Nimz to Take Wings as Dipp Gives Final Approval

By V V Balakrishna

Published: 11th December 2015 04:36 AM

Last Updated: 11th December 2015 04:36 AM

 

HYDERABAD: In what could be termed a shot in the arm for the industrial sector in Telangana, a high-level committee (HLC) of the department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) accorded final approval for the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Medak district.

The DIPP also sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore grant for the first phase of the project on Thursday, besides giving in-principle approval for the proposed Pharma City.

The DIPP meeting, chaired by secretary Amitabh Kant, gave the final clearance to Medak NIMZ in New Delhi on Thursday. Industries Secretary Arvind Kumar made a presentation at the meeting on the progress of NIMZ including land acquisition.

Later, Amitabh Kant gave final clearance for NIMZ. The final clearance will facilitate the state government to start works to provide basic infrastructure immediately.

“The first phase of NIMZ is expected to create an employment potential of one lakh jobs and the Central government will provide a grant of Rs 1,000 crore to the state government,” an official at the Industries department told Express.

The NIMZ, Medak was announced by the Central government in 2013. But, the final approval from DIPP was pending.

After the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and setting up of Telangana State Industrial  Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSIIC), the basic works on NIMZ like land acquisition works were speeded up. The TSIIC had sanctioned Rs 20 crore in March for payment of compensation for acquisition/alienation of land for establishment of NIMZ.

The NIMZ, Medak was planned on 12,000 acres of land and the total investment is expected to touch Rs 40,000 crore over a period of time. In all, the NIMZ is expected to provide direct employment to three lakh people.

From Textile to IT,    Food to Aerospace

Employment-intensive industries like textiles and garments, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, food processing and others and also capital goods industries like machine tools, heavy electrical equipments, heavy transport, earth moving and mining equipments will come up in NIMZ.

Aerospace, shipping, IT hardware and electronics; telecommunication equipment,  defence equipment and solar energy, especially auto-mobile, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment are also likely to come up in NIMZ.

Boost for Industry

National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) are proposed with an aim to increase the share of manufacturing sector in the country’s GDP from the current 16 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022.