Jaipur: Union Railway, Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday announced five major initiatives for Jaipur — a Quantum Lab, Semiconductor Lab, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, a state-of-the-art AI Data Centre and a Medical Hub — saying the projects will be ready soon and will transform the state capital into a major centre for technology, innovation and healthcare.Addressing a media dialogue at the BJP state headquarters in Jaipur, Vaishnaw said the three advanced laboratories will be established at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), while the AI Data Centre and Medical Hub will create new opportunities for employment, investment and technological development in Rajasthan.The media interaction witnessed an unusual interruption when the power supply failed three times during the programme, forcing Vaishnaw to continue addressing journalists in the dark for about 13 minutes. Energy minister Heeralal Nagar, who was present at the venue, briefly left the hall during the outage and returned after electricity was restored.The minister said the Modi govt has increased Rajasthan’s railway budget more than 15 times compared with the Congress-led UPA era. “Rajasthan received only ₹682 crore for railways during the UPA govt, whereas the Modi govt has raised it to ₹10,828 crore,” he said, adding that railway projects worth nearly ₹76,000 crore are currently under way in the state.Vaishnaw said 85 railway stations across Rajasthan are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Major works include the second-entry development of Jaipur railway station and the reconstruction of Gandhi Nagar Jaipur station, along with modernisation projects at Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Alwar, Bikaner, Kota, Ajmer, Abu Road, Pali Marwar and Jalore stations. He said the redevelopment projects are being designed to reflect Rajasthan’s cultural heritage and architectural identity.The minister also said Rajasthan has received 46 new trains since the COVID-19 pandemic, including services connecting Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner with Delhi and Jodhpur with Pune. He announced that the Ajmer-Jaipur-Darbhanga rail service would begin operating regularly from Thursday.On railway infrastructure expansion, Vaishnaw said doubling work is progressing rapidly on key routes, including Agra-Bandikui, Ajmer-Chittorgarh, Ringas-Sikar, Sawai Madhopur-Jaipur and Luni-Bhildi. New rail line projects such as Devgarh Madaria-Nathdwara, Neemuch-Badi Sadri, Pushkar-Merta and Ramganj Mandi-Bhopal are also under construction.To support industrial growth, he said 24 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals are being developed in Rajasthan, with 10 already completed, six under construction and eight approved.
