The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of Kens Semicon Pvt Ltd to set up a semiconductor unit at Sanand in Gujarat. The proposed unit will be set up with an investment of Rs. 3,300 crore. The unit will have a capacity to manufacture 60 lakh chips per day. The chips manufactured at this unit will meet the needs of sectors such as industrial, automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom and mobile phones. A program to develop semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in India was notified on December 21, 2021, with a total outlay of Rs. 76,000 crore. In June 2023, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to set up a semiconductor unit at Sanand in Gujarat. Three more semiconductor units were approved in February 2024. Tata Electronics is setting up a semiconductor fab at Dholera in Gujarat and a semiconductor unit at Morigaon in Assam. CG Power is setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat and the construction of semiconductor units is going on at a fast pace, and a strong semiconductor ecosystem is emerging near the units. They will bring in an investment of about Rs. 1.5 lakh crore.
New railway line between Indore-Manmad approved
The Cabinet Committee has approved the new railway line project between Indore and Mumbai. The CCEA said in a statement on Monday that the Ministry of Railways has spent about crores of rupees on it. The project will be implemented at a total cost of Rs 18,036 crore. The new line between Indore and Manmad will provide direct connectivity to Indian Railways and improve mobility, efficiency and reliability of the service. The project covers six districts of two states Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and will expand the existing Indian Railways network by about 309 km. The project will have 30 new stations, which will increase connectivity to Barwani. The new line project will provide connectivity to about 1,000 villages and a population of about 30 lakh. The CCEA statement said that the project comes under the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity, which is made possible through integrated planning. It will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services.
Ujjain tourism will get a boost
The project will boost tourism in the region by providing a shorter route between the western and south-western parts of the country and central India. It will also increase the movement of tourists to various tourist and religious places in the Ujjain-Indore region, including the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple. The project will also provide direct connectivity to the Pithampur auto cluster, which has 90 large units and 700 small and medium enterprises, linking them to the Gateway Port of JNPA and other state ports. In addition, it will connect millet producing districts of Madhya Pradesh and onion producing districts of Maharashtra, facilitating distribution of these products in the northern and southern parts of the country. It is an important route for transportation of goods such as agricultural products, fertilizers, containers, iron ore, steel, cement and POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants). The capacity enhancement work will result in additional freight traffic of about 26 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Being an eco-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transport, railways will contribute to achieving climate goals, reducing the country's logistics costs, reducing oil imports by 18 million liters and reducing CO2 emissions by 138 million kilograms.