 "Green signal to women bank")
Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), proposed in this year’s Budget, will provide dedicated financial services to women in general and women self-help groups (SHGs) in particular. The bank is likely to be operational by November.
Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena had said on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha the government was planning to seek Parliament’s nod for allocation of funds for setting up the bank. “It is proposed to solicit the approval of the Cabinet to include the allocation of Rs 1,000 crore to the women’s bank in the first supplementary to be approved in the current monsoon session of Parliament,” he had said in a written reply in the Upper House.
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The finance ministry has asked public sector banks to provide 125 officers for deputation to the first woman-focused lender. The corporate office, including treasury department of the bank, will be based out of Delhi. During a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram last month, heads of public sector banks had agreed to provide officers on deputation to the women’s bank to be headed by Usha Ananthasubramanian, executive director of Delhi-based Punjab National Bank.
Wheat Exports: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) allowed an additional two million tonnes (mt) of wheat export from government godowns through public sector trading firms, to clear surplus stock. The exports would be from godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and shipments would be undertaken by the state-owned trading firms STC, MMTC and PEC.
The government had allowed 4.5 mt of wheat exports from FCI godowns during the last financial year through public sector undertakings (PSUs). Of this, about 4.2 mt have been exported for Rs 7,000 crore.
The government has allowed additional exports as it has a huge stock of 40 mt of wheat against the requirement of 14 mt at the end of September 2013. The bulging stocks in FCI godowns have put pressure on storage availability, despite a sharp decline in collection this year.
FCI and other state agencies procured only about 25 mt this year against 38 mt last year. The drop in procurement was due to a fall in production and aggressive purchase by private traders. Wheat production stood at 92.46 mt in 2012-13 against a record 94.88 mt in the previous year.
To clear stocks, the government had also allowed private trade to export five mt of wheat from FCI godowns, but shipment did not pick up due to lower global prices than the government benchmark price.
Funds for IITs and IISc: With bodies of excellence — Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bangalore — crying for funds, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to revise non-plan expenditure of these institutes during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17). The amount computed as non-Plan grants for the IITs will be based on student strength, according to a revised block grant scheme for funding non-plan expenditure of IITs and IISc approved by the Cabinet.
OTHER DECISIONS
* 50:50 ownerships of metro rail companies to be treated on a par with central public sector undertakings for transfer of land
* New Media Wing to take govt’s messages to public via social media
* Rs 409.29-crore fund to strengthen consumer movement by spreading literacy through a sustained campaign about rights and responsibilities
* Scheme of integrated cold chain, value addition and preservation infrastructure
* To set up 12 mega food parks; allocation of Rs 1,714 crore
* NHPC disinvestment deferred
* To revise non-plan spend of IIT and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
* Plan money to fund scholarships, fellowships