New Delhi: In a bid to hasten the course of India’s development, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave its nod to a range of high-impact infra and farm projects worth a total of more than Rs 10.35 lakh crore.
One of the highlights is the clearance for Phase II of the Pune Metro expansion, which has been sanctioned with an investment of Rs 3,626 crore. Pune, an industrial and education hub city, will have its metro network expanded by 12.75 km with 13 new stations. This comprises a very important 1.12 km connecting Vanaz to Chandni Chowk and an 11.63 km connecting Ramwadi to Vitthalwadi.
With this, Pune’s metro footprint will come very close to 80 km, connecting its expanding suburbs and commercial centres to the city center. The project is representative of India’s aggressive metro growth, with the national network jumping from 248 km in 2014 to over 1,000 km in 2025, with nearly another 1,000 km under development.
Of similar importance is the Union Cabinet’s approval to a new rehabilitation masterplan for Jharkhand’s Jharia coalfields, approved at Rs 5,940 crore. The area, which has been devastated by in-ground fires and subsidence due to decades of unscientific mining, will now be transformed at large. Drawing from the partially enforced 2009 plan, the new strategy robustifies institution mechanism, such as a more empowered Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority headed by a Joint Secretary-level official. The proposal sees new housing, public infrastructure, education, healthcare, and job creation to improve communities long plagued by economic and environmental adversity. Coal India Limited will invest Rs 500 crore every year to supplement central assistance to the scheme.
Experts feel that the recent approvals signal an ambitious vision to fill vital gaps across transport, energy, housing, and agri-tech ecosystems, while bolstering Narendra Modi led government’s agenda of sustainable and inclusive growth.
A major milestone for farm research, PM Modi has approved plans for a regional centre of the International Potato Centre (CIP) in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. With a Rs 111.5 crore investment and 10 hectares of land already reserved by the state government, the centre will work on seed innovation, pest management, sustainable farming, and farmer skill upgradation. The initiative will further boost India’s leadership in potato cultivation by bringing in global best practices customised for local issues.
These steps are part of a larger national infrastructure drive that crosses over into key sectors. Upgrades for the airports of Bagdogra, Bihta, and Varanasi have been sanctioned for a total of Rs 5,832 crore. Among the biggest announcements is the building of a large greenfield port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, which will entail an expenditure of Rs 76,220 crore. In contrast, highway construction remains in full swing, with 936 km of national high-speed road projects, particularly along border and trade-important locations, sanctioned at a cost of Rs 1.61 lakh crore.
The railway sector will gain from 26 new projects on more than 3,300 km, comprising new lines as well as multi-tracking works, at an expense of Rs 96,311 crore. Urban mobility schemes in Bengaluru, Thane, Delhi, Chennai, and Pune will get a total fillip of Rs 1.03 lakh crore. Prime Minister Awas Yojana too has got a big transfusion, with Rs 5.36 lakh crore being given for building 3 crore houses—1 crore in the urban sector and 2 crores in rural areas—tackling the twin objectives of housing for all and rural development.
In the energy domain, a fresh push has been accorded to hydropower, with Rs 20,286 crore being sanctioned for developments in the North-East, including the Yarjep river. Spiritual and environmental linkages will be facilitated by ropeway projects to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib at the cost of Rs 6,811 crore. The Cabinet also initiated the PM E-Drive scheme to drive India’s transition to electric mobility, setting aside Rs 10,900 crore for the purpose.
These far-reaching decisions are an extension of the Centre’s philosophy of integrated development—developing urban and rural areas together, infrastructure modernisation, climate resilience, and technological advancements. Through aggressive investments across metros, ports, highways, housing, clean energy, and high-technology agriculture, the government is looking to provide a strong foundation for India’s $5 trillion economy target.