Newsinc24 Team The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved a Reforms-based and Results-linked, Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme. The Scheme seeks to improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all DISCOMs and Power Departments excluding Private Sector DISCOMs by providing conditional financial assistance to them for strengthening of supply infrastructure.The assistance will be based on meeting pre-qualifying criteria as well as upon achievement of basic minimum benchmarks by the DISCOM evaluated on the basis of agreed evaluation framework tied to financial improvements.Addressing media, Minister of Power R K Singh said that the Scheme will have an outlay of over 3 lakh crore rupees with an estimated Gross Budgetary Support of 97 thousand 631 crore rupees by the Central government.He said that it is proposed that the currently ongoing approved projects under the Schemes of Integrated Power Development Scheme, Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015 for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh would be subsumed in this Scheme.
-Union Cabinet has given approval to provide additional 19 thousand 41 crore rupees for BharatNet for broadband facility to each village through BharatNet PPP Model. Giving details about this decision, Union Minister for Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Union Cabinet has accorded approval for revised implementation strategy of BharatNet through Public Private Partnership mode in 16 States of the country with optical fibre connectivity to all inhabited villages.He said, it has been given in principal approval with a total expenses of 29 thousand 432 crore rupees out of which the viability gap funding of the government of India will be 19 thousand 41 crore rupees.The States covered under it are Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Prasad informed that an estimated 3.61 lakh villages including Gram Panchayats will be covered through PPP Model.
-The Centre has sought report from the West Bengal Government over the issue of fake vaccination camps in Kolkata. In a letter to the State Chief Secretary, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked him to submit a factual report in the next two days.Citing Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari's letter to the Ministry over the issue, the Secretary said, all vaccination sessions for COVID-19 have to be organised through the Co-WIN portal and all vaccinations too have to be recorded on Co-WIN. He added that vaccination certificates are generated from Co-WIN after the vaccination events are successfully recorded and these certificates are then given to the beneficiaries in digital or physical form.
-Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and asked him to take action on three issues raised by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Devendra Fadnavis. In his letter, the Governor stated that a BJP-delegation led by Devendra Fadnavis visited Raj Bhavan recently and submitted two memorandums.Koshyari has asked CM Uddhav Thackeray to take action on demands raised by LoP Devendra Fadnavis pertaining to the extension of the monsoon session, holding Assembly Speaker's election, and postponement of local body elections due pending OBC quota issue. Koshyari in the letter stated that the topics raised by the Leader of Opposition are important to the state and asked CM Thackeray to appraise him of the action taken on them.
-Union Cabinet, has given its approval for availing the benefit under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) for another nine months from 30th June, 2021 to 31st March, 2022. Consequent upon this extension, it is expected that 71.8 lakh employment will be generated in the formal sector as against the earlier projection of 58.5 lakh.As on 18th June 2021, benefit amounting to Rs. 902 crore has been given to 21.42 Lakh beneficiaries through 79,577 establishments under ABRY.Estimated expenditure of the scheme including the expenditure for the proposed extended period of registration upto 31st March,2020 will be Rs. 22, 098 crore.This scheme is being implemented through Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to reduce financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries and to encourage them to hire more workers.
