The Union Cabinet today approved 6-lane Greenfield Elevated Corridor covering over 46 kilometers between National Highway-19 and Varanasi Ring Road in Uttar Pradesh on Hybrid Annuity Model, improving urban mobility. Briefing media in New Delhi today, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the total capital cost of the project stands over 14 thousand 4 hundred crore rupees and will provide seamless connectivity between NH-19 and the Varanasi Ring Road, significantly decongesting the city’s road network and improving urban mobility. It is expected to reduce the average travel time across the project influence area from approximately 60 minutes to 20 minutes. He added that the project will significantly improve connectivity to major religious, educational and cultural landmarks.
The cabinet has also approved the development of a over 43 km, 6/4-lane Elevated Corridor connecting NH-31 and the Varanasi Ring Road along the River Varuna for decongestion of Varanasi city in Uttar Pradesh The Project entails a total capital cost of over 10 thouand 998 crore rupees. The project will reduce travel time between NH-31 and Kashi Railway Station from approximately 40 minutes to 20 minutes, a reduction of nearly 50 percent.
Mr Vaishnaw said that the cabinet has approved Semicon 2.0 with a budgetary outlay of 1 lakh 27 thousand 500 crore rupees to strengthen India’s semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem. He said that building on the momentum of Semicon 1.0, the scheme aims to further the government’s commitment to putting India on the global semiconductor map. He said that the scheme will support economic growth, strengthen supply chain resilience, and establish technological leadership in critical sectors. The Minister said that Semicon 2.0 seeks to holistically build the semiconductor ecosystem through six pillars- Design, Machines and materials, Setting up more fabs, Further strengthening the ATMP-OSAT industry and Research and Development.
The cabinet also approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme with a budgetary outlay of 62 thousand 500 crore rupees. Mr Vaishnaw said that the scheme will be implemented for the next 5 years. He said that the scheme will provide incentive support of 2.25 percent to 5 percent on eligible sales for manufacturing mobile phones in the country. The minister said that an additional incentive of up to 1.5 percent is linked to domestic sourcing of key components and sub-assemblies. He said the scheme is expected to generate cumulative mobile phone production of approximately 39 lakh crore during its tenure. It is also expected to create around 60, thousand direct jobs.
The Cabinet approved two multitracking projects covering four districts across Odisha and Jharkhand, expanding the Indian Railways network by about 145 km. The Project includes Paradeep-Haridaspur Doubling in Odisha and Rajkharsawan-Dangoaposi 4th Line in Jharkhand. With a total estimated cost of approximately 3 thousand 907 crore rupees, the projects are expected to be completed by 2030-31.
The Cabinet also approved the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026 for Atmanirbhar Bharat (NIPU-2026). The Policy seeks to encourage new investments in the urea sector for setting up gas-based urea manufacturing units in the country, helping achieve the goal of self-sufficiency. The new policy includes key changes such as separation of fixed and variable costs for greater transparency. Introduction of a Return on Equity (RoE) band with a floor of 12 percent and a ceiling of 16 percent. Mitigation of foreign exchange risk through conversion of fixed cost into Indian rupees after four years based on prevailing exchange rates. The changes are estimated to result in savings of over 250 crore rupees per plant established under NIPU-2026 compared to NIP-2012.
