Budget FY25: 12 industrial parks to be developed in 100 cities, announces FM Sitharaman

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled her seventh consecutive budget on Tuesday, July 23, she proposed the development of investment-ready “plug and play” industrial parks in 100 cities.

Twelve industrial parks have been sanctioned under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).

The NICDP launched in 2016, is India’s infrastructure programme aiming to develop futuristic industrial cities in India. The goal of the programme was to create employment opportunities and bolster economic growth leading to overall socio-economic growth.

This proposed development of the 12 industrial parks ties in with the government’s priority of employment and skilling, infrastructure, and urban development.

The FM also announced rental housing with dormitory type accommodation for industrial workers in a Public-Private partnership mode with viability gap support (VGF) support with commitment from anchor industries.

VGF scheme aims at supporting infrastructure based projects where private sector sponsors are chosen on the basis of competitive bidding.

The Government also announced an internship scheme in top 500 companies to 1 crore youths in the next five years. It will provide assistance of ₹5,000 per month, along with a one-time monetary help of ₹6,000.