Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday announced a myriad of decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government in its Cabinet meeting, ranging from allowance hikes and minimum support price hikes to new schemes for artificial intelligence.
In a presser post the Cabinet meeting, Goyal announced outlays of Rs 10,037 crore for the Uttar Poorva scheme and Rs 10,371.92 crore to fund an ambitious IndiaAI Mission.
Thursday's announcements come in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, likely to take place in May, this year. On other fronts, the Central government is currently in a tug-of-war with scores of farmers who are protesting to avail legal support for minimum support prices as well as loan waivers.
Here are all the decisions the Union Minister announced today:
The Cabinet approved an additional installment of the dearness allowance, expected to benefit 49.18 lakh employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. "...representing an increase of 4% over the existing rate of 46% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate against price rise," the government said in a release.
Thursday's increase is expected to cost Rs 12,868.72 crore per annum to the exchequer.
"The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.12,868.72 crore per annum. This will benefit about 49.18 lakh Central Government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners," the release adds.
Prime Minister Modi's Cabinet also approved the continuation of its Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme, which is reportedly benefitting 10.27 crore people, as of March 1.
"The total expenditure will be Rs.12,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25. The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries," the Central government said in a release.
Launched in 2016, the PMUY was designed to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women in poor households. However, they would have to refill the gas cylinders at their own cost, which was subsequently subsidised by Rs 200 in May 2022 and later increased to Rs 300 in October 2023. Today's announcement keeps the Rs 300 discount active.
Among the decisions announced today, there was also a 5.6% hike in the minimum support price of raw jute for the 2024-25 season to Rs 5,335 per quintal. This is up from the current MSP of Rs 5,050 per quintal.
"In the last 10 years, the Government has increased MSP for Raw jute from Rs.2,400 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs.5,335/- per quintal in 2024-25, registering a growth of 122 percent," the government said in a press release.
This season's jute procurement has also hit a record, with the government reportedly paying out Rs 524 crore to 1.65 lakh farmers.
"In the current season 2023-24, the Government has procured a record amount of more than 6.24 lakh bales of Raw Jute, at the Cost of Rs.524.32 crore, benefitting around 1.65 lakh farmers," the Centre's press release said.
In a push towards developing artificial intelligence, the Cabinet has approved funding to provide startup capital and attract top talent, among other plans for the country's AI industry.
"The IndiaAI mission will establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalyzing AI innovation through strategic programs and partnerships across the public and private sectors. By democratizing computing access, improving data quality, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting top AI talent, enabling industry collaboration, providing startup risk capital, ensuring socially impactful AI projects, and bolstering ethical AI, it will drive responsible, inclusive growth of India's AI ecosystem," the ..
As part of building a mega computing facility, the government aims to add AI computing infrastructure of 10,000 or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), built through public-private partnerships.
"The approved IndiaAI Mission will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the tech sovereignty of India. It will also create highly skilled employment opportunities to harness the demographic dividend of the country. IndiaAI Mission will help India demonstrate to the world how this transformative technology can be used for social good and enhance its global competitiveness," the release adds.
Aimed at India's northeastern region, the Cabinet has approved an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore towards industrial growth and employment opportunities. With a decade-long plan, the scheme aims to "generate gainful employment, leading to the overall socio-economic development of the region," according to the Cabinet.
The scheme grants an additional eight years for "committed liabilities"
"Industrial development in the NER needs to be given a fresh thrust with emphasis on job creation, skill development, and sustainable development by attracting new investments and nurturing existing ones," the government said in a press release.
Source Name : Economic Times