New Delhi, Jul 26 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day tour of Rajasthan and Gujarat from Thursday (July 27).

On July 27, Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation various development projects in a public programme in Sikar, Rajasthan.

Rajasthan is scheduled to go for assembly elections in December this year.

While in Sikar, he will dedicate 1.25 lakh PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) to the nation. PMKSKs are being developed to provide a one-stop solution for all farmers’ needs.

The Prime Minister will also launch Urea Gold - a new variety of Urea that is coated with Sulphur. The introduction of Sulphur coated urea will address sulphur deficiencies in the soil. This innovative fertiliser is more economical and efficient than neem-coated urea, improves nitrogen use efficiency in plants, reduces consumption of fertiliser, and enhances crop quality.

During the programme, Modi will launch the onboarding of 1,500 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) on open network for digital commerce (ONDC). ONDC empowers FPOs with direct access to digital marketing, online payment, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer transactions, and encourages local value addition, catalysing growth of logistics in rural areas.

The Prime Minister will also release the 14th installment amount of about Rs 17,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), through direct benefit transfer to more than 8.5 crore beneficiaries.

He will, on the same day, inaugurate five new medical colleges at Chittorgarh, Dholpur, Sirohi, Sikar and Sri Ganganagar and also lay the foundation stone for seven medical colleges at Baran, Bundi, Karauli, Jhunjhunu, Sawai Madhopur, Jaisalmer and Tonk.

On July 27 itself, Modi will reach Rajkot, Gujarat where he will inaugurate the new international airport, which has been built at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore.

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate development projects worth over Rs 860 crore in Rajkot.

On July 28, Modi will inaugurate SemiconIndia 2023 in Gandhinagar, where he will also address the gathering on the occasion.

The theme of the conference is ‘Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem’. It aims to bring together global leaders from industry, academia and research institutions. It will showcase India’s semiconductor strategy and policy, which envisions making India a global hub for semiconductor design, manufacturing and technology development.

SemiconIndia 2023 will witness the participation of representatives of major companies such as Micron Technology, Applied Materials, Foxconn, SEMI, Cadence, and AMD among others.