PM Modi lays foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park in Himachal Pradesh's Una

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of a Bulk Drug Park in Una district during his visit to poll-bound Himachal Pradesh.

He also dedicated to the nation the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Una and flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura in Una district to New Delhi.

Modi laid the foundation stone of the Bulk Drug Park at Haroli which will be built at a cost of more than Rs 1,900 crore. The park will help reduce dependence on API imports. It is expected to attract investments of around Rs 10,000 crores and provide employment to more than 20,000 people.

The foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Una was laid by Modi in 2017.

Read | Ahead of polls, Modi says 'urban naxals' trying to enter Gujarat

Earlier, the prime minister flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express. It is the fourth Vande Bharat train introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speed in shorter duration. It accelerates to 100 Km per hour in just 52 seconds.

Modi was accorded a warm welcome by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on his arrival at the Pekhubela helipad in Una.

The prime minister will address a public meeting at the Indira Gandhi stadium in Una and another public meeting at Chogan maidan in Chamba district after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of various projects in the poll-bound state. This is Prime Minister Modi's ninth visit to Himachal Pradesh in the last five years.