Jammu, Nov 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took stock of the the progress of ambitious Udhampur-Baramulla rail link project and gave explicit instructions to expedite the work and complete it by next year, an official spokesman said.

PM Modi fixed the 2020 deadline for the ambitious project connecting Srinagar to Indian Railways network while chairing his 31st interaction meet through PRAGATI with secretaries of various Union ministries and chief secretaries of various states and Union territories, the spokesman said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam also participated in the video conference as the prime minister reviewed nine projects related to 16 states and the Union Territory of J&K.

The prime minister reviewed the progress of infrastructure connectivity projects, including that of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), and gave explicit instructions on speedy completion of the project by next year, the spokesman said.

Reviewing the progress of Aspirational District Programme, the prime minister was apprised of 49 performance indicators including the best practices in grafted Walnut and High Density Apple Plantation in Kupwara district of north Kashmir, the spokesman said.

Calling it an act of "national service", Modi emphasized on the need to decide on timelines to bring the backward districts up to the national average.

He also stressed that young officers must be deployed in aspirational districts, the spokesman said.

He said prime minister was also briefed about the progress in National Agriculture Market platform which has helped in better price discovery.

"E-payments are now being made directly into the account of farmers. Progress in the development of two integrated e-Mandis in Jammu and Kashmir was also reviewed," the spokesman said.

He said the PM directed that based on e-models of demand aggregation, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare should work together on a new start-up model of logistics support, particularly with regard to the transfer of agricultural products from one state to another.

He said all the states must come together and use a common, integrated platform for the smooth operation.

Prime Minister Modi desired that long-delayed projects should be expedited by the respective state governments, the spokesman said, adding he also directed that the reports on the progress of such projects be sent to his office regularly.

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