On 20 January 2014, Cabinet gave its nod for setting up the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) project and approved the formation of the AKIC Development Corporation (AKICDC).

The project will be developed on the lines of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), which will boost manufacturing facilities and agro-processing plants in the region.The proposed project will be developed in a band of 150-200 km on either side of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, in various phases.

Also, the Cabinet has decided to set up an AKIC Development Corporation, with an equity base of Rs 100 crore. Although the Centre will hold 49 per cent stake in the entity, the rest will be owned by the respective state governments and the Housing and Urban Development Corporation. The Centre will provide a project development fund of Rs 100 crore to the corporation.

Phase-I of the project will be a pilot project, during which, at least one integrated manufacturing cluster of 10 sq km will be set up in each of the seven states. In this phase, a financial assistance of about Rs 5,600 crore will be provided by the Centre, through budgetary support spread over 15 years.

On the other hand, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the financial aid of $ 4.5 billion (approx Rs 27,688.5 crore) provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through special terms for economic partnership (STEP) for the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.

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