16 August 2023, Mumbai: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a slew of schemes ranging from the PM-eBus Sewa for augmenting city bus operations to seven multi-tracking projects of the Indian Railways worth Rs 32,500 crore.The decisions were passed in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Seeking to enhance green mobility, the Union Cabinet gave a nod to the PM e-Bus Sewa for augmenting city bus operations. A total of 10,000 electric buses will be deployed on public-private partnership (PPP) model in 169 cities.
Green Urban Mobility Initiative
Meanwhile, under the scheme’s ‘Green Urban Mobility Initiative’ infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities and the NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems will be updated in 181 cities.
The scheme will cover cities having a population of 3 lakh and above. Also, priority will be given to cities having no organised bus service.The total estimated cost of the scheme has been pegged at Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the central government. PM Vishwakarma Scheme
The scheme announced by PM Modi in his independence day address, aims to provide subsidised loans of up to Rs 2 lakh to traditional artisans and craftsmen including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers.
The craftsmen will be provided a subsidised loan of Rs 1 lakh in the first tranche, and another Rs 2 lakh in the second tranche, at a concessional interest rate of 5%. Scheme will be launched with a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crores on Vishwakarma Jayanti on September 17.
7 projects of Indian Railways
The Union Cabinet approved 7 multi-tracking projects of the Ministry of Railways with an estimated cost of Rs 32,500 crores. The projects will be fully funded by the Central Government and will cover 39 districts in 9 states of the country (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal).The proposed projects aims to increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2339 km. They also aim to boost the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation.
Extension of Digital India Programme
The Union Cabinet also approved the extension Digital India project with an outlay of Rs 14,903 crore. The extended programme aims to re-skill and up-skill 6.25 lakh IT professionals and train another 2.65 lakh persons in information security.The AI-enabled multi-language translation tool – Bhashini – will be rolled out in 22 Schedule Vlll languages and 9 more supercomputers will be added under the National Super Computer Mission.The scheme also aims to support 1,200 new startups in Tier 2/3 cities.
By ASC Priya