Poll-bound Maharashtra received special attention in the Union Budget on Thursday as it was gifted with its first IIM (Indian Institute of Management) and AIIMS (All India Institutes of Medical Science), the country’s premier management and medical institutions.
Soon after the announcement of the IIM, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani took to Twitter to congratulate the Central government. “5 new IIMs in Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab n Himachal Pradesh. Congratulations @PMOIndia @arunjaitley,” she tweeted.
The IIM announcement drew a positive response from the twitteratti. A Pune based IT professional Amit Paranjape tweeted, “thanks… IIM in Pune / Maharashtra is a long standing requirement!”
Maharashtra BJP treasurer Shaina NC also tweeted, “Very glad to see an IIM in Maharashtra, this was long due for our industrious state.” Political parties in the state have for long been demanding a new IIM in the state.
The AIIMS will be set up in the State’s backward Vidarbha region, which is infamous of high rate of farmers' suicides.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also announced a slew of proposals for industrial development in the State, which is likely to vote in October. Mr. Jaitley allotted Rs 100 crore for a National Industrial Corridor with its headquarters in Pune and also declared the development of SEZs (Special Economic Zones) in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai along with Kandla in Gujarat. These are part of a “comprehensive policy to be announced to promote Indian ship building industry,” Mr. Jaitley said.The budget also proposed to accord the status of Institutes of national importance on Pune’s prestigious Film & Television Institute (FTII) and the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata.
Pune has also been awarded with a new Nascent agri-biotech cluster, along with Kolkata. The existing cluster in Mohali will be scaled up.
Mr. Jaitley also announced his plan to introduce virtual classrooms in school education. The Sena was quick to link it with its successful implementation in the Mumbai municipality, which is currently run by the party. “I am glad that Virtual Classrooms, first successfully implemented in the country, as pilot by BMC, will now be used nation wide for students,” tweeted Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. The Budget allotted Rs 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms and online courses.
A perspective plan for the Bangalore Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) and Vizag-Chennai corridor will be completed with the provision for 20 new industrial clusters, according to the Budget.
