Cabinet clears ₹4,371 crore statistics overhaul, ₹2,814 crore critical minerals scheme, 850 fast-track courts

The Union Cabinet approved three detailed initiatives with different goals. VISTAR will modernise official statistics and make data more useful for central and state policymaking. A critical-minerals scheme will support processing in India. More fast-track courts will focus on child-abuse and rape cases.

VISTAR will receive ₹4,371 crore over five years. It will use artificial intelligence, machine learning and additional data sources. The ₹2,814 crore minerals scheme will support 24 defined minerals from mined and recycled sources. Courts will increase from 779 to 850, creating more capacity for these serious cases.

The article also refers to Cabinet decisions involving energy storage and defence recruitment, including an Agniveer service extension. However, it gives its main details on the statistics, minerals and judicial initiatives. VISTAR is planned for FY 2027 to 2031, while the minerals scheme runs from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.

VISTAR means the Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics and Research. It is a ₹4,371 crore scheme designed to modernise India’s official data system. Its purpose is to improve statistical quality and make information more accessible for policymaking at both state and central levels.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation plans 59 surveys during the 16th Finance Commission cycle, compared with 43 major surveys previously. It will introduce indicators such as the Headline Index of Services Production and the Index of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises. AI and machine learning will support data processing and analysis.

VISTAR will also bring in mobile-phone records, scanner data and e-commerce information alongside traditional surveys. The eighth Economic Census is included as well. These changes are intended to provide wider, more detailed and more timely evidence for government decisions, including district-level planning supported by states and Union territories.

The Cabinet approved ₹4,371 crore for VISTAR, which will run from FY 2027 to 2031. It also approved ₹2,814 crore in capital expenditure support for critical-mineral processing. That scheme runs from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. Both are multi-year programmes, but their starting years differ.

The statistics plan increases the number of planned surveys during the 16th Finance Commission cycle to 59. The previous cycle had 43 major surveys. This means the new plan adds 16 surveys, while also introducing new indicators and alternative sources. The Economic Census is part of the wider statistical programme.

Judicial capacity will also expand, though no separate outlay or period is provided in the article. Fast-track courts will increase from the current 779 to 850. Overall, the approvals combine large, time-bound investments with a measurable expansion in statistical coverage and court capacity.

VISTAR will use alternative sources because traditional surveys may not capture every part of India’s changing economy. The article names mobile-phone records, scanner data and e-commerce information as additional inputs. Using them alongside surveys can broaden the evidence available for policymaking and statistical analysis.

For example, scanner data and e-commerce information can provide records of transactions or purchases, while mobile-phone records can offer another source of activity information. These sources would supplement, not replace, traditional surveys. AI and machine learning will help process and analyse the combined data, according to the scheme’s plan.

The expected result is a more comprehensive statistical system. VISTAR also plans 59 surveys during the 16th Finance Commission cycle, compared with 43 major surveys earlier. The article presents these changes as a way to improve statistical quality and support decisions at central, state and district levels.

An Economic Census is a comprehensive count and description of economic establishments and the people working in them. In this programme, the eighth census will collect details of non-farm establishments and their workers. That creates a structured picture of where businesses operate and how employment is distributed.

The census will collect information down to gram-panchayat and ward levels. Its findings will form the basis for a National Statistical Business Register. Such a register can organise information about establishments in one reference system, making it easier to identify and study businesses across locations.

This local detail could strengthen policymaking because states and Union territories will receive financial and technical support to generate more district-level data. The article does not specify particular policies that will follow. It does show that VISTAR aims to make official information more detailed and useful for planning below the national level.

Critical minerals are minerals considered important for key manufacturing activities and therefore needing reliable processing and supply. The Cabinet scheme covers 24 defined critical minerals. It accepts material from both mining and recycling, linking new extraction with recovery from existing sources.

The central mechanism is capital expenditure support for processing. Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the aim is to bring raw minerals into a condition ready for manufacturing. The covered sectors include semiconductors, batteries, electronics, defence equipment and heavy machinery. Processing is therefore the bridge between raw material and industrial use.

The scheme will run from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, with an outlay of ₹2,814 crore. The article presents it as a way to build stock for manufacturing sectors in India. It does not provide production targets or name the individual 24 minerals, so those details cannot be established from the text.

Fast-track courts are specialized courts intended to handle selected cases with focused procedures and attention. The Cabinet approved increasing their number to 850 from the current 779. Their specific purpose here is to address cases involving child abuse and rape, which require dedicated judicial handling.

The immediate mechanism is added court capacity. Seventy-one more courts can provide additional venues and judicial attention for these cases. Specialization can help courts concentrate on the legal and evidentiary issues common to a category of cases, while limiting competition with unrelated matters. The article does not describe their procedures or staffing.

The approval signals a planned expansion rather than a reported result. It does not state how many cases will be handled, how quickly trials will finish or when the additional courts will begin operating. Their effect will depend on implementation, but the stated aim is to strengthen the response to child-abuse and rape cases.