7 new high-speed rail corridors will be built in the country. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced this on Sunday. The Finance Minister says that this will increase connectivity between economic and cultural centres. The budget will connect many cities of the country through high speed rail corridors. Its purpose is to connect the major metros of the country with industrial and religious cities.
In the budget, the government has talked about developing it separately. This simply means that an attempt has been made to reduce the pressure on the road and traditional rail networks.
How many cities will the high speed rail corridor connect?
Big cities and metros of the country have been included in the 7 high speed rail corridors announced by the Finance Minister in the budget. This includes Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Varanasi and Siliguri.The Finance Minister says that the financial centre, IT center and manufacturing cluster will be connected through this corridor.
Why are the 8 cities of the corridor special?
The 8 cities which the government has connected through the high speed rail corridor have their own specialties. Know what makes them special.
1- Mumbai: Financial Capital of the country
Mumbai is called the financial capital of the country and is also a metropolitan city. RBI (Reserve Bank of India), SEBI, BSE and NSE are here. Stock market, bonds, mutual funds, insurance are directly linked to Mumbai. The headquarters/main offices of almost all big Indian banks and private banks are in Mumbai. At the same time, big operations of big companies like Reliance, Tata, Adani, L&T are run from here. Mumbai also has a special role in terms of port and trade gateway. Along with this, Bollywood, TV, OTT and advertising industries do business worth billions of rupees and the government provides jobs to the common people with the tax revenue. The most expensive and active real estate market of the country is here. The government has declared it a high speed rail corridor.
2- Pune: Hub of auto, engineering and MSME sectors
After Mumbai, Pune is said to be the second largest economic engine of Maharashtra. The government has focused on manufacturing in its budget. Pune is also known for this. Companies like Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz, Force Motors are working here. Lakhs of jobs are available from auto, engineering and MSME sectors. Hinjewadi IT Park, Magarpatta, Khadki-Talegaon belt are big IT clusters. AI, fintech and deep-tech startups are growing rapidly here. There are also centers for auto-components, machine tools, pharma and defense manufacturing. In terms of education it is called the Oxford of the East. There are institutions like COEP, Symbiosis, Savitribai Phule Pune University which promote skill economy.
3- Hyderabad: Drug Capital of India
It is called IT and Global Tech Hub. There are companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, Infosys, TCS and Accenture here. Hyderabad is called the drug capital of India. Billions of rupees are earned from the export of medicines and vaccines manufactured here. This city is also a center of Pharma Park, Medical Device Park and Electronics Manufacturing. Talking about startup and innovation ecosystem, there are incubation centers like T-Hub, WE-Hub. Hyderabad alone generates a major share of Telangana’s GSDP.
Hyderabad.
4- Bengaluru: Silicon Valley of India
It is the backbone of Karnataka’s economy. There are big companies in the Indian sector in Bengaluru, which is called the Silicon Valley of India. The largest part of India’s IT/Software exports comes from here. Most of the startups and unicorns in the country are from Bengaluru. It is ahead in Fintech, SaaS, AI, Deep-Tech, Agri-Tech, Health-Tech. These are the institutions like IISc, IIM-B, NAL, ISRO, DRDO Labs. Kempegowda International Airport is among the fastest growing airports in Asia.
5- Chennai: Automobile Capital of India
Major automobile companies have big plants in Chennai. This includes companies like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BMW, Daimler, TVS and Ashok Leyland. It is known for auto export, coal, LNG, container cargo. It is the hub of auto, electronics, heavy engineering and petrochemicals. There are companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Accenture. In terms of skilled workforce and education, there are institutions like IIT Madras, Anna University, NIT.Also known for metro, expressway, industrial park, dedicated logistics. Along with this, Chennai is the backbone of the economy of Tamil Nadu.
Delhi.
6- Delhi: The national capital decides the direction of the entire country.
Of course, Mumbai manages the money, but the national capital Delhi makes the rules and runs the market. This is the reason why Delhi plays an important role in deciding the economic direction of the country. Being the capital of the country, all major ministries, regulators and policy-making takes place from here. The decisions taken here have a direct impact on investment, industry and markets. It is a hub of consulting, legal, media, education, healthcare and research sectors. It is a major hub for expressways, rail networks and air cargo. It is also known for international connectivity.Big contribution to GDP and tax revenue.
Varanasi.
7- Varanasi: Religious capital of the country
Varanasi is considered the religious capital of the country and one of the most walled cities in the world. It is the center of Hindu faith with Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Ganga Aarti, 84 Ghats. Crores of devotees reach here every year and the income from religious tourism strengthens the economic sector. This is an important part of the Buddhist circuit (Sarnath). This year also the government has made announcements on the Buddhist circuit. BHU (Kashi Hindu University) is one of the top institutions in the country. Varanasi has played a historical role from the Maurya period to modern India.
8- Siliguri: Logistics Gateway of North-East
This is the most sensitive strategic corridor of India. 8 states of North-East India are connected to Siliguri. The supply chain of north-eastern states is dependent on Siliguri. This is the reason why it is called the Logistics Gateway of the North-East. It is said to be a major trade center for Darjeeling tea and agricultural produce of North Bengal. This is the largest urban and commercial hub of North Bengal.
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