The Union government has notified the guidelines of the ₹33,660 crore BHAVYA Central Sector Scheme, formally launching the process to select 50 proposals in the first phase for setting up world-class industrial parks aimed at boosting manufacturing investment and employment across India. The notification, issued on 24 May, marks the operational start of a six-year programme running from financial year 2026-27 to 2031-32.

Selection Timeline and Process

The first phase of the scheme will comprise two rounds of selection. According to the official guidelines, 'the window for the first round of selection will open on June 1 and close on July 31. Up to 20 proposals are expected to be selected in the first round. The window for the second round will open on August 1 and close on September 30. An applicant whose proposal is not selected in the first round may also submit the proposal with suitable improvements for consideration in the second round.'

Applications will be submitted by sponsoring agencies through a designated online portal managed by a Project Management Agency (PMA). Each application must be accompanied by a Detailed Project Report (DPR), and more than one application may be submitted by a single sponsoring agency.

Scale and Financial Assistance

Financial assistance under the scheme covers the development of 100 industrial parks in total, to be selected across two or more phases. Of these, up to 20 industrial parks may have a development area between 500 to 1,000 acres. For proposals involving larger parks developed in phases, funding is capped at an upper limit equivalent to 1,000 acres. The scheme's stated objective is to develop investment-ready, world-class industrial infrastructure that enables investors to ground investment with ease, thereby expanding the country's manufacturing capacity.

Land Eligibility Criteria

For non-hilly states, the mandatory minimum land requirement is 100 acres of contiguous land available for development. Non-contiguous, adjoining or connected parcels — not exceeding two — with a minimum area of 100 acres each and located within a radius of 2 km may also be considered.

For hilly states, northeastern states, Union Territories, and states with a population below one crore — including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Goa, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and other Union Territories — the minimum area requirement is reduced to 25 acres of contiguous land.

Evaluation and Approval Framework

Applications meeting mandatory eligibility criteria will be evaluated and scored against prescribed benchmarks. The highest-ranking proposals above the threshold will be shortlisted, and their DPRs subjected to detailed appraisal by the PMA. An appraisal report for each shortlisted proposal will then be placed before the National Level Screening Committee (NLSC) for final approval.

This comes amid the Centre's broader push to position India as a global manufacturing hub, with BHAVYA representing one of the largest dedicated industrial-park funding programmes in recent years. With applications opening in under two weeks, states and private developers are expected to move quickly to secure early-round approvals.