The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), with Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited (MITL), began a two-day cross-learning site visit to the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area, AURIC Smart City, at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, on 23 July 2026. Senior officials from state governments, special purpose vehicles, programme managers for new cities, EPC contractors and other stakeholders involved in industrial corridor projects attended. The programme aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange, strengthen institutional capacities and showcase best practices in planning and operation of Greenfield industrial smart cities.\n\nRajat Kumar Saini, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the NICDC, said AURIC has emerged as a model for integrated industrial city development under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP). He emphasised world-class infrastructure, investor-centric planning, technology-enabled governance and multimodal connectivity as critical to competitive manufacturing ecosystems. He also called for greater planning flexibility for special purpose vehicles to enable efficient land utilisation, infrastructure optimisation and future expansion.\n\nOn the first day participants observed AURIC's planning and integrated infrastructure through presentations, demonstrations of digital planning and monitoring systems and visits to operational industrial units and key facilities. The programme provided a forum for discussions on integrated master planning, project implementation, land utilisation, investor facilitation and digital governance. Attendees exchanged experiences on strengthening coordination among implementing agencies and on adopting best practices to accelerate infrastructure development.\n\nThe visit included deliberations on the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana (BHAVYA), a NICDC initiative to develop plug-and-play industrial parks, and how AURIC's integrated planning, utilities and digital governance could support BHAVYA implementation. States and implementing agencies were urged to submit applications in the first round by 31 July 2026. Discussions highlighted the role of plug-and-play infrastructure, integrated utility networks and technology-enabled urban management in attracting investments and improving ease of doing business. The programme will continue on 24 July 2026 with technical presentations and an interactive cross-learning session expected to strengthen institutional collaboration and adoption of best practices under the NICDP.