Railways staff to get productivity-linked bonus ahead of Diwali: Cabinet

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 78 days productivity-linked bonus for non-gazetted rail employees, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a press conference, Jaitley said, "The Cabinet has approved 78 days Productivity-Linked Bonus for non-gazetted rail employees for 2016-17."

He said that according to the existing formula the productivity-linked bonus was for 72 days. "Six years ago there was a tradition of giving 78 days bonus. So the Cabinet has approved the 78 days productivity-linked bonus," the Finance Minister added.

The cabinet also approved the transfer of three more properties of ITDC Hotels to state governments for redevelopment. These include Itanagar, Jaipur and Mysore. Three other properties- Bhopal, Guwahati and Bharatpur were already given to state governments for redevelopment.

Transfer of ITDC hotel properties

Centre approved transfer of Hotel Jaipur Ashok, Jaipur and Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, Mysore, unit of Indian Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (ITDC) to the state government of Rajasthan and Karnataka, respectively. It also approved disinvestment of ITDC's 51 per cent equity shares in Donyi Polo Ashok Hotel in Arunachal Pradesh. The meeting comes in the wake of rising fears of economic depression in the country.

Rationalisation of India Presses

Modi government approved rationalisation of 17 Government of India Presses by merging them into five units.

"Cabinet approves rationalisation/merger and modernisation of 17 Government of India Presses (GIPs) into 5 GIPs at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Minto Road and Mayapuri in New Delhi, Nashik in Maharashtra and Temple Street in Kolkata," an official statement said.

Modernisation of presses will help them take important confidential, urgent and multi-colour printing work of the union government offices across the country, said the statement.

The five presses are to be redeveloped and modernised through monetisation of their surplus land.

The exchequer cost will be "zero" as well as without any retrenchment and employees will be absorbed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said during the cabinet briefing.

Under the approval, 468 acres of land belonging to these units that are to be merged will go to the Land & Development Office of the Ministry of Urban Development.

The meeting comes in the wake of rising fears of economic depression in the country.

Here are the highlights of the Cabinet meeting

— Centre to transfer 3 more properties of ITDC Hotels to state governments for redevelopment

— Finance Minister said that 468 acres land will come in central cool after ITDC hotel transfer

— Productivity linked bonus to be given for Indian Railways employees before Dussehra festival season

— Cabinet approves introduction of the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2017

— Cabinet approves merger/rationalisation of 17 govt printing presses into five units

— Additional allocation of Rs 9,900 crore for nutrition of children and pregnant and lactating mothers for next 3 years

— Khelo India (National Programme for Development of Sports) to be revamped; twin goals - 'Sports For All' and  'Sports For Excellence'

 

— Cabinet has approved extension of time period of the scheme ‘Special Industry Initiative for J&K’- Udaan till December 31, 2018
 

— Cost norms for Supplementary Nutrition under Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent Girls to be increased