Union Cabinet Approves Rs 30,290 Crore Development Initiatives

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced key development initiatives worth Rs 30,290 crore with major focus on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), commercial vehicle replacement and highway projects.

The government approved one-time budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to provide ATF price stabilisation support to scheduled Indian airlines for their domestic and international operations. Amid the West Asia crisis, the government has capped the rate for ATF at Rs 75.60 per litre for domestic operations.

The budgetary support shall be in the form of interest-free advances to OMCs through the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced. The government would provide support to OMCs to facilitate stable ATF pricing for airlines during the ongoing period of exceptional fuel price volatility arising from the West Asia crisis.

Scheme for replacement of old trucks and buses in Delhi-NCR area

The Cabinet approved a two-year scheme to incentivize owners of trucks and buses registered in the Delhi–NCR region that comply with BS-IV or earlier emission norms to replace them with BS-VI or stricter emission-compliant vehicles, or electric vehicles (EVs). The initiative, launched with an outlay of Rs 9,585 crore, aims to reduce air pollution in the Delhi–NCR region and promote cleaner mobility.

The scheme will be funded through the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).

It will be implemented in collaboration with the participating States and Union Territories of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

The outlay includes Rs 5,041 crore from the Centre and an estimated Rs 1,601 crore in tax concessions from the participating states.

Under the scheme, the Centre will provide 5% interest subvention on loans for five years with monthly fuel vouchers worth up to Rs.4,800 depending on vehicle category, and lump‑sum benefits for EV purchases or Certificate of Deposit trading.

State governments will waive registration fees and grant up to 100% motor vehicle tax concessions for new vehicles and 50% for used vehicles for 10 years. The states will also waive of pending liabilities on the old vehicles participating in the scheme.

Participating Auto OEMs will offer 8% discounts on ex‑showroom prices.

Cabinet approves four highway projects

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved four highway projects, including construction of new coastal highway from Rameshwar to Paradeep in Odisha.

The road projects include:

Upgradation of the existing intermediate lane to 2 Lane with Paved Shoulder Standard (125.01 kms) of Hiwarkhedi -Roshni-Ashapur-Rudhy Section of NH-347B and widening of existing 2 lane to 4 lanes from Deshgaon-Julwaniya Section of NH-347B of length (108. 643 kms) in MP at a cost of Rs 4,415.60 crore.

Construction of new coastal Highway from Rameshwar to Paradeep on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) in Odisha under two packages with a combined total length of 160.18 km and combined total capital cost of Rs 8300.79 crore.

Widening of the existing Armoor-Jagtial-Mancherial Section of NH63 and Jagtial-Karimnagar Section of NH563 to the 4-lane standard under three work packages with a combined total length of 190.76 km and combined total capital cost of Rs 7597.16 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved upgradation of the Khagaria-Purnea Section of NH-31 and NH-231 to the 4-Lane Standard (143. 529 kms) in Bihar on BOT (Toll) Mode at a cost of Rs 3936.05 crore.

Khagaria-Purnea Section of NH-31 and NH-231

The Cabinet gave nod to upgradation of the Khagaria-Purnea Section of NH-31 and NH-231 to the 4-Lane Standard (143. 529 kms) in Bihar on BOT (Toll) Mode at a cost of Rs 3936.05 crore. Under the initiative, the government will deploy Greenfield Bypass of Purnea City of 6.729 Km length as an instant measure.

The project will reduce travel time to about two hours, and improve overall road safety, fuel efficiency, and vehicle operating costs.

The corridor will enhance multi-modal integration by connecting with 05 PM Gati-Shakti Economic Nodes (01 Textile Cluster, 02 Mega Food Park, 02 Fishing Seafood Park) and 11 Logistic Nodes (04 Major Railway Stations, 01 Airport, 04 NHs, 02 SHs), thereby facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers across the region.

Widening of roads in Telangana

Three road projects: Armoor- Jagtial Section of NH-63, Jagtial Mancherial Section of NH-63 and Jagtial- Karimnagar Section of NH-563 are set to be upgraded to the 4-lane standard with a combined total length of 190.76 km and combined total capital cost of Rs 7597.16 crore.

The instant projects are proposed to have a 4-lane configuration with bypasses to built-up areas with open tolling, ensuring design speed of 100 km/hour and improved travel efficiency across the Districts of Nizamabad, Jagtial, Mancherial and Karimnagar in Telangana, the government said.

The road upgradation projects are in line with the PM GatiShakti principles and will connect five Economic Nodes, seven Social Nodes and ten Logistic Nodes.

The travel time is expected to reduce by about 1 hour and 30 minutes between Armoor and Mancherial and by about 45 minutes between Jagtial and Karimnagar.

New coastal highway from Rameshwar to Paradeep

The Cabinet approved the construction of new coastal highway from Rameshwar to Paradeep in Odisha under two packages with a combined total length of 160.18 km and combined total capital cost of Rs 8300.79 crore.

The instant projects are proposed to have a 4-lane configuration from Rameshwar to konark (Package-1) and 2 lane with paved shoulder from Konark to Paradeep (Package-2), ensuring design speed of 100 km/hour and improved travel efficiency across the Districts of Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha, the government said.

Travel time is expected to reduce by about 2 hour and 30 minutes between Rameshawar and Paradeep.

Highway upgradation in MP

The government approved upgradation of the existing intermediate lane to 2 Lane with Paved Shoulder Standard (125.01 kms) of Hiwarkhedi -Roshni-Ashapur-Rudhy Section of NH-347B and widening of existing 2 lane to 4 lanes from Deshgaon-Julwaniya Section of NH-347B of length (108. 643 kms) in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 4,415.60 crore.

Under the initiative, the government will develop an extended Greenfield Bypass of Khargone district of 16.20 Km length.