Begusarai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled a series of oil and gas sector projects worth about Rs 1.62 lakh crore across the country from Bihar’s Begusarai district.
The projects are spread across various states like Bihar, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka.
Speaking on the occasion, the PM said he arrived in Begusarai with the resolution of developing Bihar through the ‘Viksit Bharat’ programme.
He also said that Begusrai is a land of talented youths and has always strengthened farmers and workers.
The prime minister asserted that the development projects, which were unveiled during the day, would help make India the third-largest economic power in the world, and pave the way for prosperity of Bihar.
The PM also flagged off four trains, including the Danapur-Jogbani Express (via Darbhanga–Sakri). Trains from Jogbani to Saharsa and Siliguri and Sonpur-Vaishali Express were also flagged off.
Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were present on the occasion.
The PM dedicated to the nation the ‘First Oil’ from KG Basin and flagged off the first crude oil tanker from the ONGC Krishna Godavari deepwater project and said these will boost self-reliance in the oil and gas sector.
The oil and gas projects heralded a new era in India’s energy sector, promising to bolster energy security and foster economic resilience.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep S Puri, said, “Deeply privileged to witness the historic inauguration/laying foundation stones of 45 development projects worth Rs 1.62 lakh crore by PM Modi Ji from Begusarai today.”
Among these projects, several initiatives worth about Rs 14,000 crore were taken up for Bihar.
The foundation stone was laid for the expansion of the Barauni Refinery with a cost of more than Rs 11,400 crore and projects like grid infrastructure at Barauni, Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur LPG pipeline’s extension to Patna and Muzaffarpur were inaugurated.
Expansion of the Panipat Refinery & Petrochemical Complex in Haryana, Visakh Refinery Modernization Project (VRMP) in Andhra Pradesh, city gas distribution network encompassing Fazilka, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh districts of Punjab, and new POL depot at Gulbarga in Karnataka are among the oil and gas projects.
The prime minister also laid the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Modi inaugurated the Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd (HURL) fertilizer plant in Barauni. Developed at more than Rs 9,500 crore, the plant will provide affordable urea to farmers and lead to an increase in their productivity and financial stability.
The PM also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several railway projects worth about Rs 3,917 crore.
These include the project for Raghopur-Forbesganj gauge conversion, doubling of the Mukuria-Katihar-Kumedpur rail line, Barauni-Bachhwara third and fourth line and electrification of the Katihar-Jogbani rail section. These projects will make travel more accessible and lead to the socio-economic development of the region.
He dedicated to the nation ‘Bharat Pashudhan’ – a digital database for livestock animals in the country. Under the project, out of an estimated 30.5 crore bovines, about 29.6 crore have already been tagged with identity and their details are available in the database.
‘Bharat Pashudhan’ will empower farmers by providing them with a traceability system for bovines and also help in disease monitoring and control.
The PM also launched the ‘1962 Farmers App’ for records of all data and information present under the ‘Bharat Pashudhan’ database, which can be utilised by farmers.
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