Union Cabinet Archives - Lokmarg

Cabinet Approves ‘PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’

By LokMarg 29th February 2024

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved ‘PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ with a total outlay of Rs 75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for one crore households.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the scheme on February 13 this year.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the initiative will give thrust to solar manufacturing and supply chain and provide direct employment to 17 lakh people.

“It will strengthen solar energy eco-system. It is estimated that the scheme will create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation and other services,” he said.

The major highlights of the scheme include central Financial Assistance (CFA) for Residential Rooftop Solar.

An official release said the scheme provides a CFA of 60 per cent of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40 per cent of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity. “The CFA will be capped at 3 kW. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher,” it said.

The release said the households will apply for subsidy through the National Portal and will be able to select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar.

The National Portal will assist the households in their decision-making process by providing relevant information such as appropriate system sizes, benefits calculator, vendor rating.

Households will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7 per cent at present for installation of residential RTS systems up to 3 kW.

A model solar village will be developed in each district of the country to act as a role model for adoption of rooftop solar in rural areas,

The release said that urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions shall also benefit from incentives for promoting RTS installations in their areas.

The scheme provides a component for payment security for renewable energy service company (RESCO) based models as well as a fund for innovative projects in RTS.

“Through this scheme, the households will be able to save electricity bills as well as earn additional income through sale of surplus power to DISCOMs. A 3 kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on an average for a household,” the release said.

The proposed scheme will result in addition of 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1000 BUs of electricity and resulting in reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over the 25-year lifetime of rooftop systems, it said.

It is estimated that the scheme will create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation, O&M and other services. (ANI)

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Centre Gives Nod For New Bridge Over River Ganga In Bihar

By LokMarg 27th December 2023

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval on Wednesday for the construction of a new 4.56-kilometer-long, six-lane bridge over the Ganga connecting Digha and Sonepur in Bihar.

The bridge, once completed, will connect north and south Bihar. Large ships will be able to pass below the bridge, supporing inland water transport in the country.

The total cost of the approved project is Rs 3,064.45 crore and is expected to be completed in 42 months, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.

Today, the Union Cabinet also approved the improvement and widening of 135-kilometer stretch of Khowai-Harina road in Tripura.

The project involves investment of Rs 2,486.78 crore which includes a loan component of Rs 1,511.70 crore. The widening of this crucial road will reduce travel time and logistics cost between Tripura and Assam.

Also, the Union Cabinet today approved raising the Support Price for copra for 2023-24 marketing season.

The MSP for milling copra has been increased by Rs.300 to Rs 11,160 per quintal. The MSP for ball copra has been increased by Rs 250 to Rs 12,000 per quintal.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision will ensure better remunerative returns to the Indian coconut growers. (ANI)

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Rabi Crops

MSP Hike For Rabi Crops Gets Cabinet Nod

By LokMarg 18th October 2023

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for the 2024-25 marketing season.

The government through its agencies procures crops from farmers at the support price.

The highest increase in MSP has been approved for lentil (masur dal) at Rs 425 per quintal followed by rapeseed and mustard at Rs 200 per quintal.

For wheat and safflower, an increase of Rs 150 per quintal each has been approved.

For barley and gram, the MSP has been increased by Rs 115 per quintal and Rs 105 per quintal respectively.

The revision in MSP for mandated Rabi crops, the government said, is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement which fixed the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the average cost of production.

“This increased MSP of Rabi crops will ensure remunerative prices to the farmers and incentivise crop diversification,” an official release said.

India has three cropping seasons — Summer, Kharif, and Rabi.

Crops that are sown during October and November and the produce harvested from January depending on maturity are Rabi. Crops sown during June-July and dependent on monsoon rains are harvested in October-November are kharif. Crops produced between Rabi and Kharif are Summer crops. (ANI)

Cabinet Approves 4% Hike In DA For Central Govt Employees

By LokMarg 18th October 2023

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a four per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners.

Briefing reporters about the decisions of the union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision will be implemented from July 1 this year.

“Dearness Allowance for Central government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners has been increased by 4 per cent. The DA hike will be implemented from 1, July 2023,” he said.

The decision will benefit 48.67 lakh Central Government Employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners.

The minister said the decision has come in the festival season and will benefit both the central government employees and pensioners. (ANI)

Union Cabinet Approves Terms Of Reference For Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II

By LokMarg 4th October 2023

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the terms of reference to Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 for its adjudication between the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “The Union Cabinet has approved terms of reference to Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II in order to resolve the dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the Krishna River water-sharing. Under this, the tribunal will distribute the Krishna water, which is allocated to the ‘undivided’ Andhra Pradesh, between the two states”.

According to an official statement, the resolution of the dispute between the two States on the use, distribution or control of Krishna River waters will open new avenues of growth in both the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II was constituted by the Central Government in 2004 on requests made by the party States under Section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956.

Subsequently, in 2014, Telangana, as a State of the Union of India, came into existence.

Subsequently, the Government of Telangana (GoT) forwarded a complaint to the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), Government of India, referring the dispute on the use, distribution or control of Krishna river waters.

A Writ Petition was also filed in the matter by the Telangana government in the Supreme Court (SC) in 2015.

In 2018, the GoT further requested DoWR, RD GR, and MoJS to refer the complaint to the existing KWDT-II by confining the scope of reference between the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh only.

The matter was later discussed in the second Apex Council meeting in 2020 held under the Minister (Jal Shakti).

As discussed during the 2nd Apex Council meeting, GoT withdrew the said Writ Petition in 2021 and subsequently, the legal opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J) was sought by DoWR, RD & GR in the matter. (ANI)

Centre Reduces Domestic LPG Cylinder Price By Rs 200

By LokMarg 29th August 2023

In a relief for citizens, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday decided to cut LPG domestic gas cylinder prices by Rs 200 for all users.

