Cabinet approves 'PM e-Bus Sewa' scheme at cost of Rs 57,613 cr, 7 railway projects worth Rs 32,500 cr

The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved "PM-eBus Sewa" for augmenting city bus operations and priority has been given to cities having no organised bus service.

10,000 e-Buses will be deployed in 169 cities, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur at a press briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday. The scheme is tipped to generate 45,000-55,000 direct jobs. Estimated cost of the scheme is Rs 57,613 crore, of which Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by Central government and the rest will be provided by state governments.

"Buses' procurement to be done under PPP mode, there’ll be competitive bidding and private players can come forward. The scheme will run till 2037," said Thakur.

Cabinet also approved proposal to provide major boost to railway infrastructure by approving seven projects of Ministry of Railways with estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore. These projects will add 2,339 kms to the existing network of Indian Railways, said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

These new Railway projects will cover 35 districts in nine states, namely UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Telangana.

The proposed projects will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation.

Cabinet on Wednesday approved extension of Digital India project with an outlay of Rs 14,903 crore, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The minister said that the extended Digital India project will add on to the work done under the previous version of the scheme. "Prime Minister in the cabinet meeting has approved Digital India programme with outlay of Rs 14,903 crore," Vaishnaw said.

He said that under the project 5.25 lakh IT professionals will be reskilled and upskilled and 2.65 lakh persons will be trained in IT.

Under the extended Digital India project, nine more super computers will be added under the National Supercomputing Mission (NCM). The minister said that already 18 super computers have been deployed under NCM.

Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 13,000 crore PM Vishwakarma scheme that will benefit about 30 lakh traditional artisans and craftsmen, including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers.

PM Modi made the announcement about the scheme in his Independence Day address on Tuesday.

Under the scheme, craftsmen will be provided a subsidised loan of Rs 1 lakh in the first tranche, and another Rs 2 lakh in the second tranche, communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the Cabinet meeting.

The loans will be provided at a concessional interest rate of 5 per cent. On Tuesday, the prime minister announced that the scheme will be launched on Vishwakarma Jayanti on September 17.