Transforming India: 24 Rail And 15 Road Links On Cards To Address Critical Gaps In Industrial Corridors

The Centre has identified critical infrastructure gaps in the proposed industrial corridors in the country and drawn up a plan to provide rail and road connectivity to overcome the issue.

An internal assessment revealed that none of the nodes on the planned industrial corridors have rail connectivity to ports. To address these concerns, the Centre has planned 24 new railway and 15 new road projects.

The assessment also found that only 10 nodes were connected by a National Highway (NH) or with a four-lane road connecting to a NH.

For better access to good roads from industrial corridor nodes, 28 road projects spanning 523 km have been identified, of which the new projects cover 306 km.

"Apart from Dholera, Dadri, and Nangal Chaudhary, no node has last-mile rail connectivity at present. However, rail connectivity has been proposed or is in progress for these three nodes," said a senior government official, reports ET Infra.

The Centre has proposed 24 new railway sidings spanning over 224 km for last-mile connectivity to nodes.

There are a total of 48 rail projects spread across 2,612 km, including 14 augmentation projects over 1,806 km and 34 new projects, including railway sidings covering 806 km.

Industrial Corridors — Significance

The different sectors of an economy are inter-dependent on each other. Industrial corridors, recognising this inter-dependence, offer effective integration between industry and infrastructure, leading to overall economic and social development.

Industrial corridors would constitute world-class infrastructure, such as: 

• High-speed transportation network — rail and road

• Ports with state-of-the-art cargo handling equipment

• Modern airports

• Special economic regions/industrial areas

• Logistic parks/transhipment hubs

• Knowledge parks focused on catering to industrial needs

• Complementary infrastructure such as townships/real estate

• Other urban infrastructure along with enabling policy framework

Enabled with ease of access, the industrial corridors are conceived to foster global manufacturing and investment destination hubs and smart cities with the best in-class infrastructure.

The objective is to create quality infrastructure ahead of demand and keep the developed land parcels ready for immediate allotment for attracting investments into manufacturing and positioning India as a strong player in the global value chain.

National Industrial Corridor Programme

The National Industrial Corridor Programme, initiated in 2007, plans to develop 11 industrial corridors with 32 nodes, in four phases.

These nodes will serve as the locations for the establishment of industrial hubs and production units.

The existing Industrial Corridors list is as follows:

1. Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

2. Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC)

3. Extension of CBIC to Kochi via Coimbatore

4. Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC)

5. Hyderabad Nagpur Industrial Corridor (HNIC)

6. Hyderabad Warangal Industrial Corridor (HWIC)

7. Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC)

8. Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC)

9. East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) with Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) as Phase-1

10. Odisha Economic Corridor (OEC)

11. Delhi Nagpur Industrial Corridor (DNIC)

National Industrial Corridor projects are getting developed on the overall framework of PM GatiShakti-National Master Plan to provide a systematic, multi-modal connectivity to various economic zones for seamless movement of people, goods and services resulting in efficient conduct of logistics and economic activities.

The development of these eleven industrial corridor projects will be implemented through the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).

These corridors are spread across India, with strategic focus on inclusive development to provide a boost to industrialisation and planned urbanisation.

The industrial corridor nodes are being developed as sustainable, smart and resilient manufacturing hubs.

Smart cities are being developed along these corridors. These cities, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, will house the new workforce that is required to power manufacturing, in turn leading to planned urbanisation.

A fund of Rs 8,715.07 crore was allocated and released and Rs 7,315.07 crore was utilised for the development of industrial corridors as of March 2021.

Freight Corridors As Backbone

While developing the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor has been considered as the transportation backbone while Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor has been considered as the backbone for Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) project.

For other industrial corridor projects like Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC), NH-4 has been considered as the backbone.

For the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), NH-5 which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral, the Kolkata–Chennai rail route has been considered as the transport backbone.

The proposed north-south, east-west and east coast dedicated freight corridors will further supplement the existing transportation backbone for the corresponding industrial corridors.

Progress:

Major trunk infrastructure activities have been completed at Integrated Industrial Township (IITGN) at Greater Noida (747 acres), Uttar Pradesh; Integrated Industrial Township (IITVUL) at Vikram Udyogpuri (1,100 acres), Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (AURIC) (18.55 sqkm), Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

Whereas, trunk infrastructure activities are nearing completion at Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) (22.5 sqkm), Gujarat.

A total of 201 plots admeasuring nearly 979 acre have been allotted to companies with investment to the tune of Rs 17,772 crore including investors like HYOSUNG (South Korea), NLMK (Russia), HAIER (China), TATA Chemicals and AMUL so far.

Projects Nearing Completion

1. Dholera Special Investment Region (22.5 sqkm) under DMIC in Gujarat

2. ShendraBidkin Industrial Area (18.55 sqkm) under DMIC in Maharashtra

3. Integrated Industrial Township-Greater Noida (747.5 acres) under DMIC in Uttar Pradesh

4. Integrated Industrial Township-Vikram Udyogpuri (1,100 acres) under DMIC in Madhya Pradesh

5. Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub-Nangal Chaudhary (886 acres) under DMIC in Haryana

Projects In Advance Stage Of Planning And Implementation

1. Krishnapatnam Industrial Area (2,500 acres) under CBIC in Andhra Pradesh

2. Tumakuru Industrial Area (1,736 acres) under CBIC in Karnataka

3. Multi-modal logistics hub and multi-modal transport hub (1,208 acres) under DMIC in Uttar Pradesh

4. Dighi Port Industrial Area (5,935 acres) under DMIC in Maharashtra

5. Multi-modal logistics park, Sanand (500 acres) under DMIC in Gujarat

6. Zaheerabad Phase-1 (4,000 acres) under HNIC in Telangana

7. Hyderabad Phase-1 (8,000 acres) under HWIC in Telangana

8. Raghunathpur Industrial Park (2,483 acres) under AKIC in West Bengal

Challenges Associated With Industrial Corridors:

Land Acquisition:

• Slow progress in land acquisition due to legal hurdles and compensation issues.

• Industrial corridors cutting across the length of the state create challenges in acquiring the required land.

Technological Know-how:

• Lack of technological expertise in certain sectors within India.

• Raising foreign direct investment (FDI) caps to attract foreign players with the necessary technological know-how.

• Encouraging Indian investment in setting up ancillary and auxiliary industries in those sectors.

Taxation Regime:

• Clear definition of tax liabilities for foreign firms operating in India, both as permanent establishments and otherwise.

• Providing clarity and certainty to foreign investors regarding tax obligations.

Macroeconomic Stability:

• Ensuring a stable exchange rate to minimise currency risks for foreign players with investments in India.

• Creating a favorable economic environment that attracts long-term investment in industrial corridors.

License Cancellation and Bilateral Investment Treaties:

• Establishing clear ground rules for license cancellations in Bilateral Investment Treaties to avoid confusion and disputes.

• Learning from past instances, such as the Antrix-Devas deal, to ensure transparency and certainty in investment regulations.

Economic and Financial Feasibility:

• Attracting potential investors to set up manufacturing units in National Manufacturing and Investment Zones within industrial corridors.

• Ensuring the economic and financial viability of industrial corridors by attracting diverse industries and investments.

Social Impact:

• Addressing concerns related to human displacement caused by massive investments in industrial corridors.

• Mitigating the destruction of fertile agricultural land and finding alternatives to minimise environmental impact.

• Taking measures to prevent widening of the rural-urban gap in terms of human development, economic well-being, and standards of living.

By acknowledging and addressing these challenges, industrial corridors can be developed in a sustainable and inclusive manner, fostering economic growth while minimising negative social and environmental impacts.