EAM Jaishankar welcomes Cabinet's decision on development of Ladakh, steel production

Welcoming the Union Cabinet's decisions to enhance the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision, Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar on Thursday said that India will move up following the decisions. The Foreign Affairs Minister expressed support over two recent decisions of the Union Cabinet- development in Ladakh and Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur recently announced the Union Cabinet's decision on the establishment of a Central University in the UT of Ladakh and PLI scheme worth Rs. 6,322 for boosting the manufacturing and export of the sector.

Union Cabinet's decision on the development of Ladakh

In a key development, the Central government on Thursday announced two remarkable decisions taken with respect to the development of Ladakh. 

• Establishment of Central University, which will be built by the Central government at the cost of over 750 crores. 
• Formation of an Integrated Multipurpose Corporation for shouldering development projects for Ladakh while keeping the tough terrain of the region in mind.

Having made the two big announcements, the Minister of Information, and Broadcasting assured that it will all lead to the development of the region, and in turn, the development of the people, be it in respect of education, employment, or quality of living in general. 

PLI scheme for steel production

On July 23, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that the Union Cabinet has approved a Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs. 6,322 for boosting the manufacturing and export of the sector. The minister also stated that the project will be provided for over five years, commencing from 2023-24 to 2027-28, and will create over 525,000 jobs. Speaking at a press conference, Anurag Thakur said,

"The step has been taken to increase the manufacturing of speciality steel in the country and it will cut down the import burden."

Further, he added, "the scheme will cover coated/plated steel products, high strength/wear-resistant steel, speciality rails, alloy steel products, steel wires, and electrical steel. Any company registered in India, engaged in manufacturing of the identified 'specialty steel'  grades eligible to participate."

Highlighting the benefits of PLI schemes, the union minister pointed out that a total of Rs. 39,625 crore investment is expected in speciality steel manufacturing and will generate employment of about 5.25 lakh in the sector. In addition to this, a cap of Rs. 200 crores per company will be imposed under the PLI scheme. It is expected that the scheme will also bring in investment of approximately 40,000 crores and capacity addition of 25 MT.