"We demand that the state government should provide an additional relief of Rs 2.50/ltr. Ruling-BJD is just organising fake protests and lacks seriousness in dealing with the grievances of the general public of Odisha," said Odisha BJP vice-president, Samir Mohanty.
After the announcement by Jaitley yesterday, 11 states (BJP-ruled) have reduced VAT on both petrol and diesel so far, while the Odisha government is yet to make any move.
Responding to BJP's charge, BJD spokesperson, Sasmit Patra said "Though the union government has slashed fuel prices, owing to the dynamic pricing mechanism, the difference of Rs 2.50/ltr will become zero after a few days. If the central government wants to bring the fuel prices down permanently, the erstwhile excise duty system of 2014 should be introduced. Has the central government taken any steps to return the Rs 11 lakh crore that it has taken from the people of Odisha and the nation?"
Meanwhile, leader of Opposition, Narasingha Mishra said "The international fuel prices are low and what benefit the centre has given by increasing the prices by Rs 30 and later slashing it by Rs 5?"
"He would like to go back to the United States on account of pressing family commitments. ..He left me with no option but to agree with him," Arun Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Subramanian had joined the government as the economic advisor on October 16, 2014 for a period of three years.
"On the expiry of the three year I had requested him to continue for some more time. Even at that stage he told me that he was torn between family commitment and his current job which he considered the best and most fulfilling he has ever done," Jaitley had earlier said in a blogpost.
This is a developing story, updates awaited.
The implementation will have an additional burden of Rs 4,201 crore annually in respect to salaries and Rs 7,477 crore on account of one-time arrears on the state exchequer, the state’s finance minister Syed Altaf Bukhari said.
It was a major commitment of state government promised in the budget, said Bukhari, adding that it has been the first time in state’s history that pay commission’s recommendations have been implemented without any agitation from employees and despite lack of resources, The Indian Express quoted Bukhari as saying.
With the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, the basic pay of employees as on December 31, 2015 shall be multiplied by uniform factor of 2.57 and then adjusted in the matrix recommended by the pay committee, an official release read.
Employees can draw their revised salary from the current month itself and the arrears accruing on account of implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations will be credited to their GP Fund account as has been the practice in the past. The arrears shall be paid to pensioners in cash in three installments after every six months.
On the revised pay, House Rent Allowance shall be available from April 2018 and all other allowances excluding Dearness Allowance shall continue as before.
Cash shortage at ATMs has resulted in a crisis in SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack where people depend on a single ATM on the premises.
"I need to buy medicines but I am unable to get money even after trying four ATMs. It has put us in trouble," said an attendant of a patient at the hospital.
"In a medical campus, ATM is a necessity and it must have cash as people here need money on an urgent basis. Cash crunch is adding to our woes," said another attendant.
Similarly in Bolangir, things are no different as people have to stand in long queues in front of the ATMs.
"I don't have a penny to buy food. The situation is getting worse," said a local.
"We have to stand in long queues to withdraw cash, but often we are disappointed as ATMs run dry," lamented another local.
Meanwhile, BJP's national spokesperson Nalin Kohli told OTV that the country has no cash problems and the situation will be brought under control soon.
"The country has enough cash and there is no cash crunch. Even Finance Minister Arun Jaitly has clarified about it. He has also assured that within a period of three days, the problem will be solved," Kohli said.
It is believed that the use of Rs 2,000 notes, in particular, is causing the problem as money is being hoarded by political parties in Rs 2,000 denominations for the upcoming 2019 general elections. Several bank officials have also said that a lot of Rs 2,000-rupee notes are not coming back to banks.
The decision has been taken by the BJP-led central government at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
The Union Cabinet has given its nod for the revision of salary and allowances of Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and it will be on a par with that of the secretary to the government of India, an official statement said.
The proposal for increasing the pay and allowances of LGs with effect from January 1, 2016 from Rs 80,000 per month plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances to Rs 2,25,000 plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances at the same rate as applicable to the officers of the rank of secretary to the central government.
It will be subject to the condition that the total emoluments (excluding sumptuary allowance and local allowances) shall not exceed the total emoluments drawn by the Governor of a state, PTI reported citing the statement.
The decision came two months after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his 2018-19 Budget that emoluments of the President would be revised to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh for the vice president and to Rs 3.5 lakh per month for the governors, the news agency reported.
Moreover, the judges of the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts are set to get enhanced dearness allowance, months after they received a nearly two-fold salary hike.
