The Centre on Wednesday set the ball rolling for 100 industrial parks with ready land, infrastructure and clearances, enabling businesses to move swiftly from plans to production. The ₹33,660-crore Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (Bhavya) kicks off in fiscal year 2027 (FY27), aiming to expand India's manufacturing muscle, while creating large-scale employment.
The Union Cabinet also approved a series of projects totalling more than ₹45,000 crore, including Bhavya, which will be executed over five years.
"The scheme is expected to drive large-scale job creation, generating substantial direct and indirect employment across manufacturing, logistics, and services, while catalyzing significant investments. The scheme aims to generate 15 lakh direct jobs by boosting manufacturing-led growth and enhancing infrastructure with ready-to-use industrial parks," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for railways, information and broadcasting, and electronics and information technology.
The Bhavya scheme will be implemented in partnership with states and private sector players, building on the experience of industrial smart cities developed under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. The parks will range from 100 to 1,000 acres, and receive financial support of up to ₹1 crore per acre provided for core, value-added and social infrastructure. In North Eastern and hilly states with geographical constraints, the minimum size will be 25 acres.
"Plug-and-play industrial parks mark a shift from the traditional model of setting up factories from scratch to a ready ecosystem where land, clearances and core infrastructure are already in place. This significantly reduces project gestation periods, lowers compliance burden and improves investment predictability, which is critical for both domestic manufacturers and global investors looking to scale operations quickly in India," said Sumita Dawra, former labour secretary and former special secretary, Department for Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The park plan builds on a wider network of 11 industrial corridors being developed under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, including the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC), and the East Coast Economic Corridor.
“The development of plug-and-play industrial parks will give a strong push to the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision by strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities and reducing dependence on imports. By enabling faster production and attracting investment, it will help build resilient supply chains and position India as a self-reliant and globally competitive manufacturing hub,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General, Federation of Indian Export Organisation (Fieo).
The Centre will support external infrastructure up to 25% of the total project cost to ensure seamless connectivity of these parks with existing transport and logistics networks.
“Projects under the scheme will be selected through a challenge mode, aimed at ensuring that only investment-ready, reform-oriented and high-quality proposals are approved,” the statement said.
The industrial parks will be aligned with the PM GatiShakti framework to ensure multimodal connectivity and efficient last-mile access, while also incorporating green energy use and sustainable resource management.
“The scheme is expected to benefit not only manufacturing units, MSMEs and startups but also logistics providers, service sector enterprises and local communities through broader economic activity and employment generation,” the statement said.
The Union cabinet also approved the much-awaited Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme with an outlay of ₹2,584.60 crore. The scheme, which runs from FY27 to FY31, would support the development of 1500 MW of small hydro power capacity in the country. A small hydro plant refers to a project with power generation capacity of up to 25 MW.
The scheme is expected to attract nearly ₹15,000 crore in investments while supporting decentralized clean energy and generating employment in remote areas.
“There is potential to develop around 5,100 small hydropower projects across the country, with an estimated generation capacity of 21,000 MW. At present, about 1,197 sites have been harnessed, contributing a total installed capacity of 7,133 MW nationwide,” Vaishnaw said. “Once operational, these small hydropower projects are expected to result in a carbon emissions reduction of about 4.3 million tonnes."
The scheme would benefit hilly and North-Eastern states with high potential for such projects. In these states and in districts with international borders, central financial assistance worth ₹3.6 crore per MW or 30% of the project cost, whichever is lower with an upper limit of ₹30 crore per project will be available.
In other states, ₹2.4 crore per MW or 20% of project cost, whichever is lower, with a cap of ₹20 crore per project would be available.
The scheme will also incentivize the states to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for about 200 projects to create a pipeline of small hydro projects in future. An amount of ₹30 crore will help state and central government agencies prepare such DPRs.
With less land and other natural resource exploitation and fewer people displaced than in large hydro projects, small hydro projects are considered environmentally sustainable and have a low-gestation period.
According to the Hydro and Renewable Energy Department of IIT Roorkee, India has a potential of 21.13 GW of small hydro projects. These projects are expected to play a key role in India's ambitious energy transition goals as the country aims to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil power generation capacity by 2030.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared a ₹6,969.04 crore project to develop a 101.5-km four-lane access-controlled highway on NH-927 between Barabanki and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. The project is expected to reduce travel time, improve logistics efficiency and strengthen connectivity to the India-Nepal border via the Rupaidiha land port, boosting cross-border trade.
Separately, the government also approved ₹1,718.56 crore in MSP support to the Cotton Corporation of India for the 2023–24 cotton season, aimed at protecting farmers from price volatility and ensuring remunerative returns.