The Cabinet approved the grant of Rs 22,000 cr to three state-owned oil firms; railway employees received Diwali bonuses; and more.
In a major significant development, The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the grant of one-time 22,000 crores to three state-owned retailers of fuel to compensate for losses that could have occurred when they sold the LPG at a lower cost as well as the release of a productivity-linked bonus (PLB) to railway workers and the construction of a container terminal at Deendayal Port in Gujarat.
Oil PSU’s grant
The government will grant an all-time grant worth Rs. 22,000 to the three government-owned retailers of fuel-Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)-to pay for the losses they suffered in selling Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) below cost to consumers starting June 2020 until June 2022.
In the course of this time, international costs of LPG rose by 300 percent. To protect consumers from the fluctuation in the international LPG costs, the price increase was not completely transferred to the consumers, and LPG prices increased by just 72 percent, an official statement stated.
Train employees get a bonus
The government has approved the bonus to railway workers for the period 2021-22 of the financial year, typically offered each year prior to when the Dussehra or Durga puja holiday.
The PLB amount that is equivalent to 78 days’ wages is paid to approximately 11.27 million non-gazetted Railway employees, with the maximum amount paid for a railway employee who is eligible of Rs 17,950.
The decision to make payment of PLB has been made despite the financial difficulties due to post-Covid challenges an announcement from the government stated.
The amount above has been distributed to different groups, including the track’s maintainers, driver, guards station masters supervisors, technicians and technician helpers controllers, pointsmen ministerial staff , and other group “C” employees.
Container terminal located at Deendayal Port
The development of a port for containers in Tuna-Tekra, Deendayal Port in Gujarat in the public-private partnership model was approved by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and informed media people.
It is estimated that the cost will be Rs 4,243.64 crore is on the part of the concessionaire. The estimated cost for common-use facilities of 296.20 crore will be the responsibility of the authority that is concessioning in the development of common-user facilities.
Deendayal Port is one of the major ports of India and is situated on the west coast of the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
The concessionaire is responsible for the engineering, design and financing, as well as procurement, commissioning and implementation operations, and upkeep of the project.
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022
The government has approved that bill. Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2022, which is a proposal to alter the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
The amendments are intended to improve the governance of the country, to reform the electoral process, improve monitoring mechanisms and improve the transparency of elections and ensure accountability.
The Bill also aims to enhance members of boards and to ensure financial discipline. It also allows fundraising of money within Multi-State Cooperative Societies.
scheme to Northeastern states
The government has approved the PM’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) which is a plan worth Rs 6,600 crore to help with infrastructure, industries and other livelihood initiatives in the Northeastern states.
It is expected to be in effect between 2022-23 and 2025-26. It is a 100 percent Central government-funded program.
The goals of PM-DevINE are to provide infrastructure in a convergent manner, following the manner the spirit of PM Gati Shakti. It also supports social development projects that are based on the requirements for those in the NE region, and facilitate livelihood opportunities for young people as well as women, and address gaps in development across various sectors.
(With the inputs of PTI)
