The Union Cabinet today approved an ordinance for the Insurance Amendment Bill. It also gave nod to re-promulgation of Coal Mines ordinance. Ordinance was promulgated previously on the 20th of October to help e-auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court in September.
Addressing a press conference on Cabinet's decisions in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said, the Cabinet also approved guidelines for the allocation of coal for power and other core sectors. He said, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Chattisgarh will gain the most revenue from auction of coal mines.
When asked about the need to bring the ordinances soon after Winter Session of Parliament, Mr Jaitley said, the ordinance on coal mines has been brought due to urgency whereas ordinance on Insurance Amendment Laws was brought as the issue was getting considerably delayed. The Rajya Sabha due to uproar over conversion issue could not pass the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill which was already cleared by the Lok Sabha on the 12th of this month.
Talking about ordinance on Insurance Amendment Bill, Mr Jaitley said, the contents of ordinance incorporate all recommendations of the Select Committee. This Bill also could not be passed due to opposition's continuous uproar over the conversion issue. Mr Jaitley said that hiking of the foreign foreign investment cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent will result in capital inflow of nearly eight billion dollars. The Minister said, going in for Ordinances on insurance and coal shows government's resolve that work will go on even if Parliament is disrupted.
The Union Cabinet also gave its nod to amend the existing FDI policy in the Pharmaceutical sector to carve out a new category of medical devices. As per the extant FDI policy for the sector, FDI up to 100 per cent is permitted subject to conditions. The Policy on the pharmaceutical sector covers medical devices since this area is not separately covered.
The other decisions include approval for an improved Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)for the employees of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited (CIWTC) and disinvestment in it thereafter. The existing VRS in the company is not attractive to employees and therefore does not evince much interest from the workforce.
The Cabinet also cleared amendments to some sections of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 to rectify the anomaly in allocating the number of seats in Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Council and to enhance the total number of seats to 58 as per the provisions of the Constitution.
It also approved exchange and transfer of land between Air Force to Airport Authority of India for the development of Nagpur airport project.
