MSP for rabi crops hiked; Cabinet gives nod for MTNL-BSNL merger
| Date :24-Oct-2019 |
NEW DELHI :
Cabinet gives nod to conducting ITBP cadre review that will lead to creation of 60 new posts of A category
THE Union Cabinet on Wednesday took five major decisions including ownership rights to 40 lakh people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi, reform in petroleum sector, cadre review of ITBP officers, merger of MTNL with BSNL and increase in MSP of rabi crops. Briefing reporters after meeting of Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar said that increase in minimum support price (MSP) of cereals, pulses and oil seeds of rabi crops will give a big boost to farmers.
“The MSP for wheat and barley has been increased by Rs 85, gram by Rs 255, masur (lentil) by Rs 325 and mustard by Rs 225. This has been done to double the income of farmers and give them justice,” Javadekar said. He said that the allowance under PM-Kisan Yojna has reached eight crore farmers. Javdekar said that a decision has been taken to conduct cadre review of ITB Pandit will lead to creation of 60 new posts of A category.
“The last cadre review was done in 2001 when there were 32,000 personnel inthe ITBP. Nowthere are 88,000,” he said. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Communications and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were also present at the press conference. In the biggest reform in fuel retailing sector in almost two decades,the Government relaxed norms for setting up petrol pumps, allowing non-oil companies to venture into the business -amove that could help private and foreign firms to enter the world’s fastest-growing market.
At present, to obtain a fuel retailing license in India, a company needs to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Companieswitha networthof Rs 250 crore will be allowed to sell petrol and diesel subject to condition that they install facilities for marketing of atleast one new generation alternate fuel such as CNG, LNG, biofuels or electric vehicle charging within three yearsof start of operations, Javdekar said here. The retailers will necessarily have to set up 5 per cent of the total outlets in rural areas within five years, he said while briefing reportersonthedecision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Government approved a Rs 68,751-crore revival package for loss-making BSNL and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement scheme, as well as their merger. The Union Cabinet also approved merger of the stateowned telecom firms and till the completion of the process,MTNL will operate as a subsidiary of BSNL, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here while sharing details of the revival package.
The package includes raising ofRs15,000croresovereignbonds to meet the immediate capital requirement of both the companies, 4G spectrum allocation worth Rs 20,140 crore, Rs 29,937 crore for VRS covering 50 percent of their employees, and Rs 3,674 crore for goods and services tax that will be levied on allocation of radiowaves. Meanwhile, the Cabinet also gave approval to agreements signed with other countries in various fields like traditional medicine, and science and technology.
These included administrative arrangement on cooperation in the field of Railways between the Ministry of Railways and the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission. According to an official statement, a proposal for agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation between India and the US was also approved,it said. The agreement would provide an opportunity to promote‘high quality’ and ‘high impact’ research and innovation partnerships as well as broadening and expanding relationships between the extensive scientific and techno logical communities, it said. It will “open a new chapter” in bilateral relations with the US as both sides will leverage complementary strengths spurred by a significant convergence of mutual interests, the statement said. In a move that will benefit 40 lakh people, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to grant ownershiprights to people living in unauthorised coloniesin Delhi, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.