Railways, farmers in focus as Centre okays ₹19K-cr projects

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved six proposals with a cumulative outlay of ₹19,688 crore to strengthen cooperatives, boost food processing and expand railway connectivity.

- Sejal Sharma

With a special focus on strengthening India’s farmers, a grant of ₹2,000 crore over four Years has been approved for the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), said IT, railways and I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw , while announcing the decisions. NCDC gives loans to about 85 lakh cooperatives, which have 290 million members. About 94% of India’s farmers are associated with these cooperatives, he said . The funding will allow NCDC to mobilise an additional ₹ 20,000 crore for lending to sectors such as dairy, fisheries, textiles and women-led cooperatives, benefiting over 13,000 societies with nearly three crore members.