The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved ‘Mission Mausam' today with an outlay of Rs.2,000 crore over two years.
Mission Mausam, to be chiefly implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is envisaged to be multi-faceted and transformative initiative to tremendously boost India's weather and climate-related science, research, and services.
The mission's focus will include improving observations and understanding for providing highly accurate and timely weather and climate information across temporal and spatial scales, including monsoon forecasts,alerts for air quality, extreme weather events and cyclones, weather interventions for managing fog,hail, and rain, etc., capacity building and generating awareness.
Critical elements of Mission Mausam will include the deployment of next-generation radars and satellite systems with advanced sensors and high-performance supercomputers, the development of improved Earth system models and a GIS-based automated Decision Support System for real-time data dissemination.
Three Ministry of Earth Sciences institutes: the India Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting will primarily implement Mission Mausam. These institutions will be supported by other MoES institutions (Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services,
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, and National Institute of Ocean Technology), along with collaborating national and international Institutes, Academia and Industries, furthering India's leadership in weather and climate sciences and services.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for “Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana - IV (PMGSY-IV) during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29”.
The financial assistance is to be provided for the construction of 62,500 Kms road for providing new connectivity,
to eligible 25,000 unconnected habitations and construction/upgradation of bridges on the new connectivity roads. The total outlay of this scheme will be Rs. 70,125 crore.
The details of the approval given by the Cabinet are as follows:
i. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana -IV is launched for the financial year 2024-25 to 2028-29.
The total outlay of this scheme is Rs. 70,125 crore (Central Share of Rs. 49,087.50 crore and State Share of Rs. 21,037.50 crore).
ii. Under this scheme 25,000 unconnected habitations of population size 500+ in plains, 250+ in NE & Hill States/UTs, special category areas (Tribal Schedule V, Aspirational Districts/Blocks, Desert areas),
and 100+ in LWE affected districts, as per Census 2011 will be covered.
iii. Under this scheme 62,500 Km of all-weather roads will be provided to unconnected habitations. Construction of required bridges along the alignment of the all-weather road will also be provided.
Benefits:
25,000 unconnected habitations will be provided all weather road connectivity.
The all-weather roads will play the role of catalysts for the required socio-economic development and transformation of the remote rural areas. While connecting habitations, the nearby government educational, health, market, and growth centers will be connected, as far as feasible, with the all-weather road for the benefit of the local people.
The PMGSY -IV will incorporate international benchmarks and best practices under road constructions such as Cold Mix Technology and Waste Plastic, Panelled Cement concrete, Cell-filled concrete, Full Depth Reclamation, use of construction waste and other wastes such as Steel Slag, etc.
PMGSY -IV road alignment planning will be undertaken through the PM Gati Shakti portal.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the “PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme” for the procurement and operation of e-buses by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) with an outlay of Rs. 3,435.33 crore.
This scheme will support the deployment of more than 38,000 electric buses (e-Buses) from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29.
The scheme will support the operation of e-buses for a period of up to 12 years from the date of deployment.
At present, the majority of buses operated by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) run on diesel/CNG, causing adverse environmental impacts. On the other hand, e-buses are environment friendly and have lower operational costs.
However, it was anticipated that Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) would find it challenging to procure and operate e-buses because of high upfront costs and lower realization of revenue from operations.
To address the high capital cost of e-buses, Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) induct these buses through Public Private Partnership on Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model.
The PTAs are not required to pay the upfront cost of the bus under the GCC model,instead OEMs/operators procure and operate e-buses for PTAs with monthly payments. However, OEMs/operators are hesitant to engage in this model due to concerns about potential payment defaults. This initiative seeks to facilitate adoption of e-buses by encouraging private sector participation.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) for implementation of a scheme titled ‘PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme' for promotion of electric mobility in the country.
The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over two years.
The major components of the scheme are as under:
Subsidies/Demand incentives worth Rs.3,679 crore have been provided to incentivize e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EVs. The scheme will support 24.79 lakh e-2Ws, 3.16 lakh e-3Ws, and 14,028 e-buses.
MHI is introducing e-vouchers for EV buyers to avail of demand incentives under the scheme.
The scheme allocates Rs.500 crore for the deployment of e-ambulances. This is a new initiative of Govt of India to promote the use of e-ambulance for comfortable patient transport. The performance and safety standards of e-ambulances will be formulated in consultation with MoHFW, MoRTH, and other relevant stakeholders.
A sum of Rs.4,391 crore has been provided for procurement of 14,028 e-buses by STUs/public transport agencies.The demand aggregation will be done by CESL in the nine cities with more than 40 lakh population namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Intercity and Interstate e-buses will also supported in consultation with states.
The trucks are a major contributor to air pollution. The scheme will promote the deployment of e-trucks in the country. Rs.500 crores has been allocated for incentivising e-trucks. Incentives will be given to those who have a scrapping certificate from MoRTH-approved vehicles scrapping centers (RVSF).
The scheme addresses the range anxiety of EV buyers by promoting in a big way the installation of electric vehicle public charging stations (EVPCS). These EVPCS shall be installed in the selected cities with high EV penetration and also on selected highways.
