The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank Act seeks to enable it to increase the authorised capital from Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore even as it also paves the way for strengthening its management structure.
The Cabinet, which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, proposed appointment of two whole-time directors, other than the chairman and managing director. “Increase in the authorised capital would enable the bank to take higher export credit exposures and enable it to borrow funds to disburse under export line of credits,” an official statement said after the Cabinet meeting.
The Bill also seeks to empower the Centre to further increase the authorised capital of the Exim Bank without any more legislative changes. By appointing two whole time directors, the management structure of the bank would be strengthened, it said.
The government will take the amendment Bill to Parliament in the near future. The Exim Bank, which plays a vital role in financing of export and import deals, is governed under the Export–Import Bank Act, 1981.
During 2010-11, 22 Letters of Credit (LoC) aggregating $2.38 billion were given by the Exim Bank to support export of projects, goods and services from India to countries such as Africa, Asia and Latin America among others.
On the other hand, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved setting up of a high-level committee headed by the power ministry to finalise compensation for NTPC’s Loharinag Pala hydel project, which was scrapped over religious and environment issues. The expenses would be borne by the ministry of power and an agency would be appointed in order to implement the environment measures and compensate for the losses.
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The CCEA also approved augmentation of the existing outlay of Rs 250 crore to Rs 381 crore under Backward and Forward Linkages Component of Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). This will meet residual liabilities of erstwhile Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) within the already approved overall plan outlay of Rs 4,735 crore for PMEGP, the official statement said.
In some other important decisions the government on Wednesday gave its nod to changes in Bill against unfair practices in technical institutes across the country. The government also permitted implementation of a World Bank-aided project to create self employment opportunities for tribals, particularly women in four most disadvantaged northeastern states.