PM Inaugurates & Lays Foundation Stone of Multiple Development Projects in Shivamogga and Belagavi, Karnataka

On February 27, 2023, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated numerous development projects totaling more than Rs. 3,600 crore at Shivamogga, Karnataka.

He also inaugurated the Shivamogga Airport, a new airport built at a cost of around Rs. 450 crore.

• The Shivamogga airport is the 9th domestic airport in Karnataka
• The Passenger Terminal Building of Shivamogga Airport can accommodate 300 people per hour.
• This is intended to boost connectivity and accessibility in Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region.

In the first seven decades of freedom from 1947, India had 74 airports (as of 2014), but in the last nine years, 74 more airports have been added, connecting many smaller cities.

Note: Shivamogga is the home district of Yediyurappa, a four-time Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Other Development Projects Launched by the PM

Railway Projects

i.In Shivamogga, the PM laid the foundation for two railway projects: The Shivamogga-Shikaripura-Ranebennur new railway line and the Koteganguru Railway coaching depot.

ii.The new Shivamogga—Shikaripura—Ranebennur railway line will be built at a cost of Rs. 990 crore and would connect the Malnad region to the Bengaluru—Mumbai mainline.

iii.The Koteganguru Railway coaching depot in Shivamogga city would be built at a cost of more than Rs. 100 crores to aid in the launch of new trains from Shivamogga and to relieve congestion at maintenance facilities in Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Road Development Projects

The Prime Minister laid the groundwork for a number of road development projects totaling more than Rs. 215 crore. The projects include

• The construction of a new bridge at Bharathipura in Thirthahally Taluk on National Highways (NH) 169
• The widening of NH-169A from Megaravalli to Agumbe
• The construction of a new bypass road for Shikaripura Town on NH 766C connecting Byndur to Ranibennur

Multi-Village Schemes

i.The PM also laid the groundwork for multi-village schemes worth over Rs. 950 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

ii.This comprises the inauguration of one multi-village scheme for Gowthamapura and 127 other villages, as well as the laying of the foundation stone for 3 more multi-village schemes for more than Rs. 860 crore.

• The four schemes are intended to provide functional household piped water connections to over 4.4 lakh people.

Smart City Projects

The PM also inaugurated 44 ‘Smart City’ projects in Shivamogga worth more than Rs. 895 crore.

• Among the projects are: eight 110-kilometer-long smart road packages; an integrated command & control centre and multi-level car parking; smart bus shelter projects; an intelligent solid waste management system; the restoration of heritage projects such as Shivappa Naik Palace into interactive museums; 90 conservation lanes; park creation; and riverfront development projects.

PM Lays Foundation Stone of Projects Worth More Than Rs. 2,700 Crore in Belagavi, Karnataka

PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several development projects worth over Rs. 2,700 crore in Belagavi, Karnataka, and also distributed the 13th instalment amount of around Rs. 16,000 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through direct benefit transfer (DBT) to over 8 crore beneficiaries.

• The PM-KISAN scheme provides eligible farmer families with a grant of Rs. 6,000 per year, provided in three equal installments of Rs. 2000 each.
• Since the launch of PM-Kisan in February 2019, Over Rs 2.2 lakh crore has already been disbursed to more than 11 crore landholder farmer families across India.

Other Projects:

i.During the programme, the PM dedicated the Belagavi Railway Station building to the nation, which was redeveloped at an estimated cost of Rs 190 crore to give world-class amenities to passengers.

ii.The PM has also dedicated to the nation the rail line doubling project between Londa-Belagavi-Ghataprabha section in Belagavi, which is being built at a cost of around Rs. 930 crore.

• It is anticipated that this project will increase line capacity along the congested Mumbai-Pune-Hubballi-Bengaluru railway line, fostering regional trade, commerce, and economic activity.

iii.The PM also dedicated six Jal Jeevan Mission multi-village scheme projects in Belagavi, which will be built at a total cost of roughly Rs. 1585 crore and benefit about 8.8 lakh people in more than 315 villages.

Mann ki Baat Highlights: PM Modi lauds ‘eSanjeevani’ App  

In the 98th episode of his radio talk show “Mann ki Baat,” PM Narendra Modi praised the “eSanjeevani” app for improving healthcare and easing the burden on individuals to find doctors in rural areas.

• E-Sanjeevani is a platform-independent browser-based application that enables both “doctor-to-doctor” and “patient-to-doctor” teleconsultations.
• It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) during the COVID-19 pandemic to make sure that health consultations reached people even in remote villages.

The app is about the “National Telemedicine Service of India,” which the MoHFW claims is the world’s largest primary healthcare telemedicine operation.

eSanjeevaniOPD

i.eSanjeevaniOPD represents the second vertical, which serves citizens in both rural and urban areas.

• While “eSanjeevaniOPD” is built on “eSanjeevani,” the Government of India’s flagship telemedicine technology, developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Mohali, Punjab.

ii.The “eSanjeevani” app offers patient registration, token generation, queue management, audio-video consultation with a doctor, e-prescription, and SMS and email notifications.

iii.It is free of charge and is serviced by the state’s doctors, and it is fully configurable (number of daily slots, number of doctors or clinics, waiting room slots, consultation time limit, etc.).

Other facts:

• Sanjeevani HWC (Health and Wellness Centre) is currently operational in approximately 50,000 HWCs across India.
• The number of tele-consultants using the e-Sanjeevani app has now surpassed 10 crore.
• More than 57% of e-Sanjeevani beneficiaries are women, with only about 12% being senior citizens.

Recent Related News:

In January 2023, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD), virtually inaugurated the three telemedicine nodes—two in Ladakh and one in Mizoram.

The three telemedicine nodes will be linked to service hospitals using a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite communications (SatCom) system.

About Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)

C-DAC is the premier Research and Development (R&D) organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for carrying out R&D in IT & E (Information Technologies and Electronics) and associated areas.

Established – 1988
Director General – Magesh Ethirajan