UP Cabinet clears 25 lakh tablets, free bus travel for women 60+ and Ganga Expressway extension to Haridwar
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on 25 August 2026 approved 25 lakh free tablets for youth, lifetime free UPSRTC bus travel for women aged 60 and above, and a ₹10,761 crore Ganga Expressway extension to Haridwar.
Summary
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on 25 August 2026, approved the purchase of 25 lakh tablets for free distribution to eligible youth under the five-year Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana, with ₹2,374.60 crore provided for 2026-27. The Cabinet also cleared the Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yojana, under which resident women aged 60 and above can travel free on UPSRTC buses by showing Aadhaar or a voter ID, at a cost of about ₹22.5 crore a month to the state. The Ganga Expressway will be extended to Haridwar in Uttarakhand as a six-lane greenfield corridor, expandable to eight lanes, at about ₹10,761 crore borne entirely by the state. The same meeting approved the ₹7,968.30 crore Jhansi Link Expressway.
Key facts
- Date
- 25 Aug 2026, chaired by CM Yogi Adityanath
- Tablets
- 25 lakh under Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana; ₹2,374.60 cr in 2026-27
- Women 60+
- Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yojana: free UPSRTC travel with Aadhaar/voter ID
- Monthly cost
- About ₹22.5 crore
- Ganga Expressway
- Extension to Haridwar, ₹10,761 cr, six-lane greenfield, state-funded
- Also approved
- Jhansi Link Expressway, ₹7,968.30 cr
Practice MCQs 4 questions
Under which scheme did the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approve the purchase of 25 lakh free tablets for youth on 25 August 2026?
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Correct answer: C — Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana
The tablets will be given under the five-year Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana, with ₹2,374.60 crore provided for 2026-27.
Uttar Pradesh's Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yojana, approved in August 2026, provides what benefit?
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Correct answer: A — Free UPSRTC bus travel for resident women aged 60 and above
The scheme lets resident women aged 60 and above travel free on UPSRTC buses on showing Aadhaar or a voter ID.
Consider the following statements about the Ganga Expressway extension approved by the UP Cabinet on 25 August 2026: 1. The extension will take the expressway to Dehradun. 2. The Centre will share 50% of the cost. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: D — Neither 1 nor 2
Both are wrong. The extension goes to Haridwar, and the Uttar Pradesh government will bear the entire cost of about ₹10,761 crore.
The Ganga Expressway extension to Haridwar approved in August 2026 is described as linking which two Kumbh cities?
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Correct answer: B — Prayagraj and Haridwar
The extension is planned as a corridor connecting Prayagraj and Haridwar, two Kumbh cities on the Ganga.