LUCKNOW, July 24 -- The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to extend 1% exemption in stamp duty to women registering property valued up to Rs 1 crore. As of now, the exemption, capped at Rs 10,000, was limited to property worth Rs 10 lakh only. With this revision, women will now be eligible for up to Rs 1 lakh rebate on property registration. Chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the cabinet meeting cleared 37 out of 38 proposals, including a plan to upgrade 121 government polytechnic institutes with the help of Tata Technologies Limited (TTL). An investment of Rs 6,935.86 crore will be made towards machines and equipment. TTL will contribute 87% of the cost (Rs 6,034.20 crore), while the state will bear the remaining Rs 1063.96 crore, minister for labour and employment Anil Rajbhar and minister for technical education Ashish Patel told media persons. Additionally, Rs 858.11 crore will be spent on civil infrastructure, with 45 institutes to be upgraded in the first phase. The cabinet approved the sale of a 4.62 acre land parcel at Parag Dairy, Noida, to RAPHE mPhibr Pvt Ltd for Rs 4.67 crore at an industrial rate of Rs 10,100 per sqm. The firm, which has already invested Rs 800 crore in defence and drone manufacturing, will relocate the existing dairy unit and contribute an additional Rs 10 crore. The cabinet also approved allocation of 10 hectares of land in Lucknow node of the UP Defence Corridor to the DRDO's IRDE (Instruments Research & Development Establishment), Dehradun, at a token lease of Re 1. The IR Detection Technology Centre is expected to generate 150 direct and 500 indirect technical jobs. A previous government order to procure 25 lakh smartphones under the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana was rescinded. Instead, only tablets will be distributed to youths, with a budget of Rs 2,000 crore allocated for 2025-26. Tablets with larger screens and advanced features will support software like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Sheets to aid employment prospects. The ministers said the decision would also help the youths in getting jobs. Approval was given for the construction of a 15.172 km four-lane (expandable to six-lane) Chitrakoot Link Expressway. To be developed on the EPC model, the project will cost Rs 939.67 crore. The expressway will begin near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot at km-267 of Varanasi-Banda road (NH35/76) and end at Ahmadganj village in Chitrakoot In another decision, the cabinet allowed nearly 2,000 government employees, appointed on or after April 1, 2005, but based on advertisements issued before March 28, 2005, to opt for the old pension scheme. The cabinet also approved incentives and concessions for two companies planning major investments in Uttar Pradesh to boost exports and support local farmers. UAE-based multinational Aquabridge will set up an aquaculture project in Unnao. Similarly, Karnataka-based Innova Food Park will establish an agri-export hub near the upcoming Jewar International Airport. The cabinet also approved the Uttar Pradesh State District Courts Services (Second Amendment) Rules, 2025, and amendments to interest rates on advances given to state government officers and employees, including those in All India Services, for the purchase, construction, or maintenance of houses....