Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects exceeding Rs 50,000 crore across various sectors, including telecommunications, railways, higher education, healthcare, skill development, and rural housing. He initiated Rs 11,000 crore worth of infrastructure expansion projects in eight IITs—Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna, and Indore—which aim to increase 12,000 seats over the next four years. Modi also laid the foundation for a rail flyover between Sambalpur City and Sarala, with an investment of Rs 273 crore, and for the establishment of a semiconductor and electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park in partnership with IIT-Bhubaneswar.
Additionally, he launched the MERITE (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education) scheme, aimed at enhancing quality, equity, research, and innovation in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions nationwide. The Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II was also unveiled, which will create world skill centres at an investment of Rs 1,979 crore.