According to a Law Ministry order issued on April 5, the SC and HC judges will get 7 per cent DA with effect from January 1. So far, they were getting 5 per cent DA.
However, the government is yet to take a final call over the demands of the lakhs of central government employees who have been demanding a hike in the minimum pay. They demand for hike in the present minimum pay by Rs 8000 (presently getting Rs 18,000 and demand Rs 26,000), stating that the recommended hike by the 7th Pay Commission is not enough and it must be raised taking into account their financial condition.
However, it seems the expectations have been crushed again as reports are there that the Centre is not going to increase the minimum pay of the employees anytime soon.
According to Financial Express, as per an official reply from the Central government dated March 6, Minister of State for Finance P. Radhakrishnan said that the government is not considering any hike in minimum pay for the employees beyond the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC).
Replying to a question put forward by Neeraj Shekhar at Rajya Sabha regarding the increase in minimum pay and fitment factor, Radhakrishnan said that no change is being considered by the Modi government at the moment.
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Will the Finance Minister be pleased to state:
Whether Government is actively contemplating to increase minimum pay from Rs 18,000/- to Rs 21,000 and fitment factor from 2.57 to 3, in view of resentment of Central Government employees over historically lowest increase in pay by 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC);
if so, the details thereof and the date from which it would be implemented; and
if not, the reasons for the callous attitude of Government towards Government Employees?
(a),(b),&(c): The minimum pay of Rs 18,000/- p.m. and the fitment factor of 2.57 are based on the specific recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission in the light of the relevant factors taken into account by it. Therefore, no change therein is at present under consideration.
The government employees had been demanding a hike the minimum pay from the present Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000- an increase in the fitment factor 3.68 times from the existing 2.57 times.
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Meanwhile, the Modi government had earlier promised to hike the pay only after the DA crosses 50 per cent with an aim to keep a balance between the salary of the employee and the market price.
Meanwhile, the motive of government behind increasing the tax-free gratuity is an inclusive one.
Moving the bill for passage, Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said it is a very important legislation for employees, especially women.
Presently, workers in the formal sector with five or more years of service are eligible for Rs 10 lakh tax-free gratuity after leaving job or at time of superannuation. But the government now wants this to be increased to Rs 20 lakh helping the organised sector workers go at par with the central government.
The bill will now go to the Upper House for consideration and passage.
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After the passage of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill in the House of the Elders, the government would be able to enhance the ceiling of tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh from existing Rs 10 lakh for employee under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
After implementation of the seventh Central Pay Commission, the ceiling of gratuity amount for central government employees was increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. The unions are demanding for inclusion of the change into the Act, PTI reported.
The bill was passed amid the din in the Lok Sabha on Thursday as uproar over a host of issues went for the second week in a row.
The bill notifies the period of maternity leave as part of continuous service and proposes to empower the central government to notify the gratuity ceiling from time to time without amending the law.
It is believed that the Central government employees’ most of the problems, especially financial, will be solved if government accepts their demand to increase the minimum pay.
Meanwhile, the bone of contention is whether Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will consider raising the salary of the employees as per their demand- the employees have been demanding Rs 26,000 as the minimum pay against the present Rs 18,000.
The government is reportedly mulling to increase the pay by Rs 3000 (to Rs 21,000). But the employees are of the view that the minimal increase in the pay will have no positive impact on their financial position. Besides, the government is in no mood to give arrears to the employees as per the further hike; which means the government employees will get further hike but without arrears.
“If the government increases the fitment factor 3 times, the problems will continue to hunt us; 3.68 times fitment factor hike from the existing 2.57 times can only work for us,” said a government employee.
If reports are to be believed, the government will implement the new salary with effect from April 1, 2016. However, there is no confirmation yet from the government or the concerned department or ministry.
“We don’t have any faith on this government. You would have noticed, all the policies introduced by the Modi government are anti-employees. The government has failed us. But hopes are still there,” said another employee.
The government had earlier promised to hike the pay only after the Dearness Allowance (DA) crosses 50 per cent with an aim to keep a balance between the salary of the Central government employee and the market price.
The Central government employees have been demanding to increase the minimum pay from the existing Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000. They are of the opinion that the present salary is not sufficient for them taking into account the present market situation, among other reasons. Besides, they stressed that it would have no impact on their financial position.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier told that the pay would be hiked further but he didn’t keep his promise. The government has been dilly-dallying the issue. There is the need to clear the employees whether the pay will be hike or not. There’s no point in playing with the emotions of employees, said a government employee.
