NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Monday approved several major projects including funding for two hydropower plants in Arunachal Pradesh, three major railway projects, a major upgrade for the PAN system and launch of the
National Mission on Natural Farming
(NMNF) to promote natural farming across the country.
National Mission on Natural Farming
The Union Cabinet on Monday approved the launching of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) to promote natural farming across the country.
The NMNF is a standalone centrally sponsored scheme under the ministry of agriculture & farmers’ welfare. It has a total outlay of Rs 2,481 crore.
In the next two years, the government plans to implement NMNF in 15,000 clusters in gram panchayats, which are willing, & reach one crore farmers and initiate natural farming (NF) in 7.5 lakh Ha area.
Preference will be given to areas having a prevalence of practising NF farmers, SRLM / PACS / FPOs, etc. Further, need-based 10,000 Bio-input Resource Centres (BRCs) will be set-up to provide easy availability and accessibility to ready-to-use NF inputs for farmers, the government issue read.
PAN 2.0 project
PAN 2.0 project is an e-governance project for re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services through technology-driven transformation of PAN/TAN services for enhanced digital experience of the taxpayers.
This will be an upgrade of the current PAN/TAN 1.0 eco-system consolidating the core and non-core PAN/TAN activities as well as PAN validation service.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the PAN 2.0 project of the Income Tax Department, which would require the expense of Rs 1,435 crore.
One Nation One Subscription scheme
The Cabinet has approved the One Nation One Subscription scheme to provide country-wide access to international high-impact scholarly research articles and journal publications to students, faculty and researchers of all higher education institutions managed by the central government and state governments and research & development institutions of the central government.
A total of almost Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated for the scheme for three calendar years, 2025, 2026 and 2027.
A total of 30 major international journal publishers have been included in the ONOS scheme. All of the nearly 13,000 e-journals published by these publishers will now be accessible to more than 6,300 government higher education institutions and central government R&D institutions, the PIB release said.
Atal Innovation Mission to continue
The Cabinet has approved the continuation of its flagship initiative, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under the aegis of NITI Aayog, with an enhanced scope of work and an allocated budget of Rs 2,750 crore for the period till March 31, 2028.
AIM 2.0 is designed to strengthen India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in three ways: (a) by increasing input (i.e., ushering more innovators and entrepreneurs), (b) by improving the success rate or ‘throughput’ (i.e., helping more startups succeed) and (c) by improving the quality of ‘output’ (i.e., producing better jobs, products and services).
All in all, it aims to expand, strengthen, and deepen India’s already vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Three rail projects
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved three projects of ministry of railways with a total cost of Rs. 7,927 crore (approx.).
The three projects are:
- i. Jalgaon – Manmad 4th line (160 km)
- ii. Bhusawal – Khandwa 3rd & 4th line (131 km)
- iii. Prayagraj (Iradatganj) – Manikpur 3rd Line (84 km)
The three projects covering seven districts in three States i.e., Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will increase the existing network of Indian railways by about 639 kms.
The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to Two Aspirational Districts (Khandwa and Chitrakoot) serving approx. 1,319 villages and about 38 lakh population.
Hydro eclectic project in Arunachal
The Cabinet has approved an investment proposal for construction of 186 MW Tato-I Hydro Electric Project in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh with an outlay of Rs.1750 crore and completion period of 50 months.
The project will be implemented through a joint venture company between North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd. (NEEPCO) and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
The central government shall extend Rs.77.37 crore as budgetary support for construction of roads, bridges and associated transmission line under enabling infrastructure besides Central Financial Assistance of Rs.120.43 crore towards equity share of the state, the statement read.
Hydro Project in Arunachal’s Yomi
The government has approved a proposal for the construction of a 240 MW Heo Hydro Electric Project in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh with an outlay of Rs.1939 crore and a completion period of 50 months.
The project will be implemented through a joint venture company between North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd. (NEEPCO) and the Arunachal Pradesh government.
The central government shall extend Rs.127.28 crore as budgetary support for construction of roads, bridges and associated transmission line under enabling infrastructure besides Central Financial Assistance of Rs.130.43 crore towards equity share of the state.
