By IANS
New Delhi : The central government has approved six projects worth Rs.3.73 billion ($92 million), including a central grant of Rs.2.47 billion under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS).
The projects were approved in an IIUS meeting here March 11, under the chairmanship of the Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, a press note by the ministry said Thursday.
The projects sanctioned are in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and range from an engineering cluster, auto cluster, industrial cluster and a handloom cluster among others.
“It is expected that these projects would lead to enhancement of export, physical integration with backward and forward linkages, technological improvement, better product quality through dyeing, designing and quality testing, product innovation and diversification and increase in production and market size,” the ministry said.
However, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion is now focussing on development of industrial clusters in less industrialised states for which six additional projects have also been approved.
The IIUS was launched in 2003 with the focus of upgrading the infrastructure of existing industrial clusters.
Till date 26 projects have been approved under the scheme with a total cost of Rs.17.66 billion ($436 million), including a grant of Rs.9.52 billion ($236 million).
These projects are under various stages of implementation, while five of them are reaching completion.
Special purpose vehicles involving the local industry associations execute the projects under the IIUS. Hence, most of the projects approved are in developed areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Under the scheme, central assistance of up to 75 percent up to a maximum of Rs.500 million is given for each project. The remaining project cost is financed by the stakeholders of respective clusters subject to a minimum industry contribution of 15 percent of the approved project cost.