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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today (July 31) approved six big decisions. These include fund approval for National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), and four decisions related to railways.

1- National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)

The government launched the NCDC policy in 2025. Today, the cabinet approved the Central Sector Scheme grant in aid to NCDC with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore for a period of four years from 2025-26 to 2028-29, which works out to Rs 500 crore for each year.

On the basis of this grant in aid of Rs 2,000 crore, NCDC will be able to raise Rs 20,000 crore from the open market over a span of four years. These funds will be utilised by NCDC for granting loans to Cooperatives for setting up new projects, expansion of plants, and loans for meeting working capital requirements, according to an official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting.

The source of finance of the Rs 2,000 crore grant to NCDC will be through budgetary support from the Government of India.

Approximately 2.9 crore members of 13,288 cooperative societies of various sectors like Dairy, Livestock, Fisheries, Sugar, Textile, Food Processing, Storage and Cold Storage; Labour and Women-led cooperatives. across the country are likely to benefit by the approval of the NCDC grant, the statement explained.

2- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)\

The approval includes Rs 1,000 crore to support the setting up of 50 Multi-Product Food Irradiation Units under the component scheme-Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure (ICCVAI), and 100 Food Testing Labs (FTLs) with NABL accreditation under the component scheme, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure (FSQAI) of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), in alignment with the budget announcement.

Almost Rs 920 crore was allocated for sanctioning projects under various component schemes of PMKSY during the 15th FCC.

Both ICCVAI and FSQAI are demand-driven component schemes of PMKSY.

The Expression of Interests (EOIs) would be floated for inviting proposals from eligible entities across the country. The proposals received against the EOI would be approved after proper scrutiny as per the eligibility criteria, as per the extant scheme guidelines.

The implementation of the proposed 50 multi-product food irradiation units is expected to create a total preservation capacity ranging from 20 to 30 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) per annum, based on the type of food products irradiated under these units.

The setting up of the proposed 100 NABL-accredited food testing laboratories under the private sector will lead to the development of advanced infrastructure for testing food samples, thereby ensuring compliance with food safety standards and the supply of safe food.

The cabinet has also approved four projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs 11,169 crore (approx). These projects include:

3- Itarsi – Nagpur 4th Line

4- Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) - Parbhani Doubling

5- Aluabari Road- New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th Line     

6- Dangoaposi- Jaroli 3rd and 4th Line

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister's vision of a New India, which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by way of comprehensive development in the area, which will enhance their employment/ self-employment opportunities.

The four projects covering 13 Districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 574 km.

The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx. 2,309 villages, which are having a population of about 43.60 lakh.

With inputs from agencies

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