The Cabinet has approved three big power projects of worth 81,000 crore rupees to strengthen the power distribution and transmission in the Urban and rural areas in the country. These projects are aimed at to provide 24×7 electricity across India by 2019. Decision in this regard was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last evening. These projects are the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated Power Development Scheme and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project.
According to an official press release, the Integrated Power Development Scheme which is designed for urban areas, entails an expenditure of 32,612 crore rupees. The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, which is targeted at the rural areas, entails a total investment of 43,033 crore rupees. For the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project, the government has allocated 5,111 crore rupees to strengthen the intra-state transmission and distribution system in six north east states. These states are Assam, Manipur, Meghalay, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.
The Cabinet also approved signing and ratifying SAARC pacts on Railway, Motor Vehicles and Energy during the forthcoming 18th SAARC summit scheduled to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal on 26-27 November. The cabinet yesterday approved signing and ratifying the SAARC Regional Railways Agreement by India, as a member State of SAARC. The SAARC Regional Railways Agreement will strengthen transport connectivity in the Region. The Agreement will also enable low cost, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation in the region and provide trade and economic links.
The Cabinet also approved the Signing and ratifying the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement and Bilateral Agreement for the regulation of passenger traffic between Government of India and Nepal on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC Summit. The Cabinet has also authorized the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to sign similar Bilateral Agreements and Protocols with other SAARC member States. It also gave its nod for SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation among the SAARC Member countries in the forthcoming Summit. The Cabinet also cleared a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Nepal for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism sector.
