Permanent Account Number (PAN) will now be a common business identifier. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on Monday, approved an over ₹1,400-crore project titled PAN 2.0, which will subsume multiple identification numbers into one with assurance of data safety.
“PAN, TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number), TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) etc will be subsumed into one,” Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said. PAN is alpha-numeric based 10-character financial identity. So far, 78 crore PAN have been issued, out of which 98 per cent has been issued to individuals.
Under the new project, the existing system will be upgraded. It will become Common Business identifier for all business-related activities in specified sectors. There will be a unified portal. Cyber security measures will be robust and PAN Data Vault system mandatory for all entities using PAN data. This means “data submitted by a user with bank or any other agency will need to be kept in a data vault to ensure safety,” the minister said. There will no need to apply for fresh card under the new system. QR-based new card will be issued free of cost, he said.
One Nation One Subscription
The Cabinet also approved ‘One Nation One Subscription, a new Central Sector Scheme for providing country-wide access to scholarly research articles and journal publications, with a total investment of ₹6,000 crore over the next three calendar years — 2025, 2026 and 2027. The scheme will provide country-wide access to international scholarly research articles and journal publications to students, faculty and researchers of all higher education institutions managed by the Central and State governments, and Research & Development Institutions of the Central government.
Railway
The CCEA also approved three critical projects of Railways, with a project cost of around ₹7,927 crore that will ease operations and reduce congestion along one of the country’s busiest sections between Mumbai and Prayagraj. The three projects, covering seven districts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, will increase the existing network by about 639 km. The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to two aspirational districts (Khandwa and Chitrakoot).
Power
The CCEA also gave green signal to investment of ₹1,750 crore for construction of Tato-I Hydro Electric Project in Shi Yomi District of Arunachal Pradesh.
Natural Farming
The Cabinet has approved extension of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), which was launched last year, till FY26. The government had formulated the NMNF by upscaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati to promote natural farming across the country. “NMNF will cover 7.5 lakh hectare by developing 15,000 clusters in the next four years with a total budget outlay of ₹1,584 crore (Centre’s share),” the government had said in the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2023.
With State share of ₹897 crore envisaged, total spending may reach ₹2,481 crore by 2025-26.