Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated, laid the foundation stones for and dedicated to the nation development projects worth more than ₹35,000 crore in Vadodara, Gujarat, and said the infrastructure push was aimed at accelerating India’s journey towards becoming a developed country by 2047.
Addressing the ‘NaMo for Viksit Bharat’ event at the Maharaja Sayajirao University ground, PM Modi said the completion of the 2,800-km Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors marked a significant milestone in India’s infrastructure development.
“This historic task for 21st-century India has been accomplished,” he said, describing the freight corridors as a new lifeline for the country’s transportation and commercial networks.
The Prime Minister said the separation of freight and passenger traffic had improved the efficiency of railway operations, with more than 430 freight trains now running daily on the Eastern and Western corridors. A journey that earlier took about 30 hours by truck could now be completed in 10 to 12 hours through the Dedicated Freight Corridor, he said.
He also highlighted the benefits for farmers, saying faster freight movement would allow perishable commodities such as flowers, fruits and vegetables to reach markets and mandis on time.
Double-stack freight trains
PM Modi cited the operation of a double-stack container freight train between Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and Vadodara as an example of the corridor’s growing capacity. He said a single such train could carry cargo equivalent to more than 250 trucks.
“Large quantities of goods will now be able to reach from one corner of the country to another rapidly,” he said.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the expansion of railway connectivity into remote and tribal areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, saying rail services were now reaching regions that had remained disconnected for decades.
Infrastructure and jobs
PM Modi linked infrastructure spending with employment generation, saying investment in railways, roads, ports, airports and other infrastructure created opportunities for industries and businesses around them.
He cited the railway budget of more than ₹2.75 lakh crore as an important component of the government’s infrastructure push and said railway modernisation was generating large numbers of jobs.
Turning to manufacturing, the Prime Minister highlighted Vadodara’s industrial development and its emergence as the site of India’s first domestically manufactured C-295 military transport aircraft. He said India had also significantly expanded its manufacturing capacity in railway coaches, wagons and locomotives since 2014.
He said the country had produced 50,000 modern coaches and added nearly 2.5 lakh wagons to the railway network during this period.
Push for clean energy, AI and skills
PM Modi also highlighted the expansion of domestic solar manufacturing and the government’s efforts to build capacity across renewable energy sources. Referring to the floating solar project at Kadana Dam and the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, he said 55 lakh families across the country, including 11 lakh in Gujarat, had become electricity producers under the scheme.
He said strengthening the power ecosystem would be crucial for emerging sectors such as data centres and artificial intelligence. The government, he added, was working to secure access to uranium, critical minerals and rare earth elements.
On education and employment, PM Modi said degrees alone were no longer sufficient in a rapidly changing economy and stressed the need for continuous skill development.
He also announced a move towards providing free coaching for competitive examinations, saying the initiative would reduce the financial burden on poor and middle-class families.
“The government itself will take care of the coaching of our youth,” he said.
The Prime Minister further announced plans for a national campaign to equip young people with artificial intelligence skills, with applications ranging from agriculture and healthcare to robotics, manufacturing and start-ups.
