Cabinet approves submission of bid for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2030
Cabinet Approves Signing of Host Collaboration Agreement and Grant-in-Aid Sanction for Gujarat Government if CWG 2030 Bid gets accepted
Ahmedabad: An ideal host city offering world class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities, and a passionate sporting culture
Narendra Modi Stadium – the largest stadium in the world – has already demonstrated its capability by successfully hosting the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final
Games to witness large-scale participation from 72 countries
Event to generate jobs, boost tourism and create professional opportunities across diverse sectors beyond sports
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the proposal of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports for submission of bid for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2030. It also gave its approval to sign the Host Collaboration Agreement (HCA) along with the required Guarantees from concerned Ministries, Departments and Authorities and sanction of required grant-in-aid to Gujarat Government, in case the bid gets accepted.
Athletes from 72 countries will participate in the Commonwealth Games. It will also include participation of a large number of athletes, coaches, technical officials, tourists, media persons among others visiting India during the Games, benefiting local businesses and generating revenue.
Ahmedabad is an ideal host city offering world class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities, and a passionate sporting culture. Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, has already demonstrated its capability by successfully hosting the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final.
Beyond sports, hosting the CWG in India would leave a lasting impact boosting tourism, creating jobs and inspiring millions of young athletes. Apart from that, a large number of professionals will be getting opportunities in Sports science, Event Operations and Management, Logistics and transport coordinators, Broadcast and media, IT and communications, Public relations and communications and in other fields as well.
Hosting such a globally prestigious event will foster a strong sense of national pride and unity. It will provide a shared national experience and boost the morale of our Nation. It will inspire a new generation of athletes to enter into Sports as a career option and encourage greater participation in sports at all levels.
Cabinet approves restructuring & extension of lending period beyond 31.12.2024 of PM Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme
Enhanced Credit, UPI-linked Credit Cards, Digital Adoption, and Holistic Socio-Economic Development for Street Vendors and Their Families
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the “Restructuring and extension of the lending period beyond 31.12.2024 of Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme”. The lending period has now been extended until March 31, 2030. The total outlay for the scheme is ₹7,332 crore. The restructured scheme aims to benefit 1.15 crore beneficiaries including 50 lakh new beneficiaries.
Implementation of the scheme would be the joint responsibility of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Department of Financial Services (DFS), with DFS being responsible for facilitating access to loan/ credit cards through banks/financial institution and their ground level functionaries.
The key features of the restructured scheme include enhanced loan amount across first & second tranche, provision of UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card for beneficiaries who have repaid the second loan, and digital cashback incentives for retail & wholesale transactions. The scheme’s coverage is being expanded beyond statutory towns to census towns, peri-urban areas etc. in graded manner.
The enhanced loan structure includes first tranche loans increased up to ₹15,000 (from ₹10,000) and second tranche loans increased up to ₹25,000 (from ₹20,000), while the third tranche remains unchanged at ₹50,000.
The introduction of UPI-linked RUPAY Credit Card would provide immediate access of credit to the street vendors in order to meet any emergent business and personal requirements.
Further, in order to give boost to digital adoption, the street vendors can avail cashback incentives upto ₹1,600 on making retail & wholesale transactions.
The scheme also focuses on building the capacity of the street vendors with a focus on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, digital skills, and marketing through convergence. Standard hygiene and food safety trainings would be conducted for street food vendors, in partnership with FSSAI.
In order to ensure holistic welfare & development of the street vendors and their families, the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ component will be further strengthened, through monthly Lok Kalyan Melas. The intent is to ensure that benefits under various GoI schemes reach the beneficiaries and their families in a saturation approach.
The Government had initially launched PM SVANidhi Scheme on 1st June 2020 to support street vendors who faced unprecedented hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since the inception of the scheme it has proved to be more than financial support for street vendors and has given them a sense of identity & formal recognition for their contribution to the economy.
