Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone of Downstream Petrochemical Complex and Refinery Expansion Project, at BPCL’s Bina Refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh here today. This state-of-the-art refinery, which will be developed at a cost of about Rs. 49,000 crore, and will produce about 1200 KTPA (Kilo-Tonnes Per Annum) of ethylene and propylene, which are a vital component for various sectors like textiles, packaging, pharma, among others. This will reduce the country's import dependence and will be a step towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. The mega project will also create employment opportunities and spur the development of downstream industries in the petroleum sector.
In his remarks at the event, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said, “It is our continuous effort that Madhya Pradesh reaches new heights of development, the life of every family in Madhya Pradesh becomes easy and every home brings prosperity. The track record of Modi's guarantee is in front of you”. He informed about 40 lakh pucca houses in the state for the poor and fulfilling the guarantees for toilets, free medical treatment, bank accounts, and smokeless kitchens. He also mentioned the reduction of gas cylinder prices on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. “Due to this, the beneficiary sisters of Ujjwala are now getting the cylinder at Rs 400 cheaper”, he said. “Therefore, yesterday the Central Government took another big decision. Now 75 lakh more sisters in the country will be given free gas connections. Our aim is that no sister should be left out of gas connection”, the Prime Minister added.
The Prime Minister underlined that the government is working with full sincerity to fulfill its every guarantee. He mentioned eliminating the middleman which ensured full benefits to every beneficiary and gave the example of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi where every farmer who is a beneficiary has received Rs 28,000 directly to his bank account. The Prime Minister informed that the government has spent more than Rs 2,60,000 crores on this scheme. In the last 9 years, the Prime Minister said that the Central Government has made efforts to reduce the cost of farmers and provide cheap fertilizers and informed about the expenditure of more than Rs 10 lakh crores in 9 years. He mentioned that a bag of urea which costs up to Rs 3000 for American farmers is made available to Indian farmers for less than Rs 300. He pointed out the urea scams of the past worth thousands of crores of rupees and interjected that the same urea is now easily available everywhere.
Governor of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri among others were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs stated that “this petrochemical plant is a gift from the Hon’ble Prime Minister not only to Bina but to the Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh”.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Puri observed that the new petrochemical complex in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh will promote various downstream units in the field of plastic, packaging material, plastic sheets and other items of domestic and industrial use. This will lay the foundation of Buland Bundelkhand, he added.
Recalling the example of OPAL plant which has contributed in development of Dahej region of Gujarat, the Union Minister further said that the successful execution of this project will revolutionize industrial development in Madhya Pradesh and the Bundelkhand region in particular and help attain the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Adding to it further, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri said that this project will also reinforce India's commitment to self-reliance and sustainable industrial growth, positioning the nation as a global leader in the petrochemicals sector. Globally, India ranks 6th in the field of Petrochemical having market potential of approximately Rs.15.58 lakh crore which is likely to reach Rs.82 lakh crore by 2040.
Referring to the volatility in the global oil and gas industry in recent years, the Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister said that in the last two years, there has been a lot of volatility in the global oil and gas industry due to which not only our neighboring countries but also the developed countries faced energy shortage. On the other hand, due to the visionary and citizen centric policies of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India is the only country where there was no shortage of oil and gas in the last 2 years and there was no increase in fuel prices. Indian citizens have been completely insulated from spike in global oil and gas prices, the Minister said.
In his remarks at the event, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri also highlighted the progress since 2014 in the state of Madhya Pradesh on various parameters related to energy infrastructure. He emphasized that the number of of retail outlets/petrol pumps in the state have risen from 2,854 in 2014 to 5,938; and LPG distributorships have increased from 866 in 2014 to 1,551 now. The LPG penetration which was at 44% in 2014 has reached to 100%. The state has witnessed increase in PNG Connections from 2,783 in 2014 to 2,15,185 and increase in CNG stations from 15 in 2014 to 275 now. Natural Gas Pipeline has also seen a significant progress as the its length has increased from 802 km to 6,862 km now.
****