The scheme proposes the installation of 22,100 fast chargers for e-4 Ws, 1800 fast chargers for e-buses and 48,400 fast chargers for e-2W/3Ws. The outlay for EV PCS will be Rs.2,000 crore.
The scheme promotes an efficient, competitive and resilient EV manufacturing industry thereby promoting Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for modification of the scheme of budgetary support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure for Hydro Electric Projects (HEP) with a total outlay of Rs.12461 crore. The scheme would be implemented from FY 2024-25 to FY 2031-32.
The Government of India has been taking several policy initiatives to address the issues impeding Hydro Power development, viz., remote locations, hilly areas, lack of infrastructure, etc. To promote the hydropower sector and to make it more viable, the Cabinet in March 2019, approved measures, namely declaring large hydropower projects,
as Renewable Energy sources, Hydro Power Purchase Obligations (HPOs), tariff rationalization measures through escalating tariffs, budgetary support for flood moderation in storage HEP, and budgetary support for the cost of enabling infrastructure, i.e., construction of roads and bridges.
For the faster development of Hydro Electric Projects and improvement of infrastructure in the remote project locations, the following modifications have been made to the earlier scheme:
a) To widen the ambit of the Budgetary Support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure by including four more items apart from the construction of roads and bridges i.e.,
the cost incurred for the construction of (i) transmission line from powerhouse to the nearest pooling point including upgradation of pooling substation of State /Central Transmission Utility (ii) ropeways (iii) railway siding, and (iv) communication infrastructure.
The scheme has a total outlay of Rs.12,461 crore for cumulative generation capacity of about 31350 MW to be implemented from FY 2024-25 to FY 2031-32.
c) The scheme will apply to all Hydro Power Projects of more than 25 MW capacity including the private sector projects which have been allotted on a transparent basis.
The projects whose Letter of Award of the first major package is issued upto 30.06.2028 would be considered under this scheme.
e) The limit of Budgetary Support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure has been rationalized to Rs.1.0 crore/MW for projects up to 200 MW and Rs.200 crore plus Rs.0.75 crore per MW exceeding 200 MW, for projects above 200 MW.
The Budgetary Support for the cost of Enabling Infrastructure will be provided after appraisal of the cost of Enabling Infrastructure by the DIB/PIB and approval of the Competent Authority as per extant guidelines.
Benefits: This revised scheme would help in faster development of hydroelectric projects, improve infrastructure in the remote and hilly project locations and,
would provide large number of direct employment to the local people along with indirect employment / entrepreneurial opportunities through transportation, tourism, small-scale business. It would encourage fresh investments into hydro power sector and incentivize timely completion of new projects.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above irrespective of income under the flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
This aims to benefit approximately 4.5 Crore families with six (6) crore senior citizens,
with 5 Lakh rupees free health insurance cover on a family basis.
With this approval, all senior citizens of the age 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status would be eligible to avail the benefits of AB PM-JAY. The eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card under AB PM-JAY.
The senior citizens aged 70 years and above belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY will get an additional top-up cover up to ₹5 lakh per year for themselves (which they do not have to share with the other members of the family who are below the age of 70 years). All other senior citizens of the age 70 years and above will get a cover up to ₹5 lakh per year,
on a family basis. Senior citizens aged 70 years and above who are already availing benefits of other public health insurance schemes such as Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) may either choose their existing scheme or opt for AB PMJAY.
It has been clarified that senior citizens of 70 years and above who are under private health insurance policies or Employees’ State Insurance scheme will be eligible to avail benefits under AB PM-JAY.
AB PM-JAY is the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme which provides health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and,
tertiary care hospitalization to 55 crore individuals corresponding to 12.34 crore families. All members of the eligible families irrespective of age are covered under the scheme. The scheme has covered 7.37 Crore hospital admissions including 49 percent women beneficiaries. The public has benefited to the extent of over Rs. 1 Lakh crore under the scheme.
The expansion of cover to senior citizens of the age of 70 years and above was earlier announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2024.
The AB PM-JAY scheme has witnessed continuous expansion of the beneficiary base. Taking the mission ahead, AB PM-JAY would now provide free healthcare coverage of Rs 5 lakh to all citizens aged 70 years and above in the country.
Paralympic archery champions Ms. Sheetal Devi and Shri Rakesh Kumar team up to inspire voters nationwide as ECI’s national icons for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). In an event organised at Nirvachan Sadan, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar along with ECs Shri Gyanesh Kumar and Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu felicitated Arjuna Awardee and ECI's national PwD icon, Ms. Sheetal Devi,
And her mixed doubles team partner Shri Rakesh Kumar, in recognition of their outstanding achievement in winning a bronze medal in Archery at the Paris Summer Paralympics 2024. On the occasion, the Commission also announced Shri Rakesh Kumar, renowned Paralympian as the ECI National icon for PwDs.
An Indian-origin lecturer at Nanyang Technological University has won the prestigious Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction with her debut short story collection, Nine Yard Sarees. Prasanthi Ram, 32, saw her work published in late 2023.
