Bhildi, Oct 30 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched and dedicated development projects worth more than Rs 14,000 crore in Gujarat's Banaskantha district and flagged off two train services, as part of a series of initiatives covering agriculture, animal husbandry, transport and infrastructure.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre (BBRC) at Bhildi, dedicated the expanded potato processing plant and an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for ultra-high-temperature (UHT) products at Banas Dairy, and laid the foundation stones for two compressed biogas plants.
The 127-acre Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre, developed at a cost of Rs 328.77 crore, has been established as a Centre of Excellence for bovine breeding, genetic improvement and advanced reproductive technologies.
It is the country's first facility dedicated to the Kankrej cattle breed, an indigenous breed of Gujarat.
The centre is expected to accelerate breed improvement by 10-20 times through advanced reproductive technologies and help improve milk productivity and the genetic quality of cattle.
Earlier on Friday, PM Modi visited the Embryo Transfer Technology-In Vitro Fertilisation (ET-IVF) Laboratory and interacted with women dairy farmers.
The Prime Minister had said in a post on social media platform X ahead of the inauguration that the centre would help farmers achieve higher milk production per animal, better-quality breeds and increased incomes, while supporting the conservation of indigenous cattle breeds such as Kankrej.
"Its benefits would extend to dairy farmers across the country," he had said.
PM Modi also laid the foundation stones for two compressed biogas plants of Banas Dairy at Tharad and Radhanpur.
The proposed plants will have cattle dung processing capacities of 75 metric tonnes and 100 metric tonnes per day, respectively.
The projects are aimed at converting dairy waste into a source of cleaner fuel.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the expansion of Banas Dairy's potato processing plant at Sanadar and commissioned the automated storage and retrieval system for UHT products at Palanpur.
The ASRS facility is designed to improve storage and handling capacity through automated operations.
In the transport sector, PM Modi flagged off the Ahmedabad (Sabarmati)-Varanasi Express and the Mehsana-Becharaji-Sabarmati MEMU service.
The two services are expected to strengthen rail connectivity between Gujarat and other parts of the country, as well as improve local connectivity in North Gujarat.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2A and Phase 2B extensions. Phase 2A will extend the network by more than 6 km, with five stations between Koteshwar Road and Ahmedabad airport.
Phase 2B will cover over 3.3 km, with three stations between GIFT City and Shahpur. Another major project is the widening of Ahmedabad-Mehsana Road, or State Highway 41, from four lanes to eight lanes at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore.
The upgrade is expected to improve road connectivity between Ahmedabad and North Gujarat.
In the social infrastructure sector, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for 4,030 new child-friendly Anganwadi centres and inaugurated 361 completed centres across Gujarat.
The initiative involves an investment of Rs 800 crore and is expected to benefit more than four lakh people.
He also dedicated 521 completed projects under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to the nation.
With a combined project cost of around Rs 4,950 crore, these projects include cold storage facilities, cold chains, warehouses, silos, polyhouses, greenhouses, integrated primary and secondary processing facilities and primary processing centres.
The Prime Minister also marked the commencement of on-ground activities under 12 approved horticulture clusters covering approximately 1.46 lakh hectares and expected to benefit more than 1.3 lakh farmers. Two of these clusters in North Gujarat will focus on potatoes.
The projects were launched during PM Modi's two-day Gujarat visit on October 30 and 31. He is also scheduled to travel to Ekta Nagar in Narmada district for the 'Bharat Parv' and Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations marking the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.