The union cabinet on Thursday approved several proposals in infrastructure and power sectors, and also opened up investment doors.

The cabinet has opted for a new Swiss Challenge Method for the redevelopment of 400 railway stations. "This is a new method to award contracts for A1 and A category stations. Virtually 400 centres of the country will become centres of developmental activity," finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

In power sector, the cabinet gave okay to Rs 3,419 crore inter-state electricity transmission system that covers seven states - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Rajasthan.

The project includes establishment of 48 new Grid sub-stations of different voltage levels with total transformation capacity around 17100 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) by installing over 7800 ckt-kms (circuit kilometers) of transmission lines in these seven states. The project is proposed to be completed within a period of three to five years.

These States are rich in renewable resource potential and large capacity renewable power projects are planned there. Creation of an intra state transmission system will facilitate evacuation of renewable power from generation stations to load centres.

In another major development, it was decided to allow introduction of composite caps for simplification of FDI (foreign direct investment). There was a review of the FDI policy on various sectors provided in FDI Policy Circular for simplification of policy to attract FDI.

To boost infrastructure development, the cabinet gave its nod for the eastern peripheral expressway (EPE) project.  "The six-lane peripheral road will ensure that traffic not destined for Delhi, does not pass through the city, avoiding pollution," Jaitley said.

The expressway passes through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The main object of the project is to expedite improvement of infrastructure in the States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.  The road is a peripheral road around Delhi, so that the traffic which is not destined for Delhi, does not pass through this city. This avoids congestion and pollution in the city.

The cost is estimated to be Rs.7558 crore including Rs1795.20  crore for land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.The total length of the road will be approximately 135  kms. The project will be under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

In another major decision, the cabinet extended the scheme of recapitalisation of weak regional rural banks for next 3 years to ensure their financial stability was given a nod.

The cabinet also approved revised cost estimates for Phase.1 of Scheme of National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project for AP & Odisha at a cost of Rs 2331 crore.

The cabinet has also approved the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Canada in the field of civil aviation.

MoU would help in deepening the bilateral cooperation and enhancing the experience and technical knowledge in the field of civil aviation between India and Canada.

Some of the important features of the MoU would be: An appropriate platform shall be formalized for exchange of views on the possibilities of fostering greater commercial/economic cooperation between the two countries in the areas of civil aviation. The two countries shall have a cooperation programme in the areas of safety of aircraft operations and related issues that will provide more up-to-date knowledge to Directorate General of Civil Aviation to make it familiar with the best international practices and the latest international civil aviation organisation’s safety oversight programme requirements. Apart from the above, India firms could also be benefited from the exchange of technical knowhow with the Canadian companies as the aviation industry is far more developed in Canada. Reciprocally, the Canadian companies could gain from enhanced access to the fast developing civil aviation industry in India.