Headlines at a Glance – 20th Feb
Cabinet approves Constitution of 22nd Law Commission of India for a term of three years
The Union Cabinet, which met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the 22nd Law Commission of India for a period of three years. It will consist of a full-time chairperson, four full-time members including Member-Secretary, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs as ex-officio Member, Secretary, Legislative Department as ex officio Member, and not more than five part-time Members. “The Law Commission shall undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms therein and enacting new legislations. It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in the cost of litigation, etc,” said an official press release.
SOURCE: Business Standard
Cabinet approves revamping of PMFBY and RWBCIS
The cabinet further approved revamping Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS). The Centre has decided to increase its share of subsidy in PMFBY and RWBCIS up to 90 per cent for Northeast from the existing sharing pattern of 50:50. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These changes are proposed to be implemented from Kharif’ 2020 season throughout the country. The revamping plan further said that the allocation of business to insurance companies to be done for three years for both PMFBY and RWBCIS. Option shall be given to States/UTs to choose the scale of finance or district level value of notional average yield (NAY) minimum support price (MSP) as the sum insured for any district crop combination.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) approved
The Centre on Wednesday approved the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project focused on sustainability of ODF and management of solid and liquid waste. The second phase will be implemented on a mission mode between 2020-21 and 2024-25 with an estimated central and state budget of Rs 52,497 crore, the Jal Shakti Ministry said in a statement. The rural sanitation programme was started on October 2, 2014, when the sanitation coverage in the country was reported at 38.7 per cent. More than 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the launch of the mission and as a result, rural areas in all states have declared themselves open defecation free (ODF) as on October 2, 2019. The second phase will focus on Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus), which includes ODF sustainability and solid and liquid waste management (SLWM)
SOURCE: India Today
Govt. to set up 10,000 new farmer produce organisations (FPOs) by 2024
The government on Wednesday approved setting up of 10,000 new farmer produce organisations (FPOs) by 2024 with budgetary support of nearly Rs 4,500 crore as part of its efforts to cut production cost and boost income of farming community. Further, an amount of Rs 2,369 crore has been estimated for hand-holding of these FPOs during 2024-25 to 2027-28, taking the total size to Rs 6,865 crore. The CCEA has approved a new central sector scheme ‘Formation and Promotion of Farmer Produce Organizations (FPOs)’ to form and promote 10,000 new FPOs with a total budgetary provision of Rs 4,496 crore for five years (2019-20 to 2023-24). The scheme also envisages a further committed liability of Rs 2,369 crore for 2024-25 to 2027-28 towards hand-holding of each FPO for five years from its aggregation and formation, taking the total size to Rs 6,865 crore.
SOURCE: Business Standard
India to Stop Import of Thermal Coal from FY24
India will stop importing thermal coal from Financial Year 2023-24, said Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi. The Minister also said that various ways and means were discussed with key stakeholders to achieve 1 billion tonnes (BT) coal production target by Coal India Limited (CIL) by Financial Year 2023-24. The Ministry of Coal will coordinate with Indian Railways and Shipping Ministry and enable CIL, Captive and Commercial Miners evacuate more coal by 2030. Stressing upon the diversification in the Indian Coal sector, the Minister said that ideas have also been mooted that CIL could think of coming up with the state of the art pithead thermal power plants to transform it into an integrated energy company.
SOURCE: The New Indian Express
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