Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approves free cooking gas cylinders and Agniveer hiring preferences

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Friday approved 39 proposals, including free cooking gas cylinders for households during Holi and Diwali, hiring preferences for Agniveers in four state departments, and renaming Jewar Airport in Gautam Buddh Nagar after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Announcing the decisions, officials said the cabinet cleared a budget of ₹2,142 crore to provide free cylinders during the festivals. Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh stated that Agniveers recruited by the central government will receive a 20 percent reservation for constable posts in the police, forest, prison, and transport departments. Qualified candidates will be exempted from written and physical examinations, requiring only a medical test, and will receive a three-year age relaxation extending the recruitment age limit from 25 to 28 years.

The cabinet also approved the Uttar Pradesh Artificial Intelligence Mission, under which AI centers will be established across all 75 districts with dedicated AI fellows, overseen by three committees including an apex body headed by the chief minister. Additionally, the official name of Bhadohi district was modified to Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi.

In the agriculture sector, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Manoj Pandey announced that paddy procurement targets are set at 65 million tonnes, running from October 15 to February 15, 2027, in western Uttar Pradesh, and from November 1 to February 28 in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The minimum support price (MSP) for maize was fixed at ₹2,410 per quintal, an increase of ₹10 from the previous year.

Urban development initiatives include the procurement of 1,725 new electric buses across 18 municipal corporation areas and the construction of an integrated bus terminal in Lucknow’s Vrindavan Vihar scheme on a public-private partnership (PPP) model with Omaxe Limited, involving an investment of ₹265 crore.

Furthermore, the council of ministers cleared the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Skill Training and Employment Sector Development Scheme to establish an integrated skill development framework across nine zones in the state’s 75 districts. The first phase will set up five training centers across Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Jhansi. The internship allowance for BAMS, BUMS, and BHMS graduates at state ayurveda, unani, and homeopathy medical colleges was doubled from ₹7,500 to ₹15,000, and an additional sari will be provided to 3.90 million Anganwadi workers and helpers.