India reaches 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources five years ahead of target
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu urges Centre to provide ₹10,000 crore under SASCI, revenue deficit compensation
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to allocate an additional ₹10,000 crore to the State under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme for the financial year 2025–26. During a meeting held on the second day of his visit to New Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Naidu submitted a representation seeking financial assistance for various key projects. He requested the Centre to accept Andhra Pradesh's appeal to the 16th Finance Commission for revenue deficit compensation, highlighting the continued financial strain caused by the bifurcation of the State. Mr. Naidu emphasised that the State still grappled with limited financial resources, which was affecting its developmental aspirations. The Chief Minister informed Ms. Sitharaman that while the estimated cost for the construction of the new capital Amaravati stood at ₹79,280 crore, works worth ₹44,351 crore had already been initiated. Of this, ₹26,000 crore had been mobilised so far. Mr. Naidu urged the Centre to release the next tranche of funds as a grant rather than a loan. He also expressed gratitude to the Union Government for its continued support to major infrastructure projects such as Amaravati and Polavaram irrigation project.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Government merges 36 schemes to float farm programme
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) approved the 'Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana', or PMDDKY, to enhance agricultural productivity and increase adoption of sustainable agricultural practices across the country. The scheme was announced in the Budget earlier this year. Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Centre has merged 36 schemes of 11 Ministries into the PMDDKY, which will have an outlay of ₹24,000 crore per year for six years beginning 2025-26. 'This scheme will help 1.7 crore farmers,' he said. Also read | Union Budget 2025: Schemes announced for farmers, middle class and students A release said the scheme also aims to augment post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block levels, improve irrigation facilities, and facilitate the availability of long-term and short-term credit. 'The scheme will be implemented through the convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 Departments, other State schemes, and local partnerships with the private sector... 100 districts will be identified based on three key indicators of low productivity, low cropping intensity, and less credit disbursement. The number of districts in each State/Union Territory will be based on the share of Net Cropped Area and operational holdings. However, a minimum of one district will be selected from each State,' the release added. The PMDDKY is modelled on the 'Aspirational District Programme' of the Centre. Mr. Vaishnaw said the 'first-of-its-kind' scheme will focus exclusively on agriculture and allied sectors. Committees for effective planning, implementation and monitoring of the scheme will be formed at district, State and national levels. 'A District Agriculture and Allied Activities Plan will be finalised by the District Dhan Dhaanya Samiti, which will also have progressive farmers as members. The district's plans will be aligned to the national goals of crop diversification, conservation of water and soil health, and self-sufficiency in agriculture and allied sectors, as well as expansion of natural and organic farming,' the release said, adding that the scheme's progress will be monitored on a monthly basis. Also read | Agricultural agenda must move from food security to farmer prosperity: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar The Government hoped that the scheme would result in higher productivity, value addition in agriculture and allied sectors, and local livelihood creation, and help increase domestic production and achieve self-reliance. Abhishek Jain, Fellow and Director, Green Economy and Impact Innovations, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said the scheme is a significant step toward boosting agricultural performance in India's under-performing districts by emphasising not only productivity but also resilience through crop diversification, allied activities, value addition, soil health, and water‐use efficiency. 'However, district selection could be improved by using annual net agricultural income per hectare,' he said, adding that the scheme should not focus on low-credit disbursement as an indicator for district selection. 'A resilient agriculture system should not be dependent on credit. Instead, as we expand and diversify income streams for farmers via allied and value-added activities, and as we mainstream more sustainable agriculture practices, the reliance on external credit to fund cultivation cycles should come down, while still enhancing incomes for the farmers,' he said.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
UPI has reached tea sellers, vegetable vendors; surpassed Visa: Ashwini Vaishnaw lauds Digital India
New Delhi: When the world questioned how a tea seller or a vegetable vendor could use digital payments, but today that dream has come true -- UPI payments have surpassed Visa transactions, Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said on Sunday. Addressing a packed hall at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre here on the occasion of 10 years of Digital India, he said that this is the strength of 1.4 billion Indians. The celebration highlighted India's inspiring journey from being a digitally divided nation to becoming the world's third-largest digital economy. At the heart of this transformation is the CSC network, a rural digital infrastructure that now reaches nearly 90 per cent of villages in the country -- empowering people at the grassroots level. Minister Vaishnaw praised the efforts of lakhs of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs), who have made digital services accessible even in the remotest corners of India. He shared stories of women like Manjulata from Odisha's Mayurbhanj and Rose Angelina from Meghalaya's East West Khasi Hills. These women overcame tough circumstances, embraced digital skills, and transformed lives in their communities through CSC centres. The Minister also made some big announcements to further boost the Digital India mission. He said that free artificial intelligence training will be provided to 10 lakh individuals, giving priority to all VLEs. He also urged all CSCs to offer IRCTC ticketing services and promised to work with Chief Ministers to link state IT agencies with CSC-SPV. Union Minister of State Jitin Prasada also addressed the event and lauded the massive growth of CSCs -- from just 83,000 centres in 2014 to nearly 5.5 lakh centres today. He emphasised the importance of digital empowerment and the key role of women VLEs -- more than 74,000 women are now leading centres across India. Prasada also underlined the need to focus on cybersecurity, awareness, and capacity building in vital sectors like health, agriculture, and education. He recommended allowing CSCs to deliver more services, like Update Client Lite and state government schemes, to improve VLE income.
