Cabinet Approval on December 17, 2018

On 17^th December 2018, The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for various new projects and schemes.

Cabinet approves establishment of two new AIIMS at Tamil Nadu & Telangana under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana

• The Union Cabinet  approved establishment of two new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Tamil Nadu and Telangana under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
• The first AIIMS will be established at Madurai in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 1264 crore whereas the second AIIMS will be established at Bibinagar, Telangana at a cost of Rs. 1028 crore.
• The Cabinet also approved the creation of one post of Director at each of the above two new AIIMS in the basic pay of Rs. 2,25,000 plus NPA.
• Each AIIMS will be developed broadly on the pattern of AIIMS New Delhi and will have a capacity of 750 beds.

Cabinet approves expansion of beneficiaries list under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Shri Narendra Modi cleared the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to expand the list of beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
• The people who were not covered under the scheme on account of their name not included in either in Socio-economic caste census (SECC) list or in the list of the seven identified categories – SC/ST households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Matri Awas Yojana (AAY) Gramin, Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most backward classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden tribes, people residing in islands/river islands.

Cabinet approves revamping of ‘Eklavya Model Residential Schools’

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for setting up of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20000 tribal persons.
• A financial cost of Rs. 2242.03 crore during 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been approved by CCEA for rolling out the revamped scheme.
• There will be an autonomous society similar to Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to runs EMRSs under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• The Grants for Maintenance which are admissible after every five years has been enhanced  from Rs. 10 Lakh to Rs. 20 Lakh.

Cabinet nod to laws amendment for Aadhaar seeding with mobile numbers, bank accounts

• The Cabinet approved amendments of existing laws to provide legal backing for seeding of biometric ID Aadhaar with mobile number and bank accounts as an optional KYC(Know your customer).
• The decision was taken following the supreme court instructions which has barred mandatory use of 12 digit unique identifier by private firms.
• The amendments in the relevant sections of the Telegraph Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) will be effected through the original Aadhaar Act.

Cabinet approves construction of New 4 – Lane Bridge across river Ganga on NH-19 at Patna in the State of Bihar on EPC Mode

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved construction of a new 4 lane bridge across river Ganga on NH-19 at Patna parallel to existing MG Setu.
• The Construction of 5.634 km long bridge across river Ganga is expected to be completed by January 2023 with a capital cost of Rs. 2926.42 crores.
• The project will greatly facilitate the traffic movements without any congestion for the road users in Patna because the existing 4 lane MG Setu is facing a traffic of more than 60000 PCUs at present.