Important decisions taken by Union Cabinet today

New Delhi, 20 November 2014

Approval for signing and ratifying SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Regional Railways Agreement

The Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved signing and ratifying the SAARC Regional Railways Agreement by India, as a member State of SAARC.

SAARC region is considered one of the least networked regions in terms of physical and soft connectivity leading to high costs and low volumes of trade recognizing which the leaders of the SAARC countries agreed that better transport infrastructure and linkages among the SAARC countries was necessary. A study viz. the SAARC Regional Multi Modal Transport Study (SRMTS) of 2005 undertaken by SAARC Secretariat had recommended multilateral agreements permitting free movement of people, goods and services within SAARC region in the Road and Rail sector and this was endorsed by the SAARC countries in the Summit level and Transport Ministers meetings. Accordingly, the Regional Rail Agreement (RRA) was drafted by India for SAARC countries in 2008. Since then, the draft Agreement has been discussed in the three meetings of the Expert Group on Regional Rail Agreement and in the meetings of Inter-Governmental Group on Transport (IGGT) and the text of the Agreement proposed now for signature was finalized in the 5th IGGT held in New Delhi on 30th September, 2014.

The SAARC Regional Railways Agreement will strengthen transport connectivity in the SAARC Region. Strengthened rail and transport connectivity will not only provide stimulus to the economic development in the region as a whole but also promote social and cultural contact and encourage tourism amongst the Member States. The Regional Rail Agreement will also enable low cost, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation in the SAARC region and provide trade and economic links for the land locked countries and semi isolated regions.

SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic amongst SAARC Member States

The Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the Signing and ratifying the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement at the SAARC summit on November 26-27, 2014 in Kathmandu. Further, the Cabinet approved the signing of a Bilateral Agreement for the regulation of passenger traffic between Government of India and Republic of Nepal on the sidelines of the forthcoming SAARC Summit in Kathmandu. The Cabinet has also authorized the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to sign similar Bilateral Agreements and Protocols with other SAARC member States.

The SAARC Transport Ministers, at their second meeting in Colombo (25 July 2009), approved the recommendations of Inter Governmental Group on Transport (IGGT) to set up an Expert Group to negotiate and finalize the text of the draft Regional Agreement on Motor Vehicles for SAARC Member States. The Expert Group on the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, in its third meeting held at Neemrana (Rajasthan) on 7-8 September 2014, considered and finalized the draft text of the agreement which was endorsed in the Fifth meeting of the SAARC IGGT held on 30th September 2014 at New Delhi attended by delegations from all Member States except Maldives. This Agreement provides for the Member States allowing the vehicles of other Member States to ply in their territory for transportation of Cargo and Passengers subject to various terms and conditions in the Agreement and obtaining permits for such transport from the Member States as per procedure and protocols prescribed in the Agreement. The agreement once signed will result in closer regional economic cooperation and integration through enhanced regional connectivity by allowing movement of goods and passengers in the region through road transport.

The Agreement is proposed to be signed at SAARC summit on November 26-27th, 2014 in Kathmandu. The Agreement will go a long way in strengthening the ties and promoting multilaterism among SAARC Member States.

Signing of “SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)”

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for signing of “SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity)” among the SAARC Member States during the forthcoming 18th SAARC Summit scheduled to be held at Kathmandu, Nepal on 26-27 November, 2014.

The Agreement will enable greater cooperation in the power sector among SAARC countries. The Agreement is expected to improve the power availability in the entire SAARC region. It would facilitate integrated operation of the regional power grid.

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the launch of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with components (i) to separate agriculture and non agriculture feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in rural areas and (ii) strengthening and augmentation of sub transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers.

The estimated cost of the scheme for above two components is Rs.43,033 crore which includes the requirement of budgetary support of Rs.33,453 crore from Government of India over the entire implementation period.

The Cabinet further approved, that the balance work relating to rural electrification as per CCEA’s approval in August, 2013 with the norms of the ongoing scheme of RGGVY in 12th and 13th Plans will get subsumed in DDUGJY as a distinct component for rural electrification, for which CCEA has already approved the scheme cost of Rs.39,275 crore including budgetary support of Rs.35,447 crore. This outlay will be carried forward to the new scheme of DDUGJY in addition to the outlay of Rs.43,033 crore.

