The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) yesterday approved the long-awaited shale gas and oil exploration programme to boost domestic output. This policy will allow National Oil Companies to carry out exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydro-carbon resources particularly shale gas and oil in their already awarded on land Petroleum Exploration License.
The CCEA also approved a new policy for allotment of coal mines. This will pave the way for coal block allocation through competitive bidding. The new coal blocks policy is for the private sector.
The decsion assumes significance against the backdrop of controversy over alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks and ongoing CBI investigation.
Besides approval to these proposal, CCEA gave its nod to the proposal for implementation of the multi-sectoral programme to address the maternal and child under-nutrition in 200 high burden districts. The programme will address the problem by bringing together various national programmes through strong institutional and operational convergence at the State, District, Block and Village levels. The scheme will cost over 1,213 crore rupees during the 12th Plan.