Amaravati rises as Modi lays foundation stone for capital

 Amid fertile agricultural lands and in the presence of a galaxy of dignitaries, including Ministers from foreign countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay the foundation for Amaravati, the futuristic capital of Andhra Pradesh, at a grand ceremony on Thursday.Here are live updates of the ceremony We have to move towards building new modern cities and that is why we have started the programme of 100 Smart Cities. The cities should be centres of economic growth and revenue generation Very few new capitals or towns have been built after Independence, but that inhibition must end. We must look towards urbanisation with sustainability, without looking it as problem, but as an opportunity Andhra Pradesh is taking up a new initiative on Vijaya Dasami of building a new capital at the place where in history it commanded respect for its culture. The pace at which Chandrababu Naidu took up this task of building the capital by bringing together the best minds and Best Practices in the world, need to be congratulated: In a few minutes, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the new capital. The capital region has been designed to cater for an



11.5-million population, with a provision for 3.3 million jobs by 2035, while the core capital area, spread over 16.9 sq.km, will meet the requirements of four million people, creating close to 1.8 million jobs Japan State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) , Yosuke Takagi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu sign MoU on development of new capital city and industry cooperation. Japan Bank for International Cooperation Director General (Social Infrastructure) Noriko Nasu and AP Principal Secy Finance P V Ramesh sign MoU for facilitating foreign investments in new capital and region . Buddhist relics preserved at the Archaeological Museum in Amaravati and kept away from public eye will be exhibited, during the capital foundation ceremony. A collection of exclusive artefacts from the museum, including bone relics of Buddha will be on display at ‘Amaravati Pavilion’, proposed to be created by the Tourism Department at the venue. Telangana CM KCR is accompanied by Cabinet colleagues Md. Mahaboob Ali, Etela Rajender, Jagadish Reddy. Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu avoids a direct answer to if any big announcement will be made by the Centre on this occasion