On April 09 2025, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals/schemes:
i.Approved Rs 1,600 crore new sub-scheme named ‘Modernisation of Command Area Development and Water Management (M-CADWM)’ under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for the period 2025-2026.
ii.Approved the construction of 6-lane access controlled Zirakpur Bypass in the state of Punjab and Haryana on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM).
iii.Approved the doubling of 104 kilometre(km)-long Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi single railway line section in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Tamil Nadu (TN) with an estimated cost of Rs 1,332 crore.
Cabinet Approved Rs 1,600 crore M-CADWM Scheme Under PMKSY:
The union cabinet has approved Rs 1,600 crore new sub-scheme named ‘Modernisation of Command Area Development and Water Management (M-CADWM)’ under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) for the period 2025-2026.
- The scheme aims to modernize the irrigation water supply network, supplying irrigation water from existing canals or other sources in a designated cluster.
- For the initial phase, the scheme will run on a pilot basis across 78 cities covering around 80,000 farmers.
Key Points:
i.The scheme aims to create robust backend infrastructure for micro-irrigation systems, particularly using pressurized underground pipelines, will farm gate up to 1 hectares (ha) of land.
ii.The scheme will use Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for real-time water accounting and water management.
- This will help to increase the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at the farm level, increase agriculture production as well as productivity; and thereby increase the income of farmers.
iii.Under this scheme, the projects will be made sustainable by Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) to Water User Society (WUS) for management of irrigation assets.
- The Government of India (GoI) will provide handholding support to WUSs for linking them with existing economic entities like: Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) or Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS), for period of 5 years.
iv.Based on initial results and learnings from the pilot projects, the Government of India (GoI) will launch a full-scale National Plan for Command Area Development and Water Management commencing from April 2026 for the 16th Finance Commission (FC) period.
CCEA Approved Rs 1,878 crore Zirakpur Bypass Project:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of 19.2 km –long 6-lane access controlled Zirakpur Bypass starting from Junction with National Highway (NH-7) (Zirakpur-Patiala) and ending at Junction at with NH-5 (Zirakpur-Parwanoo) in the state of Punjab and Haryana.
- The project will be developed under NH (O) on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) with total capital cost of Rs 1,878.31 crore.
Key Points:
i.This project marks a significant step to facilitate integrated transport infrastructure development under the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan (PMG-NMP).
ii.The primary objective of the project is to decongest traffic in Zirakpur, Panchkula and surrounding areas by diverting traffic from Patiala, Delhi, Mohali Aerocity and providing direct connectivity to Himachal Pradesh (HP).
ii.The projects aims to reduce the travel time and ensure hassle-free traffic movement in the congested urban section of NH-7, NH-5 and NH-152.
CCEA Approved Doubling of Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi Railway Line in AP and TN
The CCEA has approved the doubling of 104 km-long Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi single railway line section in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Tamil Nadu (TN) with an estimated cost of Rs 1,332 crore.
- The project will cover 3 districts: Chittoor and Tirupati (AP) and Vellore (TN) and is expected to increase the existing network of Indian Railways (IR) by about 113 km.
- The project is the result of PMG-NMP for multi-modal connectivity which is possible through integrated planning and aims to provide smooth connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.
Key Benefits:
i.Apart from providing connectivity to Tirumala Venkateswara Temple (Tirupati, AP), the project section will also facilitate rail connectivity to other prominent pilgrimage destinations like: Sri Kalahasti Shiva Temple (Sri Kalahasti, AP), Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple (Chitoor district, AP), Chandragiri Fort (Tirupati, AP), among others, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country.
ii.This multi-tracking project will improve connectivity to nearly 400 villages and benefitting about 14 lakh population.
iii.The project will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reducing oil imports by 4 crore liters per annum and lowering Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 crore kilogram (kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 1 crore trees.
Recent Related News:
In March 2025, CCEA had approved the construction of 120.10 km–long 4-lane access controlled greenfield and brownfield Patna-Arrah-Sasaram corridor (National Highway (NH)-119A), starting from Patna to Sasaram in Bihar.
- The project will be developed on HAM at an estimated cost of Rs 3,712.40 crore including civil cost (Rs 2,989.08 crore), land acquisition cost (Rs 718.97 crore) and capital cost (Rs 3,712.40 crore).
