Key Cabinet decisions: Grant of Rs 22,000 cr to three state-run oil firms; Diwali bonus for railway employees; and more
In a significant development, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the one-time grant of Rs 22,000 crore to three state-owned fuel retailers for covering losses that occurred while selling the LPG below cost price, releasing of productivity linked bonus (PLB) to railway employees and construction of container terminal at Deendayal Port in Gujarat.
Grant to oil PSU’s
The government will extend a one-time grant of Rs 22,000 crore to three state-owned fuel retailers–Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)–to cover the losses they incurred on selling Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) below cost to consumers from June 2020 to June 2022.
During this period, the international prices of LPG soared by around 300 per cent. However, to insulate consumers from fluctuations in international LPG prices, the cost increase was not fully passed on to consumers and the LPG prices rose by only 72 per cent, an official statement said.
Bonus to railway employees
The government approved the bonus for railway employees for the financial year 2021-22, which is generally given each year before the Dussehra or Durga puja holidays
The PLB amount equivalent to wages of 78 days has been paid to about 11.27 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees with the maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee being Rs 17,950.
The decision for payment of PLB has been taken despite the adverse financial situation caused by post-Covid challenges, a statement from the government said.
The above amount has been disbursed to various categories, including track maintainers, drivers and guards, station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, controllers, pointsmen, ministerial staff and other group ‘C’ staff.
Container terminal at Deendayal Port
A project to develop the container terminal at Tuna-Tekra, Deendayal Port in Gujarat under the public-private partnership mode has been approved, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told media persons.
The estimated cost of Rs 4,243.64 crore will be on the part of the concessionaire and an estimated cost of common user facilities of Rs 296.20 crore will be on the part of the concessioning authority toward the development of common user facilities.
Deendayal Port is one of the 12 major ports in India and is located on the west coast in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
The concessionaire will be responsible for the design, engineering, financing, procurement, implementation commissioning, operation, management and maintenance of the project.
Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022
The government approved the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to amend the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
The amendments have been brought to improve governance, reform the electoral process, strengthen monitoring mechanisms and enhance transparency and accountability.
The Bill also seeks to improve the composition of the board and ensure financial discipline, besides enabling the raising of funds in the multi-state cooperative societies.
(With inputs from PTI)
