The Union cabinet approved a proposal to include damage to crops due
to cold wave or frosts in the national calamity list, though agriculture
minister Sharad Pawar did not attend the meeting on Thursday.
The move will enable farmers to receive grants from the state or the national disaster response fund.
At the instance of Pawar and taking into account crop damage in Madhya Pradesh, the Centre had constituted a group of ministers (GoM) on February 21, 2011 to look into issues of inclusion of cold wave or frost as an eligible calamity for relief. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had also represented the central government.
HAJ FARE HIKED
The cabinet also decided to continue the Haj subsidy of Rs465 crore to benefit 1.25 lakh pilgrims this year. The airfare has, however, been hiked to Rs20,000 from last year’s Rs17,000.There is, however, no subsidy on other expenses like accommodation, transportation and other facilities during their 40-day stay in Saudi Arabia. An official release said each pilgrim will have to pay Rs20,000 for airfare and Rs70,000 for expenditure in Saudi Arabia.
The Air India flights for Haj will begin next month from 21 embarkation points in the country.
PROMOTION FOR SPORTS PERSONS
With the Olympics round the corner, the cabinet also approved a proposal to provide up to three out-of-turn promotions to sports persons in their service career for winning medals in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships.
Sports persons winning a medal or more than one medal in a game or team event or championship in a particular year will be eligible for an out-of-turn promotion that year. Also, record-breaking medal winning performance in the National Games will be considered for one out-of-turn promotion. Two out-of-turn promotions will be given to a coach who has trained a sportsperson who wins a medal in an international sports event.
SHAH COMMISSION TERM
The cabinet extended the tenure of the Justice MB Shah Inquiry Commission to July 16, 2013. The Ahmedabad-based inquiry commission was set up on November 22, 2011, to probe the illegal mining and had to submit its report on July 16. It had sought a year’s extension on grounds that collecting and compiling information on mining from seven important mineral producing states was a voluminous task. Its probe covers Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The move will enable farmers to receive grants from the state or the national disaster response fund.
At the instance of Pawar and taking into account crop damage in Madhya Pradesh, the Centre had constituted a group of ministers (GoM) on February 21, 2011 to look into issues of inclusion of cold wave or frost as an eligible calamity for relief. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had also represented the central government.
HAJ FARE HIKED
The cabinet also decided to continue the Haj subsidy of Rs465 crore to benefit 1.25 lakh pilgrims this year. The airfare has, however, been hiked to Rs20,000 from last year’s Rs17,000.There is, however, no subsidy on other expenses like accommodation, transportation and other facilities during their 40-day stay in Saudi Arabia. An official release said each pilgrim will have to pay Rs20,000 for airfare and Rs70,000 for expenditure in Saudi Arabia.
The Air India flights for Haj will begin next month from 21 embarkation points in the country.
PROMOTION FOR SPORTS PERSONS
With the Olympics round the corner, the cabinet also approved a proposal to provide up to three out-of-turn promotions to sports persons in their service career for winning medals in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships.
Sports persons winning a medal or more than one medal in a game or team event or championship in a particular year will be eligible for an out-of-turn promotion that year. Also, record-breaking medal winning performance in the National Games will be considered for one out-of-turn promotion. Two out-of-turn promotions will be given to a coach who has trained a sportsperson who wins a medal in an international sports event.
SHAH COMMISSION TERM
The cabinet extended the tenure of the Justice MB Shah Inquiry Commission to July 16, 2013. The Ahmedabad-based inquiry commission was set up on November 22, 2011, to probe the illegal mining and had to submit its report on July 16. It had sought a year’s extension on grounds that collecting and compiling information on mining from seven important mineral producing states was a voluminous task. Its probe covers Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
