Cabinet Approval on March 21, 2020

On March 21, 2020, Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:Cabinet approves inclusion of 12,500 AYUSH Health-Wellness Centres in National Ayushman Mission
Union Cabinet has approved the inclusion of 12,500 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centre (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa and Homoeopathy-HWC) component of Ayushman Bharat in the National AYUSH Mission (NAM).

• The outlay for its operationalisation isRs 3399.35 crore,of which Rs2209.58 crore is Central Share and Rs1189.77 crore is State share for a period of five years (from financial years 2019-20 to 2023-24).
• The reason behind this move is to reduce out of pocket expenditure due to “self-care” and to establish a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices.
• Also, NITI Aayog has mandated to integrate AYUSH for implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3, which ensures Good Health And Well-Being. That is why AYUSH HWC is included NAM.

Apart from the above approval, it is also proposed to upgrade existing AYUSH dispensaries (approximately 10,000) and existing Sub Health Centres (SHCs) (approx. 2,500). The proposal has been made by Ministry of AYUSH, in consultation with States/UTs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and other line Ministries.

Cabinet approved Rs3,762.25 crore Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme
To recognize India as the global hub of mobile and component manufacturing, Union Cabinet has approved the Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme. It will ensure the development of world class infrastructure along with common facilities and amenities through setting up of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs), and Common Facility Centers (CFCs).

• The scheme prepared on the lines of National Policy for Electronics (NPE), 2019 will catalyze the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector.
• The outlay of the scheme is Rs.3,762.25 crore, consisting of financial assistance of Rs.3,725 crore and administrative and management expenses of Rs.37.25 crore for a period of 8 years.
• It should be noted that the Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) would be set up in geographical areas where the focus is on development of basic infrastructure, amenities and other common facilities. While Common Facility Centre (CFC) upgrades the common technical infrastructure and providing common facilities for the ESDM units in EMCs, Industrial Areas/Parks/industrial corridors.

Cabinet approves Rs 3,420 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) schemeand Rs 400 crore Promotion of Medical Device Parks Scheme:
The Union Cabinet has given its consent to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs 3,420 crorefor promoting domestic manufacturing of medical devices in India. It also approved promotion of medical device parks scheme worth Rs 400 crore for financing common infrastructure facilities in 4 medical device parks, which is expected to reduce manufacturing cost of medical devices in the country.

• The expenditure to be incurred for the above schemes will be for the next five years i.e. from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

PLI Scheme:
The PLI Scheme will be implemented by a Project Management Agency(PMA) to be nominated by the Department of Pharmaceuticals. It is expected that this scheme would create incremental production of Rs 68,437 crore and also generate additional employment of 33,750 jobs over a period of five years.Under the Scheme, incentive @ 5% of incremental sales over base year 2019-20 will be provided on the segments of medical devices identified under the Scheme.

Promotion of Medical Device Parks Scheme:
To be implemented by a State Implementing Agency(SIA), this scheme aims to promote Medical Device Parks in the country in partnership with the States. A maximum grant-in-aid of Rs.100 crore per park will be provided to the States.

Cabinet approves Rs 3,000 cr Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks Scheme; Rs 6,940 crorePLI scheme approved for (KSMs)/Drug Intermediates
The Union Cabinet has approved the Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks Scheme for financing Common Infrastructure Facilities in 3 Bulk Drug Parks with financial implication of Rs. 3,000 crore for next 5 years, in partnership with States.

• The scheme will be implemented by State Implementing Agencies (SIA) while Centre will give Grants-in-Aid to States with a maximum limit of Rs. 1000 Crore per Bulk Drug Park.
• The reason behind this scheme is reduce imports and manufacturing cost of bulk drugs.

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/Drug Intermediates and APIs in the country with financial implications of Rs6,940 crore for next 8 years.Financial incentive will be given to eligible manufacturers of identified 53 critical bulk drugs on their incremental sales over the base year (2019-20) for a period of 6 years

Cabinet approves Rs 40,995 croreProduction Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing
The Production Incentive Scheme (PLI) approved for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing proposes production linked incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in mobile phone manufacturing and specified electronic components including Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units. The total cost of the proposed scheme is approximately Rs 40,995 crore, which includes an incentive outlay of approximately Rs 40,951 crore and administrative expenses to the tune of Rs 44 crore.

• The Scheme shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of five (5) years subsequent to the base year as defined.
• The scheme has a direct employment generation potential of over 2,00,000 jobs over 5 years.

Cabinet approves Rs.3,285 crore Scheme for Promotion of manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors
The Union Cabinet has approved to offer a financial incentive of 25% of capital expenditure for the manufacturing of goods that constitute the supply chain of an electronic product under the Scheme for Promotion of manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). It will strengthen the electronic manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

• The total cost of the scheme is approximately Rs.3,285 crore, which includes the incentive outlay of approximately Rs.3,252 crore and the administrative expense of Rs.32 crore.

Cabinet approves expenditure for reimbursing the losses under MSP operations for cotton during the cotton years (October to September) 2014-15 to 2018-19
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its ex-post facto approval for engaging Maharashtra State Co­operative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation Ltd. (MSCCGMFL) to undertake Minimum Support Price (MSP)operations in the state of Maharashtra as Sub-agent of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Limited during the cotton years 2017-18 and 2018-19.The approval will help in stabilizing cotton prices.

• The CCEA also approved to incur an expenditure of 312.93 crore under Revenue Head for reimbursing the losses to CCI and MSCCGMFL on sale of cotton procured under MSP operations during the cotton years (October to September) 2017-18 and 2018-19.
• The same has been approved 2104-15 cotton

Prices of alcohols used in making hand sanitizers capped under Essential Commodities Act
The prices of alcohols used in manufacturing hand sanitizers have been capped under the Essential Commodities Act by the government on account of coronavirus outbreak. Both these items have already been included in the Essential Commodities Act.

• Government has issued orders to cap the retail prices of hand sanitizers at Rs. 100 per bottle of 200 ml. Retail prices of surgical mask (3 ply) shall not be more than Rs. 10 and that of mask (2 ply) shall not be more than Rs. 8 per piece.
• Distilleries have been asked to ramp production of Ethyl Alcohol and provide them to manufacturers of deodorant sprays so that there is no shortage of hand sanitizers.