Most of the Central government employees have nearly same type of opinion over the issue. It is worth mentioning that National Anomaly Committee (NAC) was earlier formed to look into the matter and submit a report. However, after lingering the issue for months, the NAC also failed to come up with a solution, crushing all hopes of the employees.
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All ‘low paid’ central government employees will get salary as per the new hike from next fiscal, he said, adding that the pay issue will be fixed by the government soon after discussions with all stakeholders.
Worth mentioning, the finance minister had earlier said that the minimum pay Rs 18,000 had not been made as per the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations and it would consider an increase after discussions with all stakeholders.
A top official in the Finance Ministry, on condition of anonymity, has confirmed that no new Pay Commission would be formed to increase salaries and allowances of the central government employees. “The government is determined to take strong decision in this regard,” The Sen Times quoted the official as saying.
As per reports, the government is considering an alternative for increasing salaries and allowances of the central government employees and pensioners in future instead of forming any 8th Pay Commission.
Moreover, the 7th Pay Commission recommended reviewing the pay matrix periodically instead of waiting for long 10 years to revise the salary and allowances. The commission also suggested the usage of Aykroyd formula for the hike in pay of the central government employees.
It is worth mentioning that Aykroyd formula is attributed to Dr Aykroyd who worked on nutrition for nearly 30 years and was director of the Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organisation, United Nations. In 1935, he was appointed director of the government’s nutritional research centre in India.
Earlier this month, Minister of State for Finance P Radhakrishnan had made a statement in the Lok Sabha that no formation of Pay Commission in future is not on government radar for the time being and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would declare it later.
However, the official didn’t confirm what made the minister to say those lines and if Jaitley would actually make any such announcement in the near future.
Meanwhile, government employees are happy about the annual increase in pay but at the same time confused over the fact that the yearly increase would be a herculean task for the government and any irregularity and glitch in the whole process would ultimately hit their financial position.
While the government employees are levelling the new decision of the government as a trick to cheat them, the government is of the view that it will hike the minimum pay but only after going through the process as per the guidelines.
Meanwhile, media reports are there that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has come up with a decision to form a new high-level committee to look into the demand of increase in minimum pay. Besides, it is expected that the committee will have secretaries of different ministries as members.
“What are the guidelines… does anyone know? The Finance Minister had promised to hike the minimum pay but now after lingering the issue for months if he is planning to form a new committee, it shows the government's intention of just playing with our emotions," said a Central Income Tax department employee.
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When it comes to the interest of the lakhs of employees, nothing should be politicised for mere political gain, he added.
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"Almost every month news used to come that in a few months the government would further increase the minimum pay. But nothing has happened so far. Forming a new committee has exposed the modus operandi of the government," said another employee.
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The Central government employees have been demanding to increase the minimum pay to Rs 26,000. However, if reports are to be believed, the government is mulling to hike the pay to only Rs 21,000 from the existing Rs 18,000; but it is also in question now.
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Meanwhile, news are there that the 7th Pay Commission will be the last pay commission for the government employees. The news has brought confusion among the lakhs of government employees as to how will their new salary look like, what will the salary be increased and on what basis the government would increase the salary.
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The news has indeed come as a major setback for the lakhs of Central government employees who had high hopes on the Modi government that it would not disappoint the issue highly impacting their financial position.
This source, while referring to a Department of Personnel Training letter that said that fitment factor and minimum pay didn’t come under the National Anomaly Committee (NAC), stated that there is no point in hoping that the minimum basic salary will be hiked in future, Business Times reported.
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This source, while referring to a Department of Personnel Training letter that said that fitment factor and minimum pay didn’t come under the National Anomaly Committee (NAC), stated that there is no point in hoping that the minimum basic salary will be hiked in future.
“We never expected of getting cheated by the BJP government even though it took too long in the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission. But the latest news related to the hike is disappointing. This is not the way we want to get treated,” said an upset Central government employee.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised during the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission that there would be further hike in the minimum pay but he didn’t keep his words, he alleged.
“The government’s intention was to avert protests by the employee unions and for that only it put us in dark and stretched the issue by giving us false hope of hiking the minimum pay through a high-level committee,” alleged another employee.
“It’s difficult for the employees to meet their financial needs with what they are getting. I doubt if the government knows even that pay commission happens once in 10 years and for the next 10 years the employees have to deal with the rising costs. What’s the gain in implementation of anti-employee policies?” questioned a retired government employee.
