Cabinet, CCEA meetings: Nod to bonus for Railway employees, projects for Bihar
Around 11 lakh railway employees will receive 78 days’ wages as a productivity-linked bonus for the current fiscal, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the bonus proposal with a total outlay of ₹1,886 crore. Payment of the productivity-linked bonus (PLB) to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Durga Puja and Dussehra holidays.
Decisions by Cabinet
The Cabinet approved Phase-III of a scheme to strengthen and upgrade existing central and state government medical colleges to increase 5,000 postgraduate seats. It also approved the extension of the central scheme for upgradation of existing government medical colleges for increasing 5,023 MBBS seats, with an enhanced cost ceiling of ₹1.50 crore per seat, Vaishnaw said.
The Cabinet also gave nod to a ₹2,277 crore umbrella scheme for doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships and promoting knowledge sharing through a travel and symposia grant. The scheme, ‘Capacity Building and Human Resource Development (CBHRD)‘, will be implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for the period of the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).
“The scheme will strengthen the research and development ecosystem by training researchers, nurturing scientific talent, and promoting innovation to build a future-ready India,” Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said.
The CBHRD initiative includes four sub-schemes: Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships; Extramural Research Scheme, Emeritus Scientist Scheme, and Bhatnagar Fellowship Programme; Promotion and Recognition of Excellence through the Award Scheme; and Promoting Knowledge Sharing through the Travel and Symposia Grant Scheme.
CCEA’s decision for Bihar
The Wednesday meeting also saw the continuation of projects for poll bound Bihar. The CCEA approved the construction of the four-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of 78.942 km on the NH-139W in Bihar on the Hybrid Annuity Mode at an estimated cost of ₹3,822.31 crore.
The proposed four-lane greenfield project will improve connectivity between Patna and Bettiah, linking north Bihar districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran to the areas along the Indo-Nepal border. It will be developed on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) with a total project length of 78.942 km and total capital cost of ₹3,822.31 crore, an official statement said.
The CCEA also approved the doubling of the 104-km Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya single railway line section in poll-bound Bihar with a total cost of about ₹2,192 crore. Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Vaishnaw said that the project will cover four districts of Bihar while increasing the existing network of Indian Railways by about 104 km.
Assembly elections will be held in Bihar later this year.
Published on September 24, 2025
