One Country, One Election was approved in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister

Report submitted in March: The report submitted by the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind regarding 'One Nation, One Election' in March last year was unanimously approved in the cabinet meeting. Elections should be held simultaneously for the people and legislatures of all the states across the country. The main recommendation of this committee is that local body elections should be held within 100 days across the country. The Ram Nath Kovind Committee has also suggested that a committee should be formed to improve and implement the 'One Nation, One Election' scheme.

Opposition criticism: When the plan to hold simultaneous elections was discussed, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that 80 per cent of the people supported the scheme. Commenting on this, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “One country, one election scheme is not practical. This is an attempt to divert people's attention. This scheme will not succeed. People will not accept it. Has anyone asked us for our opinion on this? We want to know who are those 80 per cent people who have expressed their support for this project,” he said.

Will it get support? – At least 6 amendments must be made in the Constitution to implement the One Country, One Election scheme. This requires the support of two-thirds of the members of Parliament. After this, all the state and union territory governments have to approve the scheme. The National Democratic Alliance government has a single majority in both the houses of Parliament. However, it is not known whether it will get 2-thirds support or not. The number of Lok Sabha members is 545. Out of this, the support of two-thirds i.e. 364 members is required. However, the TJ alliance has the support of only 292 members in the Lok Sabha.

Similarly, the number of Rajya Sabha members is 245. Out of this, the support of two-thirds i.e. 164 members is necessary. However, the TJ alliance has only 112 members in the Rajya Sabha. The number of opposition members is 85. Therefore, it is being said that getting the 'One Nation, One Election' scheme approved in the Parliament will be a challenge for the central government. Fertilizer subsidy of Rs 24,475 crore: The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the continuation of the 'Chandrayaan-4' project to send astronauts to the moon, fertilizer subsidy scheme and Prime Minister's Aasha Yojana.

The Union Cabinet also approved the Chandrayaan-4 project to land astronauts on the Moon by 2040 and bring them back to Earth. Under this project, soil and rocks from the surface of the Moon will be brought back to Earth for analysis. The project is estimated to cost Rs 2,104 crore. The Union Cabinet also approved a scheme to provide a subsidy of Rs 24,475 crore for phosphate and potassium fertilizers for Rabi season agriculture in 2024-25. In this way, farmers will be able to get the necessary fertilizers at a reasonable price.

PM ASHA Yojana: The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri ASHA Yojana at an estimated cost of Rs 35,000 crore. This will enable farmers to get a fair price for their produce. Consumers will also benefit as the prices of essential commodities will also be controlled through this fund. It is noteworthy that the central government has integrated the Price Support Scheme and Price Control Fund under the Pradhan Mantri ASHA Yojana to benefit farmers and consumers.

Tribal Development: The Cabinet also approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Unnat Gram Yojana, which has been developed at a cost of Rs 79,156 crore to improve the socio-economic condition of tribals across the country. The central government's share in this is Rs 56,333 crore. The state's share is Rs 22,823 crore. This scheme will be implemented in 549 tribal-dominated districts and 2,740 villages across the country. Biotechnology Development: The Cabinet also approved the Biotechnology Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (Bio-RIDE) scheme. This will accelerate research in the field of biotechnology. It will help in the growth and development of the biotechnology sector.