Cabinet okays 'One Nation, One Poll' and host of proposals in farm to space

Soon 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 cleared proposals in areas ranging from agriculture to moon and venus with a total outlay of more than Rs 60,000 crore. The much-awaited ‘One Nation, One Poll’ policy, 

implying simultaneous elections across the country, also got the Cabinet approval.    
 

Besides the space and election decisions, that grabbed the headlines, the marquee scheme of PM-AASHA was rejigged for ensuring minimum support price (MSP) to farmers.  With an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore, the PM-AASHA announcement has come at a time when several state elections, including in farmer-centric Haryana, are scheduled.

The financial outlay for PM-AASHA is for the 15th Finance Commission cycle up to 2025-26.

In another farmer-friendly measure, the Cabinet approved a Rs 24,474.53-crore subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the rabi season of 2024-25. This will help farmers get crop nutrients at affordable rates.

The Chandrayaan-4 Mission, which got the Cabinet nod, aims to develop technologies needed for landing astronauts on the moon and then bringing 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 roll out within 36 months of all the technical approvals.

There was more about space and planets at the Cabinet. A Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) has been approved to allow scientific exploration of the Venusian atmosphere, 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 on X (earlier Twitter) about one nation one poll. ‘’This is an important step towards making our democracy even more vibrant and participative,’’ the PM said.  

Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decisions, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government would constitute an implementation group to take forward the recommendations of the Ram Nath Kovind led panel on one nation one poll and make efforts to build consensus on the issue across the country over the next few months.

There was lack of clarity on whether the government would bring the simultaneous election bill in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament. Vaishnaw referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that the government would implement it in its current tenure.

 

Revamped PM-AASHA
 

As for PM-AASHA, the Cabinet expanded its ambit by converging the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), Price Support Scheme (PSS), and Market Intervention Scheme for perishable crops (MIS) into the program along with the existing Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS). The PSF, which was earlier operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs, got an enhanced allocation (an increase of Rs 10,000 crore) during the FY25 full Budget.
 

That apart, under the PSS, the procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at MSP will be 25 per cent of national production from 2024-25 season onwards.
 

"However, this ceiling will not be applicable in the case of tur, urad, and masur for the 2024-25 season as there will be a 100 per cent procurement of tur, urad, and masur during the 2024-25 season as decided earlier," the government said.
 

The Centre has renewed and enhanced the existing government guarantee to Rs 45,000 crore for procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra at MSP.
 

To encourage states to come forward for implementation of the Price Deficit Payment Scheme (PDPS)which is similar to the ‘Bhawantan Bhugtan Yojana’ earlier launched by the Madhya Pradesh government, the coverage of notified oilseeds has been enhanced from the existing 25 per cent of state production to 40 per cent.
 

In the Market Intervention Scheme, for commodities such as onion and potatoes, the government has increased the coverage from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of production and has added an option of making differential payment directly into the farmers' account instead of physical procurement.