General
Cabinet Approves Rs 13,000 Cr For Vishwakarma Scheme; Nod For Digital India Programme & Railway Projects
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved four major initiatives, including the PM Vishwakarma scheme that seeks to benefit lakhs of traditional artisans and craftsmen and the PM-eBus Sewa that aims at promoting green mobility while improving city bus operations. The other two schemes to get Cabinet nod are the extension of the Digital India programme and seven multitracking projects of Indian Railways. The Vishwakarma scheme, for which an outlay of Rs 13,000 crore has been set aside for a period of five years, seeks to benefit about 30 lakh families of traditional artisans and craftsmen, including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers.
Scheme will be launched on September 17
PM Modi had on Tuesday announced that the scheme will be launched on September 17. The artisans and craftsmen will be provided credit support of up to Rs1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs2 lakh (second tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5 per cent. The government will also provide support of up to Rs15,000 to buy modern tools. The cabinet also gave its nod to the PM-eBus Sewa to promote green mobility and improving bus connectivity with cities that have no organised service.
10,000 e-buses will be deployed in 169 cities
As many as 10,000 e-buses will be deployed in 169 cities on a public-private partnership (PPP) model at an estimated cost of Rs57,613 crore of which Rs20,000 crore will be borne by the Centre. The scheme will cover cities with a population of three lakh or more and support bus operations for 10 years. States/cities will be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to bus operators, while the Centre will provide subsidies, the government said.
Union cabinet approved the extension of the Digital India programme
The Union cabinet has also approved the extension of the Digital India programme with an outlay of Rs14,903 crore to boost digital initiatives in skilling, cyber security, high performance computing and simplifying technology for masses, among other areas. The outlay has been approved for a five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, Vaishnaw said. Under the extended programme, nine more super computers will be added under the National Supercomputing Mission (NCM), he said. The Digilocker app will be extended to micro, small and medium enterprises to help them avail of credit and other services by verifying their document stored in the app. As many as, 6.25 lakh IT professionals will be re-skilled and 2.65 lakh persons will be trained in information security, he said.
Cyber awareness courses will be conducted
Besides, cyber awareness courses will be conducted for 12 crore college students under the programme. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs also approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs32,500 crore, Vaishnaw said. The projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects will cover 35 districts in nine states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, and increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
Maharashtra
Demanding to convene a joint meeting regarding preparations for Eid-ul-Adha, MLA Abu Asim Azmi sends a letter to Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded a joint meeting regarding the preparations for Eid-ul-Azha. He presented a formal letter to the Chief Minister at the Secretariat, requesting him to immediately convene an important meeting to review the state-level preparations. Drawing the Chief Minister’s attention, MLA Azmi informed him that Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on May 27, 2026. He stressed the need to make timely and robust administrative arrangements as Eid-ul-Azha is approaching. He requested the Chief Minister to invite the relevant administrative authorities, religious leaders and religious organizations to resolve the issues related to Eid-ul-Adha and after listening to the problems faced by Muslims during Eid-ul-Adha, issue instructions to the administration to take necessary action in this regard. This meeting should be held soon under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister so that Muslims do not face any kind of difficulty during Eid-ul-Adha.
Maharashtra
Survey of cleanliness work in the western suburbs of Mumbai… Continuous cleaning of roads is essential, Additional Municipal Commissioner directs

The common citizens of Mumbai should take up the task of cleanliness so that they find the roads and streets clean after leaving their homes. There should be continuity in daily work to promote awareness regarding cleanliness and to create an effective image of the administration. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma said that the cleaning of public roads and streets in Mumbai should be started as per the rules and on time. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma personally visited the area this morning. The inspection visit included cleaning of Karar Nallah, Saptarshi Nallah, Shivaji Chowk Nallah in Malad (East) in P-East section, Piramal Nallah in Malad (West) in P-South section, Oshiwara River, Ramchandra Nallah in Malad (West) in P-West section, Ponla Hans, West Nallah, Ponla Hans section in P-West section. Although there is still time for the onset of monsoon, the Municipal Corporation is busy in preparations for the onset of monsoon. It should be ensured that the cleaning of drains is completed by May 31, 2026 in any case. Also, the garbage and sludge floating in the drains should be removed immediately. In this work, in coordination with the local public representatives, they should be informed about the cleaning of drains from time to time, Dr. Sharma directed the officers of the Municipal Corporation.
Chairman of ‘P East’ and ‘P West’ Divisional Committee Haider Ali Aslam Sheikh, Local Corporator Tejinder Singh Tiwana, Local Corporator Siddharth Sharma, Deputy Commissioner (Zone 4) Dr. Bhagya Sri Kapse, Assistant Commissioner (P East) Rupali Sarmalkar, Assistant Commissioner (P North) Kundan Valvi, Assistant Commissioner (P South) Aniruddha Kulkarni, Assistant Commissioner (K West) Shri Chakrapani Ale and other concerned officers were present on the occasion.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: A case of sexual exploitation under the pretext of marriage has been registered against social media influencer Anwar Khan.

Mumbai: A case has been registered against social media influencer Anwar Khan in Mumbai under the rape, assault and IT Act. He sexually abused the victim on the pretext of marriage. He sexually abused and cheated on the victim several times in Mumbai, Nagpur and UP from 2021 to 2026 but later refused to marry and also forced the victim to have an abortion. The police registered a case in this case on April 8. An FIR has been registered against social media influencer Anwar Khan, who is known for showcasing his lavish lifestyle online. The Sahar police station has registered an FIR No. 324 of 2026 under Section 67-A of the IT Act as well as Sections 89, 69, 115(2), 351(2) of the Bharatiya Naya Samhita, 2023. The complainant has alleged physical abuse, harassment and forcible sexual assault at multiple places. In a disturbing claim, she says she was threatened at gunpoint and given death threats. An FIR was registered as the accused is currently absconding, no arrests have been made yet. The police are investigating the matter further.
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