Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is set to preside over a meeting with state industry ministers on September 5 to discuss strategies for enhancing the country’s industrial growth, according to an official statement. This gathering is particularly significant as the industry is primarily a state subject, making state governments critical stakeholders in fostering the sector’s development, the official emphasized.
The agenda for the meeting is expected to cover various issues, including methods to boost manufacturing, promote industrial activities, and address specific challenges faced by individual states. These topics are likely to be key points of discussion during the deliberations on September 5.
The Central Government has already initiated several measures aimed at stimulating industrial growth across the nation. These initiatives include efforts to reduce the compliance burden on businesses, improve the ease of doing business, and establish industrial townships to create a more conducive environment for manufacturing and other industrial activities.
One of the notable recent developments in this context is the Government of India’s approval of 12 new industrial cities across 10 states, modeled after successful examples like Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Dholera in Gujarat. These cities are part of a broader strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing capabilities, with a projected investment of Rs 28,602 crore.
These new industrial hubs will be strategically located in various regions of the country. They include Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in Andhra Pradesh, Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan, and another city in Haryana.
This initiative aims to decentralize industrial growth, ensuring that it is not confined to a few states but spread evenly across the country, thereby promoting balanced regional development. The addition of these 12 new cities will bring the total number of industrial cities in India to 20, with eight cities already at various stages of implementation.
Trunk infrastructure has been established in four of these cities—Dholera in Gujarat, Auric in Maharashtra, Vikram Udyogpuri in Madhya Pradesh, and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Land allocation processes for industrial use are currently underway in these locations.
Additionally, in four other cities—Tumakuru in Karnataka, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Nangal Chaudhary in Haryana, and Dadri in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh— the government’s special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are actively working on constructing essential infrastructure.
This includes road connectivity, water supply, and power infrastructure, which are vital for attracting industrial investments and ensuring the smooth functioning of these industrial zones. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is also prioritizing the establishment of incubation centers specifically designed to support startups in the manufacturing sector.
These centers aim to nurture innovation, provide necessary resources, and create a supportive ecosystem for emerging enterprises. This upcoming meeting underscores the government’s commitment to driving industrial growth and ensuring that all states play an active role in this national endeavor. By fostering collaboration between the Centre and the states, the government aims to create a robust industrial framework that will propel India’s economy to new heights.
