NEW DELHI: In a major push for ease of public travel, the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cleared seven multi-tracking projects of the Indian Railways.
Additionally, the Cabinet approved the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme under which 10,000 electric buses will be deployed in cities with a three lakh population, with emphasis on areas that don’t have organised bus service. The two schemes put together will cost Rs 90,113 crore.
While the e-bus scheme will follow a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the seven railway projects will be fully funded by the Centre. Spread across 35 districts in nine states, the new railway projects are expected to smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation.
The projects will increase the existing rail network by 2,339 km and create employment to the tune of seven crore man-days in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The CCEA also cleared the PM Vishwakarma scheme, which PM Modi announced in his Independence Day speech on Tuesday, with a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore. The amount will be spent over a period of five years for the benefit of about 30 lakh families of traditional artisans and craftsmen, including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers.
Besides, the Cabinet approved the extension of the ambitious Digital India programme for another five years with an outlay of Rs 14,903 crore to boost digital initiatives in skilling, cyber security, high-performance computing and simplifying technology for the masses, among others.