The Cabinet approved a package of ₹ 25,473 crore in four sectors | Today’s news
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a package of combined expenditure schemes ₹25,473 crore to support renewable energy storage, strengthen critical mineral supply chains, expedite court proceedings in sexual offense cases and modernize the statistical ecosystem.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved a two-year extension of the ‘Second Tour of Duty’ for Agniveers recruited under the Agnipath programme, a short-term military recruitment model.
The Cabinet approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme with an outlay of Rs ₹14,500 crore for grid energy storage systems during 27-31. The scheme aims to add 92 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage capacity to help integrate large-scale renewable energy generation into the national grid.
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The capacity includes 60 GWh of pumped storage (PSP) projects, 30 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and 2 GWh of emerging storage technologies.
“The scheme aims to support the development of 92 GWh of new energy storage capacity across the country,” the government said in a statement, stressing that financial de-risking will reduce the levelized cost of clean storage, reduce curtailment of renewables and ensure uninterrupted power supply during peak hours.
Critical processing of minerals
The Cabinet also approved a capital expenditure support scheme to support critical mineral processing with financial costs ₹2,814 crore over five years from FY27 to FY31 to build domestic critical mineral processing and refining capacity, primarily for lithium and nickel.
The scheme will offer capital subsidies for eligible investments to incentivize private sector participation and reduce capital barriers associated with processing units.
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“Building self-sufficiency in critical minerals will develop domestic processing capabilities, promote value addition in the country, reduce import dependency and develop a resilient value chain,” the statement said. The intervention will ensure a continuous supply of minerals needed for electric vehicles, batteries and advanced manufacturing ecosystems.
“Critical mineral processing is capital intensive and has a long gestation period, which has deterred several Indian companies from entering the space,” said Prassann Daphal, CEO of Evergreen Recyclekaro India Ltd, an e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling company. “The scheme can help bridge this gap and encourage investment, technology partnerships and joint ventures,” Daphal said.
“The scheme’s focus on lithium and nickel processing can encourage private investment, support technology development and create the basis for domestic value addition,” said Nitin Gupta, co-founder and CEO of e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling company Attero.
Expedited trials
The Cabinet approved a five-year extension of the Centrally Sponsored Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) scheme, including exclusive courts under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders Act (POCSO), from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031. The scheme has an expenditure of Rs. ₹3,788.04 million crowns.
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The network of 779 functional courts, including 399 exclusive POCSO courts, will expand to 850 courts in 29 states and union territories.
Each court will have a dedicated court clerk, a special prosecutor and six support staff to expedite case processing.
The program prioritizes cases involving women and children, with provisions for vulnerable witness referral centers and child-friendly court spaces to facilitate testimony in a safe and supportive environment, the government said.
Revision of the statistical system
To modernize India’s official data collection and analytics frameworks, the government approved the Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics & Research (VISTAR) with an ₹4,371.10 crore for FY27-FY31.
The scheme has three components: strengthening statistical operations and the wider statistical ecosystem, supporting statistical capacity building in states and conducting a national economic census.
“The aim of this scheme is to create a dynamic, real-time and future-proof official statistics architecture,” the government said in a statement, highlighting its mandate to improve data timeliness, provide deeper granularity, harmonize datasets and generate AI-ready statistical repositories for public policymaking.
Agniveers business trip
The Cabinet also approved a two-year ‘Second Tour of Duty’ for Agniveers under the Agnipath recruitment scheme. The provision will allow eligible and willing Agniveers to serve an additional two years, subject to selection criteria, before being considered for enlistment as privates after completing their four- or six-year terms.
In a post on X, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the decision is a continuation of structural reforms aimed at creating a younger, more capable, technologically equipped and future-ready army to respond to the changing nature of warfare.
