The Uttar Pradesh (UP) cabinet approved expressway and infrastructure projects, including an extension of the six-lane, expandable to eight-lane, greenfield Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Haridwar in Uttarakhand at a cost of Rs 107.61 billion (bn) and the Jhansi Link Expressway at Rs 79.68 bn. The meeting was chaired by the chief minister in Lucknow. The measures form part of efforts to boost high-speed road connectivity. The finance minister said a detailed project report for the Ganga Expressway extension will be prepared, with the 147-km route including a 30-km stretch in Uttarakhand and a design speed of 120 kmph. The state will bear the cost of the Uttarakhand stretch and will be entitled to collect tolls for it. The extension will link Prayagraj and Haridwar with an access-controlled corridor. The nearly 103-km Jhansi Link Expressway will connect Jhansi with the Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun and is designed to provide high-speed connectivity to BIDA, the Defence Corridor and nearby localities. The project aims to improve regional links and support economic activity. Planning and alignment work will follow. The cabinet amended the Uttar Pradesh Information Technology and Information Technology-enabled Services Policy 2022 to relax norms, reducing the minimum area for an IT City from 100 acres to 20 acres and offering a 40 per cent subsidy on land. The minimum area for IT Parks in Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Agra and Varanasi has been lowered from 15,000 square metres to 2,500 square metres, and to 1,500 square metres in other areas. The revisions aim to make land requirements more feasible for developers. An Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Cluster near the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur was approved at Rs 2.72 bn. Letters of Comfort were issued for three companies proposing Rs 26.06 bn under the 2023 Investment Promotion Policy, with Agristo Masa proposing Rs 7.94 bn in Bijnor, Canpac India Rs 15.74 bn in Unnao and Supreme Industries Rs 2.38 bn in Kanpur Dehat. The cabinet also cleared six other mega projects involving Rs 28.38 bn, signalling a push to attract investment.