Cabinet okays National Health Policy, over Rs 2,000-cr roads for UP

Funds for UP comes days after ruling BJP scored a resounding win

The union cabinet today approved the much-awaited National Health Policy (NHP), which proposed to provide assured health services to all and increases the ambit of health facilities covered by the primary healthcare centers.

That apart, the cabinet in a return gift to Uttar Pradesh cleared a Rs 2,147.33-crore project for widening of Handia-Varanasi stretch in Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This project has been awarded under the government's flagship road building programme - National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-V.

It also approved pricing and marketing freedom to producers of natural gas from coal seams (CBM) and also allowed them to sell the fuel to affiliates and raised the dearness allowance to 4 per cent from existing 2 per cent from January 1, 2017, benefiting 48.85 employees and 55.51 lakh pensioners.