Sri Vijaya Puram, May 25: The Government of India has initiated the process for setting up industrial parks under the newly launched Rs 33,660 crore BHAVYA Central Sector Scheme, with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands emerging among the Union Territories eligible for relaxed land norms aimed at encouraging industrial infrastructure development in geographically constrained regions.
The scheme, officially rolled out through newly notified guidelines, seeks to establish investment-ready industrial parks with world-class infrastructure to boost manufacturing growth, attract investments and generate employment across the country over the next six years.
Under the guidelines, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been placed in the special category of Union Territories and smaller regions where the minimum land requirement for developing an industrial park has been reduced from 100 acres to 25 acres of contiguous land.
Officials said the relaxation recognises the geographical and land availability constraints faced by island territories and hilly regions while widening the scope for industrial infrastructure development in such areas.
The BHAVYA scheme, which will run from financial year 2026-27 to 2031-32, aims to support the development of 100 industrial parks nationwide in phases. In the first phase, the Centre plans to select up to 50 proposals.
According to the guidelines, the first round of proposal submissions will open on June 1 and continue till July 31, during which up to 20 proposals are expected to be selected. A second round will run between August 1 and September 30, allowing applicants whose proposals were not shortlisted in the first phase to reapply with modifications and improvements.
Applications under the scheme will be processed through an online portal managed by a Project Management Agency, with sponsoring agencies required to submit detailed project reports and supporting documents for evaluation.
The scheme has been designed to create industrial infrastructure capable of enabling investors to establish manufacturing units more efficiently by ensuring availability of developed land, logistics support and essential services.
Officials said proposals meeting mandatory eligibility criteria would undergo evaluation and scoring before being shortlisted for approval.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ inclusion in the relaxed category is expected to draw attention because of the territory’s strategic maritime location in the Bay of Bengal and increasing discussions around infrastructure-led economic development in the islands.
However, industrial expansion in the islands has historically remained limited due to geographical constraints, ecological sensitivities, land availability issues and transportation costs associated with island-based operations.
The relaxed 25-acre threshold could potentially make smaller-scale industrial clusters and specialised manufacturing zones more feasible in the Union Territory compared to mainland states where a minimum of 100 acres has been mandated.
The guidelines also allow non-contiguous adjoining parcels of land within a two-kilometre radius to be considered under certain conditions in non-hilly states, though the primary emphasis remains on contiguous development-ready land.
Of the 100 industrial parks proposed nationally, up to 20 may be developed on a larger scale with areas ranging from 500 to 1,000 acres. Funding support for larger projects developed in phases would remain capped at 1,000 acres.
Experts note that while the scheme could create opportunities for industrial diversification in smaller territories, implementation in island regions such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would likely require balancing economic ambitions with environmental safeguards and infrastructure capacity.
The islands are already witnessing increased policy focus on infrastructure, logistics, tourism and connectivity, with several recent initiatives linked to economic expansion and strategic development.
The Centre has stated that the objective of the BHAVYA scheme is to create globally competitive industrial ecosystems capable of accelerating domestic manufacturing capacity and improving ease of doing business.
For the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the scheme potentially opens a new policy window for industrial investment discussions, though any future proposals highlighted in Andaman News Today are expected to face scrutiny over land use, ecological sustainability and local resource management.
