PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development projects worth over Rs 50,000 crore across telecommunications, railways, higher education, healthcare, skill development and rural housing sectors. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for

 

Rs 11,000 crore infrastructure expansion projects in eight IITs — Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna and Indore — in order to increase12,000 seats over the next four years. Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of a rail flyover between Sambalpur City and Sarala at an investment of Rs 273 crore,

 

and for the setting up of a semiconductor and electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park in collaboration with IITBhubaneswar. The PM launched the MERITE (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education) scheme, designed to improve quality, equity, research, and innovation in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions across the country.

 

He also launched Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II, which will establish world skill centres at an investment of Rs 1,979 crore in Sambalpur and Berhampur, covering emerging sectors such as agritech, renewable energy, retail, marine, and hospitality. Five ITIs will be upgraded into ‘Utkarsh ITIs’, 25 ITIs will be developed as Centres of Excellence, while a new Precision Engineering Building will provide advanced technical training.