Cabinet Approvals on 12th September

On September 12, 2018, The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the following:
Cabinet approved continuation of Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20
On September 12, 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved continuation of the Capacity Development Scheme for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20.

• This would have an outley of Rs 2,250 crore.
• It is an Ongoing Central Sector Scheme of MoSPI andaims to augment infrastructural, technical as well as manpower for timely Official Statistics.
• In addition to the ongoing activities under this scheme 3 new surveys have been proposed by the ministry . They are: Time Use Survey (TUS), Annual Survey of Service Sector Enterprises (ASSSE), and Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE).

About the Capacity Development Scheme:
i. It has 2 sub schemes:
Economic Census and Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS).
ii. The ongoing activities are:

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI), Index of Industrial Production (IIP) etc.
• Conducting various Socio-Economic surveysPeriodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) etc.

MoSPI:
♦ Full Form: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
♦ Union Minister: Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda.
♦ Minister of State: Shri Vijay Goel.

Cabinet approved price revision of ethanol price derived from B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice and 100% sugarcane juice for Ethanol Supply Year 2018-19
On September 12, 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to revise / fix the price of ethanol.
i. This ethanol is derived from B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice.
ii. Also fixing a higher price for 100% sugarcane juice based ethanol has been approved.
iii. This is for the forthcoming sugar season 2018-19 during ethanol supply year from 1^st December 2018 to 30^th November 2019.
iv. This is under Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme.
iv. The changes are as follows:

• Price of Ethanol (B Molasses) has been fixed to Rs. 52.43per litre from Rs.47.13 per litre.
• Price of ethanol derived from 100% sugarcane juice at Rs.59.13per litre from Rs.47.13 per litre.
• GST and transportation charges will be fixed
• OMCs are advised to prioritise ethanol from 1) 100 % sugarcane juice, 2) B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice, 3) C heavy molasses and 4) Damaged Food grains/other sources, in that order.

Background:
Consistent surplus of sugar production is depressing sugar price and increasing farmer’s dues.

Cabinet approved amendment to National Institute of Design (NID) Act, 2014
On September 12, 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved for introduction of Bill in Parliament for amendment of NID Act, 2014.
Objective:
To include the four new National Institutes of Design (NID)
Key Points:
i. The 4 National Institutes of Design are:

• National Institute of Design, Amaravati/Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh;
• National Institute of Design, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh;
• National Institute of Design, Jorhat, Assam and
• National Institute of Design, Kurukshetra, Haryana.

ii. This would enable them to be in the list of ‘Institutions of National Importance (INIs)’.
iii. Other amendments in the Act include:

• Renaming NID Vijayawada as NID Amaravatiand
• nomenclature of Principal Designer as equivalent to Professor.

Other NID in the INI list include: National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
Background:
NIDs as Institutions of National Importance will create job opportunities, both direct and indirect, by providing sustainable design interventions for crafts, handloom, rural technology, small, medium and large scale enterprises; and outreach programmes for capacity, capability and institution building.

Cabinet approved Policy Framework to promote and incentivize Enhanced Recovery Methods for Oil and Gas
On September 12, 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the Policy framework to promote and incentivize Enhanced Recovery (ER)/ Improved Recovery (IR)/ Unconventional Hydrocarbon (UHC) production methods.
Objective:
To improve recovery factor of existing hydrocarbons reserves for augmenting domestic production of oil and gas.
Key Points:

• The ER includes Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR).
• Unconventional Hydrocarbon (UHC) production methods include Shale oil and gas production, tight oil and gas production, production from oil shale, gas hydrates and heavy oil.
• The sector of oil exploration and production needs a policy to build a supportive ecosystem through academic and research institutes, industry- academia collaboration.
• The policy will be effective for 10 years from the date of its notification.
• Fiscal incentives will be available for a period of 120 months from the date of commencement of production in ER/UHC projects.
• An Enhanced Recovery (ER) Committee comprising of representatives of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), experts from upstream sector, and academia would monitor and implement the Policy.

Cabinet approved MoU on Collaborative Research on Distributed Ledger and Block Chain Technology in the context of Development of digital economy by Exim Bank under BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism
On September 12, 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved MOU between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) with the participating member banks, under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
Objective:
For development of digital economy.
Key Points:
i. The members of BRICS in the Mou include:

• Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES, of Brazil),
• China Development Bank (CDB),
• State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank, of Russia) and
• Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

ii. The focus area for the Mou is:
Collaborative Research on Distributed Ledger and Block chain Technology.
iii. This would help solve various challenges being faced in the financial sector space of the BRICS nations.
BRICS:
♦ Founded: June 2006.
♦ Nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
EXIM Bank:
♦ Headquarters: Mumbai.

Cabinet approved Transfer of land for various institutions
On September 12, 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for the following:

• Transfer of land of M/s Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) to Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA);
• Proposal for approval for transfer of land of M/s Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) to Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and
• For selling of Transferable Development Right (TDR) Certificate received/receivable against the transfer of land to MMRDA/MCGM.