31st JULY 2025 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Union Cabinet approves allocation of Rs 2000 crore to support National Cooperative Development Corporation
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Central Government's Sectoral Plan for allocation of funds to the National Cooperative Development Corporation at an outlay of Rs 2000 crore for four years from 2025-26 to 2028-29 (Rs 500 crore annually from the financial year 2025-26).
- The allocation of funds to the National Cooperative Development Corporation from the financial year 2025-26 to the financial year 2028-29 will provide an investment of Rs 20,000 crore from the open market in four years. This fund will also be used to provide loans to cooperative societies for new projects/expansion of plants and to meet working capital requirements.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today (31.07.2025) approved 4 multi-track railway projects. The total cost estimate is Rs. 11,169 crore. The projects approved are Itarsi - Nagpur 4th line, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) - Parbhani double track, Aluvabari Road - New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th line and Dangoabosi - Jaroli 3rd and 4th line.
- The increased track capacity will significantly increase the transport facility. As a result, the operational efficiency of the Railways will increase. These multi-track projects will reduce congestion. These projects will facilitate the movement of people and goods.
- These 4 projects, covering 13 districts in 6 states namely Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, will upgrade the existing infrastructure of the Railways. About 574 km will be added.
- The proposed multi-track project will increase rail connectivity to about 2,309 villages with a population of about 43.60 lakh. The project will facilitate the movement of coal, cement, clinker, gypsum, agricultural products, petroleum products, etc. It will be possible to transport an additional 95.91 million tonnes of freight per annum.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today has approved a total outlay of Rs.6520 crore including additional outlay of Rs.1920 crore for ongoing Central Sector Scheme "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana" (PMKSY) during 15th Finance Commission Cycle (FCC) (2021-22 to 2025-26).
- Approval includes (i) Rs.1000 crore to support 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 and (ii) Rs.920 crore, 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 eligibility criteria as per the extant scheme guidelines.
- The implementation of the proposed 50 multi-product food irradiation units is expected to create 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 private sector will lead to the development of advanced infrastructure for testing food samples, thereby ensuring compliance with food safety standards and supply of safe foods.
