The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a list of key decisions including conferring the status of classical language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages. The Cabinet also approved payment of productivity linked bonus of 78 days for Rs 2028.57 crore to over 11.72 lakh railway employees.
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-II comprising three corridors. The total length of the approved lines will be 118.9 km with 128 stations. The project completion cost is Rs.63,246 crore and is planned to be completed by 2027. Once Phase II is fully operational, Chennai city will have a total Metro Rail network of 173 Km.
It also approved conferring the status of ‘classical language’ to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages. The classical languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone, the government said.
The Government of India decided to create a new category of languages as “classical languages” on October 12, 2004, declaring Tamil as a classical language and thereafter Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia languages were given classical language status.
The Union Cabinet approved payment of a productivity linked bonus of 78 days for Rs 2028.57 crore to over 11.72 lakh railway employees. The amount will be paid to various categories of Railway staff like track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsman, ministerial staff and other Group XC staff.
The Union Cabinet approved two umbrella schemes- Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and Krishonnati Yojana (KY). PM-RKVY will promote sustainable agriculture, while KY will address food security and agricultural self-sufficiency. All components shall leverage technology to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the various components.
The PM-RKVY and KY will be implemented with the total proposed expenditure of Rs 1,01,321.61 crore. These Schemes are implemented through the state governments.
The government approved the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) with an outlay of Rs 10,103 crore to make India self-sufficient in cooking oils. India imports more than 50 per cent of its annual edible oil requirement. The mission will be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2024-25 to 2030-31.
It approved the signing of the ‘Letter of Intent’ thus enabling India to join the International Energy Efficiency Hub (Hub), a global platform dedicated to fostering collaboration and promoting energy efficiency worldwide. The government said this move solidifies India’s commitment to sustainable development and aligns with its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
