"The route to be electrified comes within the Barauni-Katihar-Guwahati section of the East and North-East Frontier Railway, at a cost of Rs505.68 crore," said finance minister P. Chidambaram, following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The route will handle long-distance freight and passenger traffic to the North-East.

The CCEA has also decided to hand over the administration of Bharat Engineering and Wagon Co. Ltd, Patna, to the railway ministry. "The ministry will henceforth infuse working capital for the sick PSU, appoint the chairman and managing director and other executives as necessary," the finance minister said, adding that existing workers in the company would be retained.

The committee also approved a one-time non-plan grant of Rs 200 crore to keep Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore Ltd operational. It also approved the group of ministers' re-commendation on allocation of food grain at 35kg per family per month for below poverty line families.