Cabinet expands Ayushman Bharat scheme for 70+ old citizens, boost for hydropower sector and more: Check highlights

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to several significant schemes to advance healthcare, renewable energy, and promote electric vehicles to further combat pollution.

The Modi-led cabinet has also approved coverage of PM Gram Sadak Yojana to those unconnected habitations due to various reasons including increase in population.

Here are the top decisions from today's meeting:

Ayushman Bharat scheme for 70+ year old citizens

The Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme, approved with a budget of Rs 3,437 crore, aims to provide universal health coverage for senior citizens aged 70 and above, benefiting a total of 4.5 crore families and 6 crore senior citizens, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

As per the scheme, for families already covered under the scheme, an additional top-up of up to Rs 5 lakh per year is available, while those not previously covered will receive Rs 5 lakh per year in shared coverage.

Read more about the scheme here.

Hydropower boost

In the realm of renewable energy, the cabinet has also given a green light for a Hydropower Scheme, with an allocation of Rs 12,461 crore and a capacity of 31,350 MW, to enhance infrastructure to meet the 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030.

The scheme emphasizes the development of essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges, transmission lines, and communication facilities.

It is focused to develop hydropower potential of 133 GW and includes financial support for projects—Rs 1 crore per MW for projects up to 200 MW and Rs 200 crore plus Rs 0.75 crore per MW for larger projects.

PM E-drive scheme

The PM E-drive scheme was also approved by the Modi-led Cabinet, with a funding of Rs 10,900 crore, which supports the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) through its FAME 1 & 2 schemes.

Notably, the FAME schemes, as per the government, have already facilitated over 16 lakh EVs, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, ambulances, and trucks.

The latest initiative includes support for 14,028 e-buses at Rs 10,000 per kWh and aims to establish 88,500 charging sites with full support.

Furthermore, it covers the development of testing, standardization, and other facilities.

Read more on the scheme here.

PMGSY-IV to Boost Rural Connectivity

The Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV) for FY 2024-25 to 2028-29, with a total outlay of Rs 70,125 crore. The scheme aims to construct 62,500 km of roads, connecting 25,000 unconnected habitations and upgrading bridges on new connectivity roads.

Road alignment planning will be conducted via the PM Gati Shakti portal.

Mission Mausam

The Union Cabinet also approved 'Mission Mausam' for better tracking of the weather and has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for two years.

Mission will be implemented by 3 institutes of the Ministry of Earth Sciences: India Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting.

As per the government, the Mission Mausam's focus is to include "improving observations and understanding for providing highly accurate and timely weather and climate information across temporal and spatial scales."