Rural governance, manufacturing get boost
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved three schemes with a combined outlay of Rs 19,252.22 crore to strengthen grassroots governance, promote domestic sports goods manufacturing and build a globally competitive container manufacturing industry.
The schemes include the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY), with an outlay of Rs 7,395.55 crore for 2026-27 to 2030-31; the Khelo India Sports Goods Manufacturing Scheme, with Rs 1,856.67 crore for 2026 to 2033-34; and the Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme, backed by Rs 10,000 crore until 2039-40.
The Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme aims to increase India’s annual domestic container manufacturing capacity nearly tenfold to 7.5 lakh twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), reduce import dependence and strengthen maritime and logistics supply chains.
The scheme will support new manufacturing facilities and expansion of existing units through interest subsidies, operational expenditure assistance and testing and certification support. It envisages an estimated 3,000 direct jobs and more than 50,000 indirect jobs, besides supporting ancillary industries.
Under the Khelo India Sports Goods Manufacturing Scheme, the government aims to attract investment, strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, promote research and innovation, and expand exports.
The scheme envisages dedicated Sports Goods Manufacturing Zones to bring manufacturers, suppliers, testing facilities, design and prototyping centres, and ancillary enterprises together. These zones will be developed through convergence with existing industrial infrastructure under the BHAVYA Scheme and NICDC Industrial Parks.
An outlay of Rs 1,130 crore has been earmarked for anchor investment and turnover-linked support to encourage new manufacturing facilities, capacity expansion and higher production. The scheme also provides Rs 105 crore for international certification of sports goods, besides support for upgrading existing manufacturing clusters, research and development, start-ups and skill development.
The government expects the interventions to reduce import dependence, attract private investment, generate employment and improve the global competitiveness of Indian sports goods.
The third scheme, PM VGSY, will focus on strengthening Gram Panchayats as centres of local development planning and governance. It will cover all States and Union Territories, including traditional local government institutions in areas where Panchayats do not exist.
The scheme has a Central share of Rs 4,869.48 crore and a State share of Rs 2,526.07 crore. It is expected to directly benefit around 32 lakh elected representatives, Panchayat functionaries and other stakeholders across more than 2.55 lakh Panchayats and traditional local bodies.
Under the initiative, holistic Gram Panchayat Development Plans will be prepared annually on the eGramSwaraj portal, bringing together village priorities, government schemes and available resources. The scheme also envisages at least 2.55 lakh online audit plans annually, with audits conducted through AuditOnline to improve transparency and accountability.
The initiative will use existing digital and outreach platforms, Gram Sabhas and Panchayat forums to improve public awareness of government schemes and national initiatives. Each coordinated awareness-generation exercise is expected to reach at least one crore citizens.
The government said the scheme would strengthen the capacity of local representatives in planning, resource management, communication with citizens and implementation of locally relevant Sustainable Development Goals. It will also promote better utilisation of Finance Commission grants, mobilisation of Panchayat-owned revenue and public disclosure of financial information.
The scheme will be implemented through State governments and Union Territory administrations, which will submit annual action plans for appraisal and approval by a Central Empowered Committee. No permanent posts will be created, although need-based contractual personnel may be engaged at the State, district and block levels.
The three schemes are aimed at improving rural governance, expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, creating employment opportunities and strengthening India’s position in global supply chains.
