The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 6,600 crore scheme for developing India’s north-eastern states. The scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE), will be applied for the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

The Union cabinet has cleared a comprehensive Rs. 76,000-crore ($10 billion) package to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the country. The incentives will be extended to a range of new units greenfield chip fab and display fab units, and other areas related to semiconductors.

The Union cabinet has approved the funding and implementation of the Rs. 44,605 crore Ken-Betwa river linking project, which will address the water scarcity in the Bundelkhand region spanning across Madhya Pradesh and poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. The cabinet has approved a central support of Rs. 39,317 crore for the project.

The Union Cabinet has approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary for a further five years from 1 April 2021 at a total cost of Rs. 9,000 crore, of which the Central share will be Rs. 5,357 crore, including Rs. 50 crore for the Gram Nyayalayas Scheme.

The Union cabinet has approved the Model Tenancy Act, which will help overhaul the legal framework with respect to rental housing across the country. The government said that it is expected to give a fillip to rental housing as a business model for addressing the huge housing shortage.

The Public Investment Board (PIB) has cleared phase-II of Nagpur Metro project, expected to cost around Rs. 6,000 crore. It will start from places where phase-I has ended. After the PIB clearance, phase-II now awaits clearance from the Union cabinet. PIB has also cleared the project proposal for Nashik MetroNeo.

The Union cabinet has approved Rs. 5281.94 crore for the 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be developed by a joint venture company to be incorporated between National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently announced a Rs. 28,400-crore Industrial Development Package 2021, aiming to attract Rs. 20,000 crore of investments and create 4.5 lakh jobs in the Union Territory. He said the Union cabinet sanctioned the package on January 6, and it will remain in force for 17 years.

The Union cabinet has approved an infusion of Rs. 6,000 crore as equity into a new debt platform to raise up to Rs. 1.1 lakh crore for financing infrastructure projects by 2025. Of the equity to be injected by 2021-22, Rs 2,000 crore is earmarked for disbursal this year.