Cabinet clears revamped Khelo India & Samudra Manthan schemes

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the ‘Samudra Manthan’ National Offshore Exploration Scheme, a central sector initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore to be implemented  through FY2030-31. The scheme aims to accelerate offshore oil and gas exploration, strengthen India’s energy security, enhance domestic production and promote technological innovation in the upstream energy sector. According to the government, the initiative reflects the Prime Minister’s vision of a modern-day “Samudra Manthan”, articulated during his Independence Day address in 2025, to unlock India’s offshore energy potential and advance the goal of Viksit Bharat. 
The scheme covers the entire offshore exploration value chain and includes large-scale acquisition, processing and interpretation of high-quality seismic data, accelerated deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploratory drilling, scientific drilling in frontier basins, development of common offshore production and evacuation infrastructure, and the establishment of an integrated Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services Zone. The government expects the scheme to facilitate reserve accretion of more than 600 Million Metric Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (MMTOE), significantly expand offshore exploration activities and increase domestic crude oil and natural gas production.
The Union Cabinet also approved a revamped Khelo India Scheme and an enhanced Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSFs) Scheme with a combined outlay of Rs36,441 crore for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31. The approved outlay is nearly eight times higher than that of the previous Khelo India Scheme. The government said the programme is aimed at strengthening the pathway from grassroots talent identification to elite performance, while aligning with the National Sports Policy 2025 and the National Education Policy 2020. The scheme seeks to create an integrated sports ecosystem through National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs), Khelo India Centres of Excellence (KICoEs), SAI Training Centres (STCs), Khelo India Accredited Academies (KIAAs), Khelo India Centres (KICs) and Youth Sports Companies (YSCs) of the Armed Forces. To strengthen school sports, the Cabinet also approved two new initiatives — Khelo India Feeder Schools (KIFS) and Khelo India Utkrishta Vidyalayas (KIUV) — aimed at identifying talent early and integrating sports with mainstream education.
The Cabine gave its nod to the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31, with a financial outlay of Rs3.15 lakh crore. The decision aims to ensure continued income support to eligible farmer families through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. Launched in February 2019, the PM-KISAN scheme provides Rs6,000 annually to eligible landholding farmer families in three equal instalments, transferred directly into their bank accounts. The government said the scheme has emerged as a transparent and technology-driven model of farmer welfare through Aadhaar-based authentication, digital verification and the DBT mechanism.