Decisions of the Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Dr. Yadav

The meeting of the Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Dr. Yadav was held in the Mantralaya on Tuesday evening. The Cabinet has approved the incentive and upgradation amount to be given for milling of paddy procured in the state in Kharif marketing year 2023-24. According to the decision, milling amount of Rs 10 per quintal and incentive amount of Rs 50 per quintal will be provided. Also, upgradation amount of Rs. 40 per quintal will be provided on delivery of 20% to FCI and Rs. 120 per quintal on delivery of 40% to FCI. This will give impetus to the milling of paddy procured from farmers. Along with ensuring supply of rice under public distribution system and other welfare schemes, the quantity of surplus rice in addition to the requirement of the state will be delivered to the central pool at a rapid pace.

The Cabinet has approved to provide 40% state share amount of about Rs. 6 thousand crore to the electricity distribution companies in the form of share capital/grant in place of loan under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme issued by the Government of India. According to the decision, the state share amount will be provided to the electricity distribution companies of the state in the form of share capital by the state government in place of loan for construction/development works of basic infrastructure related to upgradation of distribution infrastructure, reduction in distribution losses and distribution system strengthening and modernization. Under the scheme, the state share given to the distribution companies as updated loan will also be converted into share capital. Under the scheme, the amount of SGST payable on the central share will also be made available by the state government to the distribution companies as grant. This will speed up the work of installing smart meters in the state.

It is noteworthy that Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) has been implemented to develop a financially viable and operationally efficient distribution sector for the purpose of quality and reliable power supply to the consumers. The scheme provides for the Central Government to provide 15% amount for pre-paid smart meters and system metering and 60% amount for power infrastructure development to the power distribution companies as grant. The remaining 40 percent amount will be provided by the state government as share capital.

The Cabinet has given in-principle approval for the operation of the centrally sponsored scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM Usha)’. It is noteworthy that the Central Government, Ministry of Education, Higher Education Department, had started the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) Phase 1.0 and RUSA Phase 2.0 as a centrally sponsored scheme from the year 2013. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to the higher educational institutions of the state in a phased manner. PM Usha Yojana has been focused on 4 components. These include multi-faculty education and research university, grant for strengthening the university, grant for strengthening colleges and gender inclusion and equity initiative.