Union Budget 2024: NDA govt announces 12 industrial parks around 100 cities

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Pic/PTI

The government announced on Tuesday the development of 'plug and play' industrial parks in or near 100 cities in partnership with states and the private sector to boost manufacturing.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said these parks will be developed using town planning schemes in a better way, according to the PTI report.

As per the PTI report, she said, "Our government will facilitate the development of investment-ready 'plug and play' industrial parks with complete infrastructure in or near 100 cities, in partnership with the states and private sector."

Generally, in such parks, the government creates trunk infrastructure and provides the land to industry.

It reportedly helps facilitate investments in the country by providing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure for the industries.

Commenting on the announcement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said 12 such parks would be developed, as reported by the news agency PTI.

"People are saying it is only Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. There are 12 industrial parks. They are all over the country. Very often, you announce only one or two as an example, but the details will come in due course. I will go to the Cabinet for these 12 industrial parks," Goyal told reporters, reported PTI.

According to the PTI report, the finance minister also said that to enhance 'Ease of Doing Business', the government is working on the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0.

"Further, states will be incentivised for the implementation of their business reform action plans and digitalisation," she said, according to PTI.

Maharashtra not mentioned even once in FM's speech, says Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday said Maharashtra was not mentioned even once by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2024 speech and alleged bias against the state despite being the largest taxpayer.

In a post on X, Thackeray also accused the Centre of looting Maharashtra by installing a "corrupt regime" and then through taxes.

"I can understand the BJP wanting to save its government and giving Bihar and Andhra Pradesh a huge sum of the budget. But what is Maharashtra's fault? That we are the largest taxpayers? What did we get for what we contributed?"

"Was Maharashtra mentioned even once in the budget? Why does the BJP hate and insult Maharashtra so much? This isn't the first time, through the entire past decade of the BJP's government, we have seen this bias against Maharashtra," Thackeray claimed.

(With inputs from PTI)