School quota Bill on Tuesday

Putting aside objections from different quarters to the Constitution amendment Bill, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has decided to introduce the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

"The same Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha," announced Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dashmunshi. The Bill providing for reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in unaided educational institutions was to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

It was, however, deferred following objections from different quarters including the BJP, which demanded the inclusion of all minority institutions, and the OBC parliamentarians who wanted the inclusion of the OBCs. "All concerns (objections) will be taken into account and will be honoured," said Dashmunshi.

The Cabinet yesterday approved a package for the revival of short-term rural cooperative credit structure (CCS). It includes financial assistance for wiping out accumulated losses, covering invoked but unpaid and uninvoked guarantees given by state governments and other dues to the CCS from them.

The government is expected to bear around 68 per cent of the total estimated package of Rs 13,596 crore, while the states will bear around 28 per cent and the CCS around 4 per cent.

The GOI will provide its share as grants, which the states are expected to meet their share from their budget or by open market borrowing, in addition to their current borrowing limits.

The indicative yearly break up of the GOI's share would be Rs 400 crore in 2005-06, Rs 3,000 crore in 2006-07, Rs 5,000 crore in 2007-08, and Rs 845 crore in 2008-09.