PM Modi Dedicates AURIC Bidkin to the Nation (29 September 2024)

What was decided

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on 29 September 2024 dedicated the Bidkin Industrial Area (BIA) in Maharashtra to the nation, marking a significant milestone in India's industrial development. This followed the Prime Minister's earlier dedication of AURIC Shendra to the Nation on 7th September 2019.

The Prime Minister joined the event virtually, while the main ceremony in Pune was attended by the Governor of Maharashtra and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, among other dignitaries. The event was webcast from Auric Hall, where the Maharashtra Minister of Housing & OBC Welfare and a Rajya Sabha MP were present.

The operative land and equity transaction

The State Government has transferred the entire 8.39 sq.km of land for Shendra Industrial Area and 28.8 sq.km for Bidkin Industrial Area to the SPV. Matching equity amounting to Rs. 602.80 crore and Rs. 2,397.20 crore respectively has also been released to the SPV.

The Bidkin Industrial Area is a project spanning 7,855 acres, developed under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) as part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. It has been driven by the Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited (MITL), a Special Purpose Vehicle formed with a 51:49 partnership between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT). MITL was formerly known as Aurangabad Industrial Township Limited (AITL).

Cost, phasing and infrastructure status

The Government of India approved the project at a total cost of Rs. 6,414 crore, to be developed in three phases, with Phase A covering 2,511 acres prioritised at an investment of Rs. 2,427 crore. GoI approved infrastructure packages for Bidkin worth Rs. 6,414.21 crore across 3 Phases, and trunk infrastructure works for Sector A (10.32 sq.km) have been completed.

Environmental Clearance for the project was granted by MoEF&CC for Shendra on 18th June 2015 and for Bidkin on 21st February 2017.

Allotments and investor commitments at dedication

In the three years since construction began, a total of 1,822 acres across 38 plots had been allotted across industrial and mixed-use zones. By the dedication date, Bidkin Industrial Area was equipped with wide roads, quality water and power supply, and advanced sewage and common effluent treatment plants.

The area had already attracted notable companies including Ather Energy (100 acres), Lubrizol (120 acres), Toyota-Kirloskar (MoU for 850 acres), and JSW Green Mobility (500 acres), together representing a total investment of Rs 56,200 crore with an employment potential of over 30,000 jobs.

Location and connectivity

Bidkin Industrial Area is located adjacent to NH-752E and just 35 km from the Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Nagpur to Mumbai, with Aurangabad railway station (20 km), Aurangabad Airport (30 km), and Jalna Dry Port (65 km) nearby, offering multi-modal connectivity in line with PM GatiShakti. It is situated 20 km south of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad), giving it potential to catalyse economic growth in the Marathwada region.

Practical effect of the dedication

The 29 September 2024 event formally converted Bidkin from an under-construction node into an operational industrial area, alongside the already-operational Shendra node dedicated in 2019. The Prime Minister described Bidkin as a vital component of Auric City conceptualised during the earlier tenure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, noting the project had faced obstacles before being revived under the current state government. He stated that with development of the Bidkin Industrial Area across 8,000 acres, thousands of crores of investment would flow into Maharashtra, creating jobs for thousands of youth.

For investors and land allottees, the dedication signalled that trunk infrastructure in Sector A was ready, land title had passed from the State to the implementing SPV, and matching equity had been released — the standard preconditions under NICDP for plot allotment and construction to proceed at scale.