RAS question
Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC) is a part of:
Correct answer: (D) National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is part of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme's 11 industrial corridors. It is not a standalone Make in India, National Manufacturing Policy, or Sagarmala project.
Explanation
The Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC) is part of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP). The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) lists it among the programme's 11 corridors. Other corridors in the same programme include the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC), and Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). Under this major infrastructure initiative, new industrial cities are developed as smart cities, with different transport backbones supporting different corridors. National Highway 4 (NH-4) serves as a principal road link for corridors such as CBIC and BMIC. BMIC is managed within the NICDC framework, extends approximately 1,000 km between Bengaluru and Mumbai, and is distinct from DMIC. It should therefore be identified as part of the industrial corridor programme, not as a general policy or port-led project.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Make in India is a broader manufacturing-promotion initiative, whereas BMIC is one of the 11 industrial corridors under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.
- (B) National Manufacturing Policy is a separate policy framework, whereas BMIC is one of the industrial corridors under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.
- (C) Sagarmala concerns port-led development, whereas BMIC is an industrial corridor supported by an inland transport backbone within the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation framework.
Concept
Industrial corridors are an important part of India's infrastructure planning and economic geography. RAS often asks about them because corridor names, freight backbones, regional industrial nodes, related policies, and administrative frameworks can be easy to confuse.