
Govt committed to realising PM's ‘Vocal for Local' vision
"This concept plays a significant role in preserving India's traditional handicrafts, folk arts, and cultural heritage.
Furthermore, it empowers artisans by promoting self-reliance and independence through recognition of local products," he said.
Yadav was speaking at the inaugural event of a handicrafts exhibition at Bhopal Haat. Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel was also present on the occasion.
The CM highlighted that Raja Bhoj gave Bhopal and the entire region a distinct identity. He noted that the nation was celebrating the 300th birth anniversary of Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, who is a shining example of women's empowerment and self-reliance.
He emphasised the govt's commitment to expanding industrial activities from large-scale industries to cottage industries. "Employment-generating industries are being given special encouragement in the state."
He added that handicrafts can serve as an effective alternative to plastic, and support for such products was needed not just from govts and institutions, but also at the individual level.

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NDTV
29 minutes ago
- NDTV
Centre Approves Phase-IB Of Lucknow Metro At Cost Of Rs 5,801 Crore
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Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
View from the Himalayas: For Indian pilgrims, a sneak peak of Kailash from Nepal
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In TAR, China has rapidly expanded road, air, and train connections, especially in the relatively busier eastern corridor which runs across eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh – not least given their civil-military dimension. As the Covid restrictions eased up, Indian pilgrims again started visiting Nepal. This time in greater numbers. And it was western Nepal – and not Kathmandu – that became the hub for on-budget Kailash-bound tourists, who come from as far away as Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The journey starts in Nepalgunj, a city in Nepal's western Terai bordering Uttar Pradesh, and the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa-Kailash route takes you to the sacred site. This year the route has seen record numbers of Indian travelers. A popular form of Doordarshan during Covid was viewing the sacred mountain and lake from mountain flights in fixed-wing eighteen-seaters or helicopters from Nepal's skies. Two other major road crossings to TAR for Kailash pilgrimage from Nepal are just north of Kathmandu – Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi. The number of Indian pilgrims via Humla has hit a new high. On August 6 alone, 13 flights took off from Nepalgunj for Simikot. There have been up to 82 flights – plane and helicopter – in a day, according to a journalist based in western Nepal city of Surkhet. Krishna Gautam, who writes for Kantipur daily, has been following the movement of Indian pilgrims for years. Five helicopters are at a standby at Simikot Airport to fly tourists to Hilsa, he says. Since April this year, nearly 3,000 Indians have visited Manasarovar via Humla. Hotels have been booked up until September-end in Nepalgunj and Simikot. The Hilsa route is the shortest to reach Kailash Manasarovar and also far easier and less physically tiring compared to other routes, according to local hoteliers. Some pilgrims cover it all in six to 10 days (to and from), though they are asked to take it longer to acclimatize as they climb up. Some 10,000 Indian tourists are expected to take the route this year before it gets cold and snowy in the winter months. Many pilgrims also fly dircetly to Lhasa or travel by road to TAR's capital city from Kathmandu before heading westward to Kailash. Two entry points are from India – Lipulekh in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim. India provides grants ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 rupees to its citizens visiting Kailash Manasarovar, according to a tour operator. Indian pilgrims started using the Hilsa route especially after 2006. The Tatopani point, just north of Kathmandu, was closed for years after the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake ravaged many districts in Nepal. Nepal is very, very open to Indian pilgrims, and Beijing doesn't mind that at all. Akhilesh Upadhyay, former Editor-in-Chief of The Kathmandu Post, is Policy Lead at the Center for Geostrategic Affairs at IIDS, a Kathmandu-based think tank. He follows borderland communities in the Eastern Himalaya closely.
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First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
India boosts semiconductor manufacturing with Rs 4,600 cr Cabinet approval for 4 new units
The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved four new semiconductor projects worth ₹4,600 crore under the India Semiconductor Mission, boosting local chip manufacturing and creating 2,000 skilled jobs read more The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, authorised four additional semiconductor manufacturing projects on Tuesday, totalling Rs 4,600 crore under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). The initiatives will increase local manufacturing of chips, packaging, and innovative materials, creating approximately 2,000 skilled jobs immediately. Two of the four approved projects are located in Odisha, one in Punjab, and one in Andhra Pradesh. 'Four new semiconductor projects have been approved. You know that six projects are already approved and four new ones have been added to it today. These are in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, at an investment of Rs 4,594 Crore,' Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a press conference in New Delhi today. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The approvals bring the whole India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) portfolio to ten projects across six states, with a combined investment of Rs 1.6 lakh crore. The government stated that the action is consistent with its objective of developing a robust and self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem to assist industries ranging from military to consumer devices. Two of the approved projects will be developed in Odisha's Info Valley, Bhubaneswar, establishing the state as an emerging hub for the industry. SiCSem Private Limited will establish the country's first commercial compound semiconductor manufacturing factory, capable of generating 60,000 wafers per year and packaging 96 million units. The plant's goods will find use in electric cars, railroads, rapid chargers, data centres, solar inverters, consumer appliances, and missile systems. The second Odisha project, by 3D Glass Solutions Inc. (3DGS), will establish an advanced packaging and embedded glass substrate facility. It will introduce the world's most advanced semiconductor packaging technology to India, with an annual capacity of 69,600 glass panel substrates, 50 million assembled units and 13,200 3D Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) modules. The technology will be used in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, defence electronics, radio frequency and photonics applications. In Andhra Pradesh, Advanced System in Package (ASIP) Technologies, in collaboration with South Korea's APACT Co. Ltd., will set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit with a capacity of 96 million units a year. The plant will serve markets for mobile devices, set-top boxes, automotive electronics and other applications. The fourth project that was approved by the Union Cabinet is for Continental Device India Ltd. (CDIL) in Mohali, Punjab, it will expand the company's discrete semiconductor manufacturing capacity. The upgraded facility will produce 158.38 million units of high-power devices annually, including MOSFETs, IGBTs, Schottky diodes and transistors in both silicon and silicon carbide. These components are used in EV electronics, renewable energy systems, power conversion, industrial automation and communication infrastructure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The approvals mark a decisive step in positioning India as a global semiconductor hub. 'These projects will accelerate our journey towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in electronics manufacturing and create a talent pool that will serve global industry,' the government said in a statement. The ISM has already attracted major investments and fostered a growing design ecosystem, with 72 startups and 278 academic institutions engaged in semiconductor R&D and training. Over 60,000 students are benefitting from semiconductor talent development programmes across the country.