Cabinet clears India's bid for 2030 Commonwealth Games, says Ahmedabad ‘ideal’ host

The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved India's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, alongside four rail projects costing over ₹12,000 crore. The PM SVANidhi scheme for street vendors was also extended, benefiting 5 million more vendors with increased loan amounts.

Aug 27, 2025 - 13:59
Aug 27, 2025 - 14:03
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Cabinet clears India's bid for 2030 Commonwealth Games, says Ahmedabad ‘ideal’ host

THE Union cabinet on Wednesday approved India's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The country had last hosted the games in 2010, and it will now be pitted against Nigeria to play host for the 2030 edition.

Proposals for four new railway projects worth over ₹12,000 crore and the extension of the lending period to street vendors under the PM Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) scheme till 2030 were also cleared on Wednesday, statements from the Union cabinet and the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) said.

India's bid to host the 2030 CWG was formally accepted by the Indian Olympic Association on 13 August. Banking on the success of Ahmedabad's hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup Final in November 2023, the government said Gujarat would be an ideal location for the 2030 CWG.

"Beyond sports, hosting the CWG in India would leave a lasting impact, boosting tourism, creating jobs and inspiring millions of young athletes. Apart from that, a large number of professionals will be getting opportunities in sports science, event operations and management, logistics and transport coordinators, broadcast and media, IT and communications, public relations and communications and in other fields as well," an official statement said.

Ahmedabad is an “ideal” host city offering world class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities, and a passionate sporting culture, the statement said. India has time until 31 August to submit its final bid, according to the Indian Olympic Association.

This Union cabinet had on 1 July approved a new national sports policy to identify and nurture athletic talent.

Among key decisions of the CCEA was the clearance to four new railway projects at a total cost of ₹12,328 crore across the states of Gujarat, Assam, Telangana, Karnataka and Bihar. These include a new line on the Deshalpar-Hajipir-Luna and the Vayor-Lakhpat route, the third and fourth lines on the Secunderabad (Sanathnagar)–Wadi route, a third line on the Bhagalpur-Jamalpur route, and doubling of the Furkating–New Tinsukia line.

These rail lines will transport passengers as well as cargo, and will reduce logistics costs and decrease the country's dependence on oil imports, a CCEA statement said. These projects, to be completed in three to five years, are set to expand the country's existing rail network by 565km, it added.

"These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker, fly-ash, steel, containers, fertilizers, agricultural commodities and petroleum products, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 68 mtpa (million tonnes per annum)," the statement said.

The extension of the PM SVANidhi scheme loan deadline, which was set to end in 2024, will benefit 5.0 million more street vendors, another statement said, adding that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Department of Financial Services would jointly work on the plan. The scheme's coverage is being expanded beyond larger towns to the peri-urban areas, the statement said.

The scheme provides credit to street vendors and connects them with the homegrown unified payments interface using RuPay cards. Under the scheme, vendors can avail loans in three tranches. The first and second tranches, under which vendors could borrow ₹10,000 and ₹20,000, have been increased by ₹5,000 each. In the third tranche, vendors can borrow ₹50,000, which has remained unchanged, as per a Cabinet statement.

Vendors who have repaid the second tranche will also receive a RuPay credit card, the statement said. As of 30 July, over 9.6 million loans totalling ₹13,797 crore have been disbursed to more than 6.8 million street vendors, it said.

"The extension of the scheme envisages the holistic development of street vendors by offering a reliable source of finance to support business expansion and opportunities for sustainable growth," said the statement.

The PM SVANidhi scheme was launched in June 2020 to support street vendors during the Covid-19 pandemic.