By laksh5382 
Permanent Account Number (PAN) will now be a common business identifier. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Monday approved an over ₹1,400 crore project called PAN 2.0, which will merge multiple identification numbers into one with assurance of data security.
“PAN, TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) etc will be merged into one,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said. PAN is an alpha-numeric based 10-character financial identification. So far, 78 crore PANs have been issued, of which 98 per cent have been issued to individuals.
Under the new project, the existing system will be upgraded. This will become the common business identifier for all business-related activities in the specified areas. There will be an integrated portal. Cyber security measures will be strengthened and PAN data vault system will be mandatory for all entities using PAN data. This, the minister said, means that “data deposited by a user with a bank or any other agency will have to be kept in a data vault to ensure security.” Under the new system, there will be no need to apply for the card afresh. He said that the new QR based card will be issued free of cost.
one nation one membership
The Cabinet also approved a new central sector scheme ‘One Nation One Subscription’ to provide nationwide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications with a total investment of ₹6,000 crore over the next three calendar years – 2025, 2026 and 2027. Gave. The scheme will provide nationwide access to research articles and journal publications of international scholars to students, teachers and researchers of all higher education institutions managed by the Central and State Governments and R&D institutions of the Centre. Government.
Railway
The CCEA also approved three important railway projects, with a project cost of approximately ₹7,927 crore, which will ease operations and decongest one of the busiest sections in the country between Mumbai and Prayagraj. The three projects covering seven districts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will extend the existing network by about 639 km. The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity for two aspirational districts (Khandwa and Chitrakoot).
Power
CCEA also gave green signal to investment of ₹1,750 crore for construction of Tato-I Hydro Electric Project in Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
natural farming
The Cabinet has approved the extension of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), which was launched last year, till FY26. The government had prepared NMNF to promote natural farming across the country by upgrading the Indian Natural Farming System. “NMNF will cover 7.5 lakh hectares by developing 15,000 clusters with a total budget outlay of ₹1,584 crore (Centre’s share) over the next four years,” the government had said in the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2023.
With the state share envisaged at ₹897 crore, the total expenditure could reach ₹2,481 crore by 2025-26.