The government today decided to increase ration supplies of wheat and rice by allocating an additional 10 kg of wheat and rice per family for January and February to curb spiralling prices of these commodities.
The allocation is over and above the 35 kg of rice and wheat supplied through the public distribution system (PDS) to each family at present.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.
“An ad-hoc allocation of 10 kg per family per month over and above the existing allocation of food grain will be made for two months to cover all accepted card holders,” the committee said.
The total additional allocation for the country will be 1.06 million tonnes (mt) of rice and 2.5 mt of wheat. State governments will be allowed to lift this quantity by March 2010. This allocation will be at a minimum support price of Rs 10.80 per kg for wheat and Rs 15.37 per kg for rice.
The prevailing prices differ for various categories, with Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cardholders getting wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 a kg.
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CCP also reviewed the prices of essential commodities, including pulses, sugar, potatoes and onion.
After the meeting, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters: “The price issue was discussed. Any government will be deeply concerned over the issue (price rise).”
In another decision, the government today approved the proposal of French power equipment maker Alstom to form two joint venture companies with Bharat Forge Ltd to manufacture state-of-the-art power equipment here.
“The approval would result in foreign direct investment of 70.5 million euros (Rs 490 crore) in the country,” the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said.
Alstom’s subsidiaries, Alstom Power Holdings of France and Alstom Technology Ltd of Switzerland, will also hold stakes in the two companies to be set up for manufacturing super critical and sub-critical power plant equipment in India.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure gave an in-principle approval for setting up a national knowledge network to inter-connect all knowledge institutions through high-speed data communication network.
The network, which is expected to connect 1,500 institutions across the country, would encourage sharing of knowledge, specialised resources and collaborative research.
“The national knowledge network will provide nation-wide ultra high-speed backbone or data network highway. Various other networks in the country can take advantage of this ultra high-speed backbone, with national and international reach to create independent and closed user groups,” the committee said in a statement.
| OTHER DECISIONS |
| # The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research had decided to offer 6,000 junior research fellowships during the 10th Plan and this has been increased to 12,000 in the 11th Plan |
| # A restructured programme for the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (Pura) was cleared by the government for its implementation as a pilot project in the country |
| # An Ordinance will be brought to regularise illegal or disputed structures and constructions around monuments, a move that will pave way for several infrastructure projects linked to the Commonwealth Games |