Centre, states to discuss ways to promote industry on September 5

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal would chair a meeting of state industry ministers on September 5 to discuss ways to promote industrial growth of the country, an official said.

As industry is a state subject, they are key stakeholders in promoting the sector, the official said.

"Issues like ways to promote manufacturing, promotion of industries and state issues may come up for deliberations on September 5 here," the official added.

The Centre is already taking a number of measures in this direction and that includes reducing compliance burden, promoting ease of doing business and setting up of industrial townships.

Recently, the Government of India approved 12 new industrial cities in 10 states on the lines of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Dholera in Gujarat to boost domestic manufacturing with an estimated investment of Rs 28,602 crore.

These industrial areas will be in Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in UP, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in AP, and Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan, and one in Haryana.

Eight such cities are already under different stages of implementation. Trunk infrastructure has been created in four cities -- Dholera (Gujarat), Auric (Maharashtra), Vikram Udyogpuri (Madhya Pradesh) and Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and allotment of land plots is underway for the industry.

Similarly, in the other four -- Tumakuru in Karnataka, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Nangal Chaudhary in Haryana, and Dadri, Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh -- the government's special purpose vehicle (SPV) is in the process of constructing the basic infrastructure like road connectivity, water and power supply.

With eight already under the development stage and the announcement of 12 new ones in the Budget, the total count of these cities in the country will reach 20.

Further, the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) is also focusing on setting up incubation centres for manufacturing sector startups.