On October 21, 2021, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi approved the following proposals and the information for the same was provided by Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) during a media briefing on the Cabinet decisions in New Delhi.
Approval to Rs 100 lakh cr Gati Shakti National Master Plan for infrastructure
The Union Cabinet cleared the ‘PM GatiShakti – National Master Plan (NMP) for Multi-Modal Connectivity’ to economic zones. This approval comes after a week when the PM launched Rs 100 Lakh cr Gati Shakti NMP for Infrastructure Development from New Delhi.
Groups to be set as a part of NMP:
i.An Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGOS) headed by the Cabinet Secretary (Currently Rajiv Gauba) and secretaries of 18 ministries as members will be set up to review and monitor the implementation of the PM GatiShakti NMP and to ensure logistics efficiency.
ii.A Multimodal Network Planning Group (NPG) will be constituted with representation from the heads of the Network Planning Division from various ministries and departments.
- The NPG will be supported by a technical support unit (TSU) located in the Logistics Division of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- NPG assists the EGOS.
About GatiShakti:
It is a digital platform collaborating 16 Central Ministries and Departments for integrated planning and coordination to implement infrastructure connectivity projects of more than 1,200 industrial clusters.
- It also envisages trimming logistic costs which are currently at 13% of India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product); increase cargo handling capacity; seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another; and reduce travel time.
Cabinet Clears 3% Dearness Allowance Hike for Central Government Employees
The Union Cabinet also approved a proposal to hike Dearness Allowance (DA) of the central government employees and pensioners by 3%. It also decided to increase the House Rent Allowance (HRA) of the Central government employees from August 2021.
- An increase of 3% over the existing rate of 28% of the Basic Pay / Pension.
- As per the rules framed by the Government, the HRA would be increased by 3% when DA crosses 25% of the employee’s basic pay.
- Impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.9,488.70 crore per annum.
- This will benefit about 47.14 lakh Central Government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners
Background:
In July 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the government at the Centre decided to hike Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) paid to government employees and pensioners to 28% from 17%. The new increased DA and DR came into effect from July 1, 2021. It is to be noted that the DA hike was frozen in 2020 for the period January 2020 to June 2021 because of COVID-19 outbreak.
- Under the Centre’s DA hike, the employees won’t get any arrears on non-revision of DA for the previous period.
Recent Related News:
The Cabinet approved the launch of the ‘National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm’ (NMEO-OP) as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 11,040 crore with a special focus on the Northeast region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB):
Anurag Singh Thakur Constituency– Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS)– Loganathan Murugan (Constituency- Madhya Pradesh)
