| | NOVEMBER 20238The Union Cabinet approved the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) fertilizer for the Rabi season beginning October 1, 2023, and ending on March 30, 2024, on Oct 25, according to Anurag Thakur. According to Thakur, the subsidy expenditure is expected to cost Rs 22,303 crore.The following prices will be subsidized during the Rabi season- Nitrogen costs Rs 47.02/kg, phosphorus costs Rs 20.82/kg, potassium costs Rs 2.38/kg, and sulfur costs Rs 1.89/kg. Thakur stated that di-ammonium phosphate will continue to be sold at the previous rate of Rs 1,350 per bag, while Muriate of Potash (MoP) will be reduced.The cabinet also approved the inclusion of the Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project of Uttarakhand under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP), which will cost Rs 2,584 crore.The project calls for the construction of a dam near Jamrani village across the river Gola, a tributary of the Ram Ganga in Uttarakhand's Nainital district. The dam will feed the existing Gola barrage via a 40.5 km canal system and a 244 km canal system completed in 1981.Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, stated that a central support of Rs 1,557.18 crore will be provided to Uttarakhand for the completion of the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,584.10 crore and is scheduled to be completed by March 2028. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $400 million loan to India on Oct 25 as part of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) 2.0.Subprogram 2 of the Sustainable Urban Development and Service Delivery program aims to support the government's efforts through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) to improve urban infrastructure and provide basic urban services such as water supply, sanitation, and transportation.Amrut, a flagship program launched in June 2015 in 500 cities across the country with the goal of transforming the urban Indian landscape, focuses on providing every household with access to water supply and sewage connection. Amrut 2.0 was launched in 2021."The national flagship program of Amrut 2.0 is targeted at universal access to water supply and sanitation and to ensure urban water security through reducing water losses, recycling treated sewage for non-domestic use, rejuvenation of water bodies, and maintaining sustainable groundwater levels," Sanjay Joshi, the chairman of the Asian Development Bank, said.While ADB provided a loan of $350 million under Subprogram 1 in 2021, the loan amount has been increased to $400 million under Subprogram 2.The program also emphasizes measures such as building bylaw modernization, land pooling, urban agglomeration, and comprehensive urban mobility planning through transit-oriented development those urban local bodies (ULBs) can implement to transform cities into well-planned economic growth hubs. UNION CABINET GREEN LIGHTS FERTILIZER SUBSIDY FOR RABI SEASONABD GRANTS $400 MILLION LOAN FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENTIN FOCUSIN FOCUS
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