Briefing reporters on the decision of the union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said the decision is a gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to the women of the country on Onam and Raksha Bandhan.

“PM Modi has decided Rs 200 reduction in the price of domestic LPG cylinders, for all users…this is a gift from PM Narendra Modi, to the women of the country, during the occasion of Raksha Bandhan,” he said.

The meeting of the Cabinet was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thakur also said that the central government has decided to add another 75 lakh Ujjwala gas beneficiaries. At present, there are 9.6 crore beneficiaries of the scheme.

India is dependent on imports for 60 per cent of its natural gas requirements.

The minister said the current government has initiated several schemes for the development of women, including pucca houses, toilets, additional foodgrains and Direct Benefit Transfer during the Covid pandemic. (ANI)

Draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Approved

By LokMarg 5th July 2023

Union Cabinet has approved the draft of Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill 2023.

According to official sources, the bill is likely to be tabled during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
The Centre introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 in Parliament in December 2019. The Bill was sent for consideration to the Joint Committee of Parliament. The Joint Committee, after consultations, submitted a report to the Speaker. In view of the feedback by stakeholders and various agencies, the Bill was withdrawn in August 2022.

On November 18, 2022, the government published a new draft Bill, titled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022, and initiated a public consultation on this draft. A comprehensive and detailed consultation was held on this subject.

21,666 comments were received from the public and a series of consultations were held with 46 sector organisations, associations and industry bodies. Comments were also received from 38 ministries/ departments of the Government of India.

The reintroduced draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 proposed six types of penalties on non-companies to companies. To prevent a personal data breach, a penalty of up to Rs 250 core is being proposed in the draft bill which was put out for public comments.

Besides, failure to notify the Board and affected Data Principals in the event of a personal data breach and non-fulfilment of additional obligations in relation to Children may attract a penalty of up to Rs 200 crore.

Non-fulfilment of additional obligations of Significant Data Fiduciary under sections 11 and 16 of the Act may attract Rs 150 crore and Rs 10 crore fines, respectively.

Lastly, non-compliance with provisions of this Act other than those listed in (1) to (5) and any rule made thereunder will attract penalties up to Rs 50 crore.

Points that emerged in the course of consultations and comments were thoroughly studied and the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 was finalised.

The purpose of this Act, the draft said, is to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognizes both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.

During the drafting of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2019, the government said that the entire gamut of principles was widely debated and discussed. These include the rights of individuals, duties of entities processing personal data and regulatory framework, among others.

The first principle of the proposed Bill is that usage of personal data by organisations must be done in a manner that is lawful, fair to the individuals concerned and transparent.

The second principle of purpose limitation is that the personal data is used for the purposes for which it was collected. The third principle of data minimisation is that only those items of personal data required for attaining a specific purpose must be collected.

Among others, personal data should be limited to such duration as is necessary for the stated purpose for which personal data was collected and reasonable safeguards to ensure that there is no unauthorised collection or processing of personal data are some features. (ANI)

Cabinet Approves Rs 315 Per Quintal Remunerative Price For Sugarcane Farmers

By LokMarg 28th June 2023

The union cabinet has approved the fair and remunerative price for sugarcane farmers at Rs 315 per quintal, which is the highest ever, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said here on Wednesday.

He said sugar procurement has increased to Rs 1,13,000 crore and total procurement in the 2014-23 period stands at Rs 7,86,066 crore.
Addressing a press conference, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister said, “PM Modi has always been in support of farmers, that’s why the ministry was named ‘Agriculture and Farmers Welfare’. The cabinet has approved the highest-ever fair and remunerative price of Rs 315/quintal for sugarcane farmers for the sugar season 2023-24.”.

“The decision will benefit 5 crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, as well as 5 lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related ancillary activities,” he added.

Making a comparison with the previous governments, the Union Minister said that under the BJP government, timely payments have been made to the sugarcane farmers.

“In 2013-14, the rate used to Rs 210/ quintal and the total procurement was around Rs 97,104 crore. While it has increased to Rs 1,13,000 crore under the BJP government. Under the UPA rule, the total procurement was Rs 2,71,204 crore. While in 2014-23, the procurement of Rs 7,86,066 crore has already been done. At that time, the sugarcane farmers had to block roads and protest for getting their payments. But, in the last few years, all the payments have been timely done and the backlogs have been cleared as well,” he said.

He further added that the scheme of mixing ethanol with crude oil has also turned out beneficial in multiple ways.

“Prime Minister Modi has stressed on mixing of ethanol with crude oil; petrol and diesel. For this purpose, Rs 20,500 crore has been allocated. This shows that now they have more cash, earlier they were overladen with stocks and farmers didn’t receive payments. It has strengthened our Atmanirbharta, led to reduction in the use of foreign exchange and also propelled the growth of ethanol sector,” Thakur further added. (ANI)

Cabinet Approves 4% Hike In DA Of Central Govt Employees

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a proposal to increase the dearness allowance (DA) of the central government employees and pensioners by 4 percent.

This is the second increase in the dearness allowance of central government employees this year. In March 2022, the government announced a 3 percent increase in the DA. That increase was effective from January 1, 2022.
Central government employees, central government pensioners, and family pensioners getting pensions from the central government will benefit from the increase in the DA.

Before the 4 percent increase approved by the union cabinet on Wednesday, the effective DA of central government employees and pensioners stood at 34 percent. Now, this has increased to 38 percent.

The new increase is effective from 1st July 2022.

“Cabinet approves release of additional installment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief @ 4 percent to Central Government employees and pensioners, due from 01.07.2022,” PIB tweeted.

Addressing a media briefing after the cabinet meeting, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the Cabinet has also decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for another three months.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme was introduced after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)