapatnam Port & Kakinada Port.
The project will cost Rs 2,245 crore and provide 1.9 million human days of employment, Vaishnaw said.
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The project will provide rail connectivity of Amaravati with Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata, and provide accessibility to religious places such as Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, Amaravati stupa, Dhyana Buddha statue and Undavalli Caves.
Meanwhile in Bihar, the line doubling project for the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga section and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur section spanning over 256 km will cost Rs 4553 crore, providing enhanced connectivity for passengers and freight in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and the Northeast.
The project runs close and parallel to the strategically important international border of Nepal and is vital for Indo-Nepal trade. The line connects to the inland container dopy (ICT) in Birgunj, Nepal.
It will allow alternate connectivity to the Chicken Neck region between Northern States & Northeast.
“The multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to Two Aspirational Districts (Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur) serving approx. 388 villages and about 9 lakh population,” the cabinet said.
The project is likely to result in faster movement of foodgrains, fertilisers, cement, containers etc.
The two projects covering 8 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 313 kms, and will be completed in five years.
“These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertiliser, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 31 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics cost of the country, lower CO2 emissions (168 crore kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 70 million trees,” the cabinet note said.
VC fund under IN-SPACe
The Union cabinet also approved setting up of a Rs 1000 crore VC fund dedicated to the space sector, under the aegis of IN-SPACe.
The deployment period of the proposed VC fund is planned to be up to five years from the actual date of start of the fund operations. The average deployment amount could be Rs 150-250 crore per year, depending on the investment opportunities and fund requirements, the government said in a public statement.
IN-SPACe was established by the Centre in 2020 to bolster private sector participation in the space sector.
“IN-SPACe has proposed a Rs 1,000 crore VC fund to support the growth of India's space, economy, currently valued at $8.4 billion, with a target to reach $44 billion by 2033. The fund aims to address the critical need for risk capital, as traditional lenders are hesitant to fund startups in this high-tech sector,” said the government's statement.