Jharsuguda: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday unveiled development projects valued at more than Rs 50,000 crore in sectors such as telecommunications, railways and higher education, from Odisha’s Jharsuguda.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for Rs 11,000 crore infrastructure expansion projects in eight IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna and Indore — in order to increase 12,000 seats over the next four years.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of a rail flyover between Sambalpur City and Sarala at an investment of Rs 273 crore, and for the setting up of a semiconductor and electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park in collaboration with IIT-Bhubaneswar.
The PM launched the MERITE (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education) scheme, designed to improve quality, equity, research, and innovation in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions across the country.
He also launched Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II, which will establish world skill centres at an investment of Rs 1,979 crore in Sambalpur and Berhampur, covering emerging sectors such as agritech, renewable energy, retail, marine, and hospitality.
Five ITIs will be upgraded into ‘Utkarsh ITIs’, 25 ITIs will be developed as Centres of Excellence, while a new Precision Engineering Building will provide advanced technical training.
To enhance digital education in the state, the PM dedicated Wi-Fi facilities across 130 higher education institutions at a cost of Rs 90 crore, providing free daily data access to benefit more than 2.5 lakh students.
The PM also unveiled the master plan for the upgrade of MKCG Medical College in Berhampur and VIMSAR in Sambalpur into world-class super-speciality hospitals at an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.
The upgraded facilities will include enhanced bed capacity, trauma care units, dental colleges, maternal and child care services, and expanded academic infrastructure, ensuring comprehensive health services for the people of Odisha.
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He flagged off the Amrit Bharat Express connecting Berhampur with Udhna in Gujarat’s Surat district.
Modi also dedicated to the nation the doubling of the 34-km Koraput–Baiguda rail line and the 82-km Manabar–Koraput–Gorapur section, built at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore.
During the day, he commissioned more than 97,500 4G telecom towers built with BSNL’s ‘swadeshi’ technology at a cost of Rs 37,000 crore.
In addition, the PM also distributed sanction orders to 50,000 beneficiaries under the ‘Antyodaya Gruha Yojana’, under which pucca houses and financial assistance are given to vulnerable rural families, including persons with disabilities, widows, individuals suffering from terminal illness, and victims of natural calamities.
This was the Prime Minister’s sixth visit to Odisha since the BJP came to power in the state in June 2024.
PTI
