The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two key railway projects totaling nearly ₹6,800 crore in States governed by BJP allies. These include rail connectivity for the upcoming capital Amravati in Andhra Pradesh and a 256-km line doubling in Bihar ramping up a trade corridor connecting Nepal.

The Amravati rail project, estimated at a cost of ₹2,245 crore, connecting the upcoming capital of the South Indian State with rest of India. And the line doubling project in north Bihar is across Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarnagar section at an estimated cost of ₹4,543 crore. The latter involves setting up a trade corridor with Nepal, connecting East Coast ports, North India (Gorakhpur & Ayodhya), East India and the North-East region.

The government emphasised the religious significance of the projects.

“The land of Lord Ram’s birth and Sitamarhi-birthplace of Devi Sita-in Nepal will now have better connectivity through north Bihar. In case of Amravati, the city and the rail project will come up together. Unlike Gandhinagar – the capital of Gujarat — where the rail connectivity came 40 years later, this will not be the case with Amravati,” Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railways Minister, and Union Minister for IT and I&B, said during a media interaction.

The Minister, however, mentioned that clearance of the projects has “nothing to do with politics”. “It is all about development. Nothing to do with politics,” he said.

AP project

The new rail line will allow direct connectivity of Amravati with Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. It will also improve connectivity of Central and North India with the southern state.

Accessibility to religious places such as Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple, Amaravati Stupa, Dhyana Buddha statue and Undavalli Caves will also be better as the rail line comes up.

“Connectivity to Machilipatnam port, Krishnapatbam port and Kakinada port will improve,” Vaishnaw said adding that construction of 3 km long bridge ( 53 X 61m) across Krishna River will also be taken up.

“We are expecting a 4 year period for completion of the project,” the Minister said.

Bihar project

In case of line doubling at Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga & Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur, benefits will accrue mostly in Uttar Pradesh; apart from pushing trade connectivity with Nepal.

The line runs parallel to the international border of Nepal; and will play a key role in improving access along the Indo-Nepal trade route. It will also connect the Inland Container Depot at Birgunj in Nepal. The line will act as an alternate connectivity to the ‘Chicken Neck’ region between Northern States & North-East

“Ayodhya to Kathmandu, Janakpur, and Lumbini (all in Nepal) will be well connected now with there being faster movement of foodgrains, fertilisers, cement, containers, etc,” Vaishnaw said.

₹1,000 crore VC Fund

Also approved by the Cabinet was the setting up of the ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund to help space sector start-ups. The fund will invest in 30-35 start-ups during its lifetime. The space sector is currently valued at ₹70,000 crore.

The fund could be structured as a trustee, fund manager, investment committee, advisory board or as AIF (alternate investment fund), as per SEBI guidelines and will be operated by a “professional fund manager”, the Minister said.

“The capital infusion will create a multiplier effect by attracting additional funding for later stage development,” Vaishnaw added.

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