Her collection explores the lives of a Tamil Brahmin family spread across cities like Singapore, Sydney, New York, and Connecticut
The award for best English creative non-fiction went to Shubigi Rao, an Indian-origin artist, for her book Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory Of The Banished Book (2022). This book is the third part of her decade-long project on banned literature.
Switzerland has been ranked as the number one country in the world by US News & World Report in its ‘Best Countries Ranking 2024’, a feat they have achieved for the third year in a row. The survey ranks 89 countries based on their global perception using 10 differentially weighted sub-rankings such as adventure, agility, heritage, entrepreneurship, quality of life,
cultural purpose and more. These sub-rankings are made up of 73 different attributes that a country is tested on. While Switzerland ranked higher on metrics of quality of life and openness to business, its lowest ranking was in the field of heritage.
This is the seventh time the Central European nation of Switzerland has ranked first in the survey,
with European countries making up the majority of the top 25. In the latest ranking, Switzerland is followed by Japan, the United States of America, Canada, and Australia.
India ranked at number 33 on the list this year, dropping three spots from its place on the list in 2023. Only Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea managed to crack the top 25 from Asia.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar were the only two Middle-Eastern countries that cut at 17 and 25 respectively. Unlike Switzerland, India's highest ranking was in the field of ‘movers’ (number 7) and heritage (number 10). ‘Movers’, the sub-ranking with the heaviest weightage, measures the resilience and adaptiveness of a country.
India's worst performance was in the categories of social purpose and adventure.
The Best Countries Ranking 2024 by US News & World Report, a project that has been going on for nine years, seeks to look at the value of nations beyond just wealth. A total of 16,960 individuals from 36 countries were surveyed in order to create this ranking.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2024 at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Shri Modi took a walkthrough of the exhibition showcased on the occasion. The three-day conference from 11 to 13th September will showcase India’s semiconductor strategy and policy which envisions making India a global hub for semiconductors.
Informing that India’s contribution to the world of designing is 20 percent and is growing continuously, PM Modi said that India is creating a semiconductor workforce of 85,000 technicians, engineers and R&D experts.
With India’s electronics sector now valued at over $150 billion, the Prime Minister outlined a larger goal to grow the country’s electronics sector,
to $500 billion and create 6 million jobs by the end of this decade. He said that this growth will directly benefit India’s semiconductor sector. “Our goal is that 100% of electronic manufacturing should happen in India. India will make semiconductor chips and the finished product too”, he added.
Under this vision, SEMICON India 2024 is being organized from 11 to 13th September with the theme “Shaping the Semiconductor Future”. The three-day conference will showcase India’s semiconductor strategy and policy which envisions making India a global hub for semiconductors.
In a significant move to make vocational education more accessible, the National Instructional Media Institute (NIMI), under the Directorate General of Training (DGT) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), launched a series of YouTube channels.
This digital initiative will provide high-quality training videos to millions of learners across India’s Industrial Training Institute (ITI) skill ecosystem, available in nine languages.
The new channels—offered in English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada—are aimed at helping learners improve their technical skills through free,
easy-to-access digital resources. Each channel has tutorials, skill demonstrations, and theoretical lessons, all curated by industry experts to ensure relevance in the vocational training landscape.
NIMI's initiative aligns with India's National Skill Development Mission and the goals of the New Education Policy (NEP).
Financial services platform Stashfin’s parent company, AKARA Capital has become the first fintech NBFC to offer Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) at a face value of Rs 10,000 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This strategic bond issuance aims to raise Rs 100 crore, offering retail investors an accessible investment opportunity.
The initiative follows a significant regulatory amendment by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in July, which lowered the minimum face value of debt securities from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 10,000. This move by SEBI is designed to promote financial inclusion by enabling greater participation from retail investors across India.
The second India-Japan Finance Dialogue in Tokyo marked a significant step in enhancing bilateral financial cooperation between the two nations. High-level government officials and regulators gathered to discuss international financial issues and explore ways to deepen strategic economic ties.
Key discussions focused on macroeconomic developments in both countries, third-country cooperation, and global financial issues. The participants also deliberated on sector-specific topics such as regulation, supervision, and digitalization, emphasising financial sector reforms.
The next round of the Finance Dialogue is slated to take place in New Delhi.
State governments in India have also been tapping into Japanese financial resources. In April 2024, Tamil Nadu secured a $300 million yen-denominated loan from the World Bank for urban water and sanitation development.
RBL Bank and DMI Finance Private Limited (“DMI”), part of the DMI Group, announced a strategic agreement to provide co-branded credit cards to DMI Finance’s existing customers.
This collaboration intends to increase credit card access to clients in India’s metro and non-metro cities by combining RBL Bank’s extensive credit card experience,
with DMI’s proven track record of enabling digital financial inclusion at scale. The credit card will offer spend-driven perks such as expedited reward points, no-cost EMI alternatives, and discounts at popular merchants.
This partnership will enhance financial inclusion in India by bringing credit card access to underserved, creditworthy individuals across the country.
