New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that his government's nod to four multi-tracking railway projects will improve connectivity infrastructure, boost convenience, reduce logistics costs and strengthen supply chains.

He was reacting to the Union Cabinet's approval for four projects of the Ministry of Railways involving a total cost of about Rs 18,658 crore, a government press note said.

The four projects covering 15 districts in three states of Maharashtra, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 1,247 km.

PM Modi said the Cabinet's nod to Vibrant Villages Programme-II is an "exceptional news" for ensuring a better quality of life in border villages.

He said, "With this approval, we are also expanding the scope of the villages covered compared to Vibrant Villages Programme-I." The objective of the programme is to create better living conditions and adequate livelihood opportunities to ensure prosperous and safe borders, control trans-border crimes and assimilate the border population with the nation and inculcate them 'as eyes and ears of the border guarding forces', crucial for internal security.

With a total outlay of Rs 6,839 crore, the programme will be implemented in select strategic villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal till 2028-29, a statement said.