Cabinet approves ‘One Nation, One Poll’ and a raft of proposals on everything from agriculture to space
Shortly after completing 100 days in office, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has taken a series of decisions that would have political and economic implications for the country. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved proposals in areas ranging from agriculture to moon and Venus with a total outlay of over Rs 60,000 crore. The much-awaited ‘One Nation, One Poll’ policy,
which meant that elections would be held simultaneously throughout the country, was also approved by the cabinet.
Apart from the space and election decisions that made headlines, the PM-AASHA marquee scheme was reshaped to ensure minimum support price (MSP) to farmers. With an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore, the PM-AASHA announcement came at a time when several state elections are due, including in farmer-centric Haryana.
The financial expenditure for PM-AASHA is intended for the 15th cycle of the Finance Commission until 2025-2026.
In another farmer-friendly move, the Cabinet has approved subsidy of Rs 24,474.53 crore for phosphate and potash (P&K) fertilisers for the rabi season of 2024-25. This will help farmers get nutrients for their crops at affordable prices.
The Chandrayaan-4 mission, which has received Cabinet approval, aims to develop technologies required to land astronauts on the moon and then bring them back to Earth. The total fund requirement for the new moon mission has been pegged at Rs 2,104.06 crore and is expected to be rolled out within 36 months after all technical approvals are received.
There was more on space and planets in the cabinet. A Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) has been approved to enable scientific exploration of the atmosphere of Venus, according to a government statement. This is an opportunity to go beyond the moon and Mars, the statement said. The total fund approved for this is Rs 1,236 crore, of which Rs 824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft.
After the cabinet decisions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the meeting earlier in the day, posted a message on X (earlier Twitter) about ‘one nation one poll’. ”This is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participatory,” the prime minister said.
Briefing reporters about the Cabinet decisions, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government would set up an implementation group to implement the recommendations of the Ram Nath Kovind-led panel on ‘one nation one poll’ and try to build consensus across the country on the issue in the coming months.
There was uncertainty over whether the government would bring the concurrent election bill in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. Vaishnaw referred to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that the government would implement it in its current term.
Renewed PM-AASHA
As for PM-AASHA, the Cabinet expanded its scope by merging the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Market Intervention Scheme for perishable crops (MIS) into the programme, along with the existing Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS). The PSF, which was earlier managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs, got an enhanced allocation (an increase of Rs 10,000 crore) during the full budget of FY25.
In addition, the procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds and copra at MSP, under the PSS, will account for 25 percent of national production from the 2024-2025 season.
“However, this ceiling will not be applicable for tur, urad and masur for the 2024-25 season as there will be 100 percent procurement of tur, urad and masur during the 2024-25 season as decided earlier,” the government said.
The Centre has extended and increased the existing government guarantee to Rs 45,000 crore for procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds and copra at MSP.
In order to encourage states to register for the implementation of the Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS), which is similar to the ‘Bhawantan Bhugtan Yojana’ launched earlier by the Madhya Pradesh government, the coverage of notified oilseeds has been increased from the current 25 per cent of state production to 40 per cent.
Under the market intervention programme for products such as onions and potatoes, the government has increased the coverage from 20 percent to 25 percent of production. An option has also been added to transfer the differential payment directly to the farmers’ accounts instead of through physical procurement.
First publication: Sep 18, 2024 | 11:37 PM IST