The celebrated PM SVANidhi scheme has already achieved significant milestones. As of July 30, 2025, over 96 lakh loans amounting to ₹13,797 crore have been disbursed to more than 68 lakh street vendors. Nearly 47 lakh digitally active beneficiaries have conducted over 557 crore digital transactions worth ₹6.09 lakh crore, earning a total cashback of ₹241 crore. Under the ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ initiative, 46 lakh beneficiaries across 3,564 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have been profiled, leading to over 1.38 crore scheme sanctions.
The scheme has received national recognition, winning the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2023) for Innovation (Central Level) for its outstanding contribution to boosting the economy, promoting livelihoods, advancing financial inclusion, and driving digital empowerment and the Silver Award for Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation (2022).
The extension of the scheme envisages the holistic development of street vendors by offering a reliable source of finance to support business expansion and opportunities for sustainable growth. This will not only empower street vendors but will also foster inclusive economic growth, socio-economic upliftment of street vendors and their families enhancing their livelihoods, and ultimately transforming urban spaces into a vibrant, self-sustaining ecosystem.
Cabinet approves multi-tracking of 3 projects benefitting Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar & Assam and One new rail line to connect far flung areas of Kutch, Gujarat
Decision to benefit both passenger & goods; New rail line in Kutch to boost tourism by connecting the bordering Rann of Kutch, Harappan site Dholavira, Koteshwar temple, Narayan Sarovar & Lakhpat fort
Transportation of coal, cement, clinker, fly-ash, steel, containers, fertilizers, agriculture commodities and Petroleum products etc to get a boost as Railways add 565 route kms to its existing network
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved Four projects of Ministry of Railways with totalcost of Rs. 12,328 Crore (approx.). These projects include: –
(1) Deshalpar – Hajipir – Luna and Vayor – Lakhpat New Line
(2) Secunderabad (Sanathnagar) – Wadi 3rd and 4th Line
(3) Bhagalpur – Jamalpur 3rd line
(4) Furkating – New Tinsukia Doubling
The above projects aim to ensure seamless and faster transportation of both passengers and goods. These initiatives will provide connectivity & improve travel convenience besides reducing logistic cost and decrease dependence on oil imports. Additionally, the projects will contribute to lower CO2 emissions, thereby supporting sustainable and efficient rail operations.The projects will also generate direct employment for about 251 (Two Hundred and Fifty-one) lakhhuman-days during its construction.
The proposed new line will provide connectivity to far-fetched area of Kutch region. It will add 145 route km & 164 track km to the existing railway network in Gujarat with an estimated cost of 2526 crore rupees. The completion timeline of the project is 3 years. Besides promoting the tourism in the state of Gujarat, the new rail line will help in transportation of salt, cement, coal, clinker & bentonite. The strategic importance of the project is that it will provide connectivity to Rann of Kutch. Harappan site Dholavira, Koteshwar temple, Narayan Sarovar &Lakhpat fort will also come under the rail network as 13 new railway stations will be added benefitting 866 villages and about 16 Lakh population.
In a major Connectivity boost, the approved Multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approx. 3,108 villages and about 47.34 lakh population and One Aspirational District (Kalaburagi) benefitting the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar & Assam. The completion timeline for 173 km long Secunderabad (Sanathnagar) – Wadi 3rd and 4th Line, spanning across Karnataka & Telangana, having cost of 5012 crores, is five years while for the 53 km long Bhagalpur – Jamalpur 3rd line in Bihar, it is three years, for which the cost is 1156 crore rupees. The work for 194 km long Furkating – New Tinsukia Doubling, having the cost of 3634 crore rupees, will be completed in four years.
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 Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’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 projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focused on enhancing multi-modal connectivity &logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. The four projects covering 13 Districts across the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and Assam will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 565 Kms.
These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, flyash, steel, containers, fertilizers, agriculture commodities and Petroleum products etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 68 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (56 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (360 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 14 Crore trees.
The proposed projects aim to enhance logistical efficiency by augmenting line capacity along critical routes for transportation of coal, containers, cement, agricultural commodities, Automobile, POL, Iron & Steel and other goods. These improvements are expected to optimize supply chains, thereby facilitating accelerated economic growth.