Key Cabinet Decisions
26-08-2023
01:27 PM
What’s in today’s article?
- Why in news?
- What is PM e-Bus Sewa?
- What is PM Vishwakarma Scheme?
- Other decisions taken by Cabinet
Why in news?
- The Union Cabinet has approved a slew of schemes ranging from the PM e-Bus Sewa to seven multi-tracking projects of the Indian Railways worth Rs 32,500 crore.
What is PM e-Bus Sewa?
Image Caption: PM-eBus Sewa
- Seeking to enhance green mobility, the Union Cabinet gave a nod to the PM e-Bus Sewa for augmenting city bus operations.
- An e-bus is any bus whose propulsion and accessory systems are powered exclusively by a zero-emissions electricity source.
- The scheme will be implemented in two segments:
- In 169 cities, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed using a public-private partnership (PPP) model;
- In this segment, depot infrastructure will also be developed or upgraded to support the new e-buses, including the creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure like substations.
- In 181 other cities, infrastructure will be upgraded under the green urban mobility initiatives
- In this second segment, initiatives will focus on bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, automated fare collection systems, and charging infrastructure.
- In 169 cities, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed using a public-private partnership (PPP) model;
- Cities with a population of three lakh and above will be covered under the scheme, including all the capital cities of Union Territories, and the northeastern and hill States.
- States or cities will be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
- The Central government will support these bus operations by providing subsidies to the extent specified in the scheme.
What is PM Vishwakarma Scheme?
- The Union Cabinet approved a ₹13,000 crore PM Vishwakarma scheme.
- It aims to provide subsidised loans of up to Rs 2 lakh to traditional artisans and craftsmen including weavers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, laundry workers, and barbers.
- Key highlights:
- Artisans and craftspeople will be provided a recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
- The craftsmen will be provided a subsidised loan of Rs 1 lakh in the first tranche, and another Rs 2 lakh in the second tranche, at a concessional interest rate of 5%.
- It also has a provision to provide skill upgradation, incentive for toolkit as well as digital transactions and marketing support.
- Skilling programme will take place at both basic and advanced types. Participants will get a stipend of ₹500 per day while undergoing training.
- Beneficiaries will also receive up to ₹15,000 to buy modern tools.
- The scheme also aims at improving the quality, as well as the reach of products and services of artisans and craftsmen and to ensure that Vishwakarmas are integrated with the domestic and global value chains.
Other decisions taken by Cabinet
- Extension of Digital India Programme
- The Union Cabinet approved a five-year extension and expansion of the Digital India programme, including an expansion of the Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-in).
- The expansion of the programme, established in 2015, will have an outlay of ₹14,903 crore.
- The extended programme aims to re-skill and up-skill 6.25 lakh IT professionals and train another 2.65 lakh persons in information security.
- The Union Cabinet approved a five-year extension and expansion of the Digital India programme, including an expansion of the Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-in).
- Bhashini
- The AI-enabled multi-language translation tool – Bhashini – will be rolled out in 22 Schedule Vlll languages.
- National Supercomputing Mission
- The National Supercomputing Mission, which has deployed 18 supercomputers, will add nine more such machines.
- These supercomputers will have so many applications in weather forecasting, geology, agriculture, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling.
- Document verification for MSMEs
- DigiLocker, the online repository operated by the government for official documents, will be expanded to serve Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises, or MSMEs.
- This will make it easier for them to get verified documents for business loans.
Q1) What is Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)?
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is a high-level decision-making body in the government of India. It is responsible for making decisions on various economic matters and policy issues that have significant financial implications for the country. The committee operates as a subset of the larger Cabinet of Ministers in India. The CCEA is chaired by the Prime Minister of India and includes other key ministers who head relevant ministries and departments, such as the Finance Minister, Commerce Minister, Agriculture Minister, and others. The committee's decisions are crucial as they shape the economic direction of the country and have a direct impact on various sectors and industries.
Q2) What is National Supercomputing Mission?
National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has set up to provide the country with supercomputing infrastructure to meet the increasing computational demands of academia, researchers, MSMEs, and startups. It is a first of its kind attempt to boost the country’s computing power. National Super Computing Mission is steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
Source: Key Cabinet decisions today: 10,000 electric buses, 7 multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways; and more | The Hindu | Hindustan Times