Cabinet Approvals on February 15, 2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 15, 2017 gave certain approvals in New Delhi in various sectors for the overall profitability of India.

The Union Cabinet Approves Establishment of Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Amlaha, Sehore, Madhya Pradesh

The Union Government chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 15, 2017 approved setting up of Food Legumes Research Platform (FLRP) at Amlaha, Sehore in Madhya Pradesh for meeting the emerging food security challenges.

• FLRP would be set up by the by International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) with satellite hubs in West Bengal (for pulses) and Rajasthan (for natural resource management).
• The Cabinet has also approved signing of lease deed with Madhya Pradesh government for the land provided by them (70.99 hectare, 175.42 acre) at Amlaha Farm, Sehore on land rent of Re 1 per acre per year for 30 years on lease and to further lease it to ICARDA to establish the FLRP in the state.
• Besides, the cabinet gave in principle approval for conferring an international status on the Food Legume Research Platform of ICARDA as contemplated in Clause 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947.
• Government also approved to authorize the Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) on behalf of Government of India in all matters regarding establishment of the Platform.
• And finally the cabinet approved to authorize the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out technical modifications in the Supplementary Agreement signed between ICAR and ICARDA relating to establishment of FLRP if required.

Benefit of FLRP

FLRP will help India to get the best international technological science in effectively meeting the emerging food security challenges.

• The FLRP center has the tendency to attract research and development investment in the country and also make India one of the biggest center for agricultural research in the world.
• It will further help to reduce poverty, improve food security, nutrition and health, and sustain the natural resource base.
• ICARDA will carry out the research through a multi- disciplinary team of scientists for enhancing productivity of crops range-land and livestock. This would in turn also benefit the farmers.

Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Rwanda

The Cabinet approved the signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Rwanda which will enable the airlines of the two countries to operate services in each others’ territory.

• The Agreement has the potential to better develop the civil aviation sector of both the nations and hence boost greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange between India and Rwanda and also strengthen.

Rwanda

• Capital: Kigali
• Currency: Rwandan franc
• President: Paul Kagame

Cabinet approves award of contracts under Discovered Small Field Policy bid round in 2016

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval to award contract in 31 contract areas under Discovered Small Fields Policy 2016 undertaken last year.

• Theses Discovered Small Fields (DSF) belongs to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) out of which 23 are onshore and 8 are offshore.
• These fields were discovered long back but these discoveries could not be monetized due to various reasons such as isolated locations, small size of reserves, high development costs, technological constraints, fiscal regime etc.
• During bidding round, a total of 134 e-bids were received for 34 contract areas. A total of 47 companies submitted their bid, out of which 43 are Indian companies and remaining four are foreign companies.
• The DSF bid round envisages a revenue-sharing model, with pricing and marketing freedom to the contractors. Under a unified licensing policy, contractors can explore any resource: oil, gas or shale.

Benefit from the Contract

The government estimates to monetize 40 million tonnes of oil and 22 billion cubic metres (BCM) of gas reserves over 15 years.

• Contract will enable in faster development of fields and thus will facilitate speedy production of oil and gas which will further help to increase the energy security aof the country.
• Besides, the production will also supplement the domestic production.

Cabinet approves Acquisition of Subsidiary Banks by State Bank of India

The Union Cabinet approved the merger of the State Bank of India with its 5 subsidiary banks namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur; State Bank of Hyderabad; State Bank of Mysore; State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore.

• Besides, the Cabinet has also approved the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to abolish the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.

Benefit of the Merger

The merger will make the State Bank of India one of the most powerful banks with global presence.

• It is estimated that the merger will result in recurring saving of more than Rs. 1000 crore in the first year.
• It will enable better management of high value credit exposures because of having centralized monitoring and control over cash flows instead of separate monitoring by six different banks.
• The combination will lead to improved operational efficiency and economies of scale with reduced cost of funds and higher profitability.