The scheme would help in:

(i) Improvement in hours of power supply in rural areas,
(ii) Reduction in peak load,
(iii) Improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and
(iv) Providing access to electricity to rural households.

The process of sanction of projects shall commence immediately. After sanction of projects, contracts for execution of projects will be awarded by States Discoms / Power Departments. The projects shall be completed within 24 months from date of award.

North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSlP) for six States (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland) for strengthening of the Intra State Transmission and Distribution System at an estimated cost of Rs.5111.33 crore including capacity building expenditure of Rs.89 crore. The scheme is to be taken up under a new Central Sector Plan Scheme of Ministry of Power (MoP). The scheme is to be implemented with the assistance of World Bank loan and the budget of MoP. The project will be funded on 50:50 (World Bank loan: Gol) basis except the component of capacity building for Rs.89 crore for which GoI will bear entirely.

As the Intra-State Transmission and Distribution systems in the North-Eastern States have remained very weak, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) developed a comprehensive scheme for the North East Region (NER) in consultation with the Power Grid Corporation of the India Limited (PGCIL) and State Governments concerned. The project shall be implemented through PGCIL in association with six NER States in 48 months from the date of release of funds to PGCIL. After commissioning, the project will be owned and maintained by the State Governments.

Presently, all the six NER States are connected to transmission network at 132 KV and below. The 33 KV system is the backbone of power distribution system in the six NER States. In order to reduce the gap between the requirement and availability of the intra-state transmission and distribution system, it is necessary to provide 132 KV / 220 KV connectivity to all the six NER States for proper voltage management and lower distribution losses. Similarly, the distribution system in all six NER States which mainly relies on 33 KV network would be strengthened substantially.

Implementation of this project will create a reliable State power grid and improve its connectivity to the upcoming load centres, and thus extend the benefits of the grid connected power to all the consumers. The project would also provide the required grid connectivity to such villages and towns of the States, where development of distribution system at the downstream level has been taking place under Gol sponsored RGGVY/ APDRP/ R-APDRP schemes.

This project is a major step towards meeting the national objective of “Power to All” through enhancement in access of consumers to grid connected power supply through improving its availability and reliability, thereby facilitating inclusive growth. This shall also increase the per capita power consumption of these States, which is lagging behind the average national consumption and shall contribute to the economic development of the North-Eastern Region.

Integrated Power Development Scheme

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to launch “Integrated Power Development Scheme” (IPDS) with the objectives of:

1. Strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution network in the urban areas;
2. Metering of distribution transformers /feeders / consumers in the urban areas.
3. IT enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network as per CCEA approval dated 21.06.2013 for completion of targets laid down under Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) for 12th and 13th Plans by carrying forward the approved outlay for RAPDRP to IPDS.

The scheme will help in reduction in AT&C losses, establishment of IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency.

The estimated cost of the present scheme with the components of strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks, including metering of consumers in the urban areas is Rs. 32,612 crore which includes the requirement of budgetary support from Government of India of Rs. 25,354 crore over the entire implementation period.

The component of IT enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network approved by CCEA in June, 2013 in the form of RAPDRP for 12th and 13th Plans will get subsumed in this scheme and CCEA-approved scheme outlay of Rs.44,011 crore including a budgetary support of Rs. 22,727 crore will be carried over to the new scheme of IPDS.

The process of sanction of projects shall commence immediately. After sanction of projects, contracts for execution of projects are to be awarded by States Discoms / Power Departments. The projects shall be completed within 24 months from date of award.

Memorandum of Understanding between India and Nepal for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism. The Memorandum is proposed to be signed during the visit of Hon`ble Prime Minister of India to Nepal from 25th to 28th November, 2014.

The signing of MoU will help India in increasing foreign tourist arrivals from Nepal to the country. This in turn will result in economic development and employment generation.

Background

India and Nepal have enjoyed a strong historical and long economic and political relationship. The two parties now desiring to strengthen and further develop the established relationship propose to sign a MoU for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism.