Projects worth Rs 5000 crore and a political message: Bengal gears up ahead of PM Modi's rally
This marks the Prime Minister's second visit to the state in recent times, following his address in Alipurduar after Operation Sindoor on May 29. Following the launches of some projects, PM Modi is expected to lead a rally from Gandhi More to Nehru Stadium, culminating in a public meeting at the stadium.
Analysts will keenly watch his speech, especially in light of the Trinamool Congress's ongoing campaign against the alleged targeting of Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states. The event is set to draw significant BJP leadership, including the newly appointed state party president Samik Bhattacharya, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty.
Notably, former BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, who has recently been less visible at party events, is also confirmed to be in attendance. BJP leaders and workers are hopeful that they will show a unified front tomorrow.
The Prime Minister is slated to inaugurate, dedicate, and lay foundation stones for multiple projects across various sectors, collectively valued at over Rs 5,000 crore. These initiatives encompass oil and gas, power, road, and rail infrastructure.
Key among these projects is the foundation stone laying for Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL)'s City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bankura and Purulia districts, an investment of approximately Rs 1,950 crore. This project aims to bring PNG connections to homes, businesses, and industries, establish CNG retail outlets, and generate employment.
The Prime Minister will also flag off the 132 km Durgapur-Kolkata section of the Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline, part of the ambitious Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline, also known as the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) Project.
This section, costing over Rs 1,190 crore, traverses through Purba Bardhman, Hooghly, and Nadia districts, promising natural gas supply to households and having created employment during its construction.
In a move towards cleaner energy, PM Modi will also dedicate the Retrofitting Pollution Control System – Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) systems at Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station and Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station of Damodar Valley Corporation. These projects, worth over Rs 1,457 crore, are expected to facilitate cleaner energy production and create job opportunities.
Rail infrastructure will also receive a boost with the dedication of the doubled Purulia – Kotshila Rail Line (36 KM) in Purulia, a project valued at over Rs 390 crore. This upgrade is set to enhance rail connectivity for industries in Jamshedpur, Bokaro, and Dhanbad with Ranchi and Kolkata, streamlining goods movement and reducing travel times. Additionally, two road over bridges (ROBs) constructed under the Setu Bharatam Programme, costing over Rs 380 crore, will be inaugurated at Topsi and Pandabeswar in Paschim Bardhaman, aiming to improve connectivity and reduce railway crossing accidents.
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
18 minutes ago
- Mint
‘Modi is my living god': Woman gets emotional during Prime Minister's visit to UK
A woman got emotional after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the UK. Speaking to the media, the woman said, 'He is my living god. I am blessed to have his 'darshan'. I thank the people of India for re-electing him.' PM Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to the UK with the focus on bilateral ties in defence, trade, and technology. The India-UK free trade deal has also been finalised during his trip. Following the finalisation of the trade deal, PM Modi announced that India and the UK have entered a new phase of economic partnership with the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Double Contribution Convention during his meeting with UK PM Meir Starmer. He highlighted that the agreement has the potential to boost trade and investment between the two countries. "Together, we are laying the foundation stone of a new history. We are meeting for the third time this year. I consider this very significant. The UK and India are natural partners. Today marks a historic day in our relations. This will pave a very strong path for the future generations of India and the UK. This is adding a new chapter in business and trade," PM Modi said. In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi wrote, 'The talks with PM Keir Starmer were outstanding, particularly in the wake of the successful signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. In addition to economic cooperation, this agreement sets the stage for boosting shared prosperity.' He further added, 'Exquisite Indian textile products, footwear, gems and jewellery and engineering goods will gain market access to the UK. The opportunities for agricultural products and processed foods will also get an impetus. All of this will benefit our people, especially farmers, women, youngsters, fishermen and MSMEs. The Agreement will boost 'Ease of Doing Business', reduce 'Cost of Doing Business' and enhance 'Confidence of Doing Business'. Investment linkages are all set to get more vigour.' PM Modi announced the launch of Vision 2035, a plan to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across defence, education, semiconductors, sustainable development, and people-to-people connections. "It's equally gladdening that we've released Vision 2035 to deepen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This will focus on sectors like defence, education, people-to-people ties, semiconductors and sustainable development," he said. Additionally, he thanked the UK PM's condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. "My gratitude to PM Keir Starmer for the strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack. We also agree that extremist ideologies must not be allowed to misuse democratic freedoms. Those who misuse democratic freedoms to undermine democracy itself must be held to account," he wrote.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
18 minutes ago
- Business Standard
NSDL to launch ₹4,000-crore IPO on July 30; bidding ends August 1
National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) is set to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on July 30, with the issue size pegged at around Rs 4,000 crore. The depository's maiden public issue will conclude on August 1. The one-day bidding for anchor investors is scheduled to open on July 29, according to the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP). The IPO only consists of Offer For Sale (OFS) component of 5.01 crore shares and those selling shares under this are -- the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, IDBI Bank, Union Bank of India and Administrator of Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI). Since the public issue is entirely an OFS, NSDL will not receive any proceeds from the IPO. Market sources have pegged the IPO size to around Rs 4,000 crore. This upcoming listing will make NSDL the country's second publicly traded depository after Central Depository Services (CDSL), which was listed on the NSE in 2017. The listing of NSDL is crucial in order to comply with Sebi's ownership norms. These regulations require that no entity can hold more than 15 per cent of the shareholding in a depository company. NSDL's principal shareholders, IDBI Bank and the NSE, are required to reduce their stake in the company to comply with Sebi's rule. Currently, IDBI holds 26.10 per cent and NSE owns 24 per cent stake in NSDL, which exceeds the permissible limit. It is a Sebi-registered market infrastructure institution offering a wide range of products and services to the financial and securities markets in India. Following the introduction of the Depositories Act in 1996, NSDL pioneered the dematerialisation of securities in India in November 1996. For the full financial year 2024-25, the depository's net profit surged by 24.57 per cent to Rs 343 crore and total income rose to Rs 1,535 crore, a 12.41 per cent increase over FY 2023-24. ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), IDBI Capital Markets & Securities, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors and SBI Capital Markets are the book-running lead managers to the issue.
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Piyush Goyal lists economic benefits of ‘historic' trade pact signed b/w India-UK
On India-UK FTA, Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal said, "A fantastic FTA (Free Trade Agreement) has been signed between India and the UK today. Under the leadership and guidance of PM Modi, through this FTA, India opened the avenue to several opportunities by safeguarding all its interests. Every sector that remains sensitive for India - for our farmers, MSMEs, like dairy, rice and sugar have not been opened. All these sectors have been safeguarded. The necessities for India where India will benefit in getting things from UK have been especially focused on. Sectors where India is competitive and has a comparative advantage over other countries, especially in labour-oriented sectors, textiles, footwear, leather, toys, furniture, pharmaceuticals and others - such markets in the UK will open for India; duties will be brought down to 0 and there will be immense opportunities for our workers, farmers, MSMEs and from India who come to the UK to work for short duration suffered around 25% losses earlier - they did not receive any benefit or pension for social security payment. Now, they will get to deposit that money in their PF account in India. So that this money will be their not go to waste..." Show more Show less
