India has a rich tradition of trade and commerce. Our traders continue to make a strong contribution to India’s economic growth.
In a decision that will benefit the trading community, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a new scheme that offers pension coverage to the trading community. This is a part of the Prime Minister’s vision to provide a robust architecture of universal social security.
How the scheme works:
Under this scheme all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons are assured a minimum monthly pension of Rs. 3,000/- month after attaining the age of 60 years.
All small shopkeepers and self-employed persons as well as the retail traders with GST turnover below Rs. 1.5 crore and age between 18-40 years, can enrol for this scheme. The scheme would benefit more than 3 crore small shopkeepers and traders.
The scheme is based on self-declaration as no documents are required except Aadhaar and bank account. Interested persons can enrol themselves through more than 3,25,000 Common Service Centres spread across the country.
The Government of India will make matching contribution in the subscribers’ account. For example if a person with age of 29 years contributes Rs. 100/- month, then the Central Government also contributes the equal amount as subsidy into subscriber’s pension account every month.
Delivering a major promise on Day 1:
By imitating a pension architecture for the trading community, the Prime Minister and his team have fulfilled a major promise made to the people of India. Shri Modi had spoken about the need of proving pension for traders, that would assure them a life of dignity and financial security especially when during their old age.
This decision can also be seen in the light of several other steps taken for the welfare of traders, small and medium business. The GST underwent significant simplification after taking feedback of the trading community. In the same way, Mudra loans gave wings to the entrepreneurial zeal of young India. Loans upto Rs. 1 crore are now easily available.
These, any many more efforts would help the trading community.
Cabinet approves infrastructure projects between National Highway-19 and Varanasi Ring Road in Uttar Pradesh worth Rs.14447.64 crore
July 15, 2026
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved the development of a Link/Connector Corridor between National Highway-19 (NH-19) and the Varanasi Ring Road with riverbank connectivity along the River Ganga for the decongestion of Varanasi City in Uttar Pradesh. The 46.039 km project, comprising a six-lane elevated main carriageway, an iconic cable-stayed bridge, an extradosed Foot Over Bridge-cum-Major Bridge, loops, ramps, link roads and service roads, will be implemented under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs.14,447.64 crore including a civil construction cost of Rs.6,037.85 crore (including utility shifting, excluding GST) and a land acquisition cost of Rs.541.11 crore under NH(O).
The project will provide seamless connectivity between NH-19 and the Varanasi Ring Road, significantly decongesting the city’s road network and improving urban mobility. Designed for an operating speed of 80–100 km/h, it is expected to reduce the average travel time across the project influence area from approximately 60 minutes to 20 minutes, representing a reduction of nearly 67 per cent. Travel time between NH-19 and Kashi Railway Station will be reduced from approximately 50 minutes to about 25 minutes, resulting in a saving of about 25 minutes (nearly 50 per cent).
Aligned with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the corridor will strengthen multimodal connectivity by providing seamless access to major highways, railway stations, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport and Ramnagar IWAI Port, while significantly improving connectivity to key religious, educational and cultural landmarks, including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Namo Ghat, Ramnagar Fort and the Ghats of Varanasi. By linking important economic, social and logistics nodes, the project will improve logistics efficiency, enhance road safety, facilitate tourism and pilgrimage, and support sustainable regional economic growth across eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The corridor has been conceived as a transformative urban mobility project to decongest the road network of Varanasi & Chandauli by providing a high-speed, access-controlled connection between NH-19, the Varanasi Ring Road (NH-135B), Ramnagar/ BHU and other major urban destinations. With more than 15 crore tourists and pilgrims visiting Varanasi every year, the project will significantly improve connectivity to major religious, educational and cultural landmarks, including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Namo Ghat, Ramnagar Fort, the Ghats of Varanasi, and Kashi Railway Station, while substantially reducing congestion on the existing city road network. An elevated spur between BHU/Lanka and Samne Ghat will further ease traffic congestion at the heavily trafficked Lanka Junction by separating through traffic from local traffic movements.
The project will improve road safety through controlled-access movement, reduce vehicle operating costs and emissions, enhance travel reliability, and facilitate the efficient movement of passenger and freight traffic. It will also decongest NH-19, the BHU-Ramnagar Corridor and NH-35 by diverting through traffic away from the densely developed urban core.
The project incorporates several landmark engineering features, including an iconic 910 m cable-stayed bridge across the River Ganga, a 1.32 km extradosed Foot Over Bridge-cum-Major Bridge with travelators providing seamless pedestrian connectivity to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, a Rail Over Bridge over the existing/proposed Malviya Bridge, dedicated emergency parking bays, noise barriers, façade lighting and architectural elements inspired by the cultural heritage of Varanasi. These features will not only improve transportation efficiency but also enhance the city’s urban landscape, create an iconic addition to Varanasi’s skyline, and reinforce its position as one of India’s foremost religious and cultural destinations.
Planned in accordance with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the corridor will strengthen multimodal connectivity by linking one Economic Node (Chandauli SEZ), one Social Node (Chandauli Aspirational District) and six major Logistics Nodes, namely Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Kashi Railway Station, Banaras Railway Station, Varanasi City Railway Station, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction and Ramnagar IWAI Port. By providing seamless connectivity between these transport hubs and key destinations such as the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Namo Ghat, Ramnagar Fort and the Ghats of Varanasi, the project will enhance multimodal integration, improve logistics efficiency, facilitate tourism and pilgrimage, and support sustainable regional economic development across eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Overall, the proposed Ganga Elevated Corridor will create a modern, high-capacity urban transport corridor that transforms mobility in Varanasi by providing faster, safer and more reliable connectivity, significantly reducing congestion, strengthening multimodal integration, enhancing tourism and pilgrimage infrastructure, and supporting sustainable economic growth in line with the vision of PM Gati Shakti and Viksit Bharat.