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However, a government official rebuffed the news that there would not be further hike in the minimum pay. “The government is well aware of the demands of the employees and it is considering over that. Once the elections in Gujarat and Rajasthan are over, the government will take appropriate decision,” the official added.
The Central government employees are expecting the minimum pay to be increased to Rs 26,000 from the present Rs 18,000.
Earlier, reports were there that NAC would submit its report to the cabinet for approval on the revision in the minimum pay by mid December this year and with the approval of the cabinet, the new hike in the minimum pay was expected to be implemented from April 2018.
The National Anomaly Committee (NAC) and the Department of Expenditure will now take a final call on the matter.
NAC has got the green signal from the Narendra Modi-led Central government to increase the basic pay and the fitment factor. The minimum pay is expected to be increased to Rs 21,000 from the existing Rs 18,000, reported Jansatta.
“It has been decided to set up the anomaly committee of the National Council comprising representatives of the official side and the staff side to settle any anomaly arising out of the implementation of the recommendations of the Pay Commission,” an order issued by the DoPT said.
The Central government employees have been eagerly waiting for an increase in their minimum pay as they are not happy with the increase in the hike recommended under the 7th Pay Commission. They also believe that their salary will be increased as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had promised to increase the pay.
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The Central government employee unions’ demand has always been Rs 26,000 as the minimum pay against the recommended Rs 18,000. However, if sources are to be believed, the government is mulling to increase the minimum pay to only Rs 21,000.
“Much has already been said about the Seventh Pay Commission. We are waiting for the final decision. We can’t take a call now on assumptions and rumors in media. Once the NAC come up with its decision, we will decide our future course of action,” said a union’s member.
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“Whatever the increase may be, but if the government give arrears on the hike … it will be welcomed with open arms. Arrears can solve much of our problems,” said a Central government employee.
While hints are there that the government is mulling to increase the minimum pay, the present situation in which the government is in- it’s far from reality.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced formation of the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) to decide on the further increase of the Central government employees’ basic pay after resentment started brewing among the employees against the recommended hike in pay.
The NAC was expected to meet early this month to take the final call on the basic pay but it was postponed. However, it is believed that the Committee will meet later this month and recommend increasing the basic pay by passing the demand of the employees with a majority.
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Day after the announcement of the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations, Jaitely had assured to hike the minimum pay for the central government employees in the future. So, by any chance, the government will not belittle itself and become enemy of the employees.
Moreover, keeping in mind the 2019 general elections, BJP will never take a risk of turning a blind eye to the pay hike demand.
It’s not denying that the government is unsure whether to hike pay of its employees or not.
Demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST) seem to be posing as the hindrance behind the salary hike as they hit the country’s exchequer hard. Even, the pace of India’s economic growth suffered registering all time low since 2016.
So, for now, the government doesn’t seem to be in a position to accept the demands of the employees. It has already lost a lot of money due to note ban and GST and if the employees would be given further hike, the country’s economy will get severely affected, believe financial experts.
Meanwhile, above all the assumptions and presumptions, the Central government employees feel that the government will come out with a decision in January after the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections.
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It is also believed that the government will increase the minimum pay to Rs 21,000 from the present Rs 18,000 with fitment factor 3.00 against the demand of the employees to raise the basic pay to Rs 26,000.
The committee was to meet last week and take a call on further raising the minimum pay as recommended under the 7th Pay Commission.
However, the hike is likely to be restricted to around 17% of the Central government employees’ present salary.
The reason behind the postpone of the meeting is believed to be the yet to be finished discussions of NAC members while other believe that the Modi government is intentionally stretching the issue.
“It’s a failure of the committee as it could not reach out to a consensus. Besides, one can’t deny the role of the government in delaying the matter for political gains,” said a Bhubaneswar-based retired Indian Railways employee.
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“We were already deprived of what we deserved with the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. A further increase in the basic pay will not help the pensioners much but it will definitely help the working employees. However, nothing can be told right now as the policies of the NDA government have been unpredictable when it comes to the employees’ section,” said another retired CG employee.
“NAC meeting postponed... It was something expected from this government. We have demanded 45% hike in minimum pay but as per reports in the media, the government is considering a mere 17% hike. We are quite confident that we will never get the pay as per our demand but it’s important to see what the NAC and the government will come up with to save their face,” said a disappointed employee.
As per the latest news, the Centre has made it clear that the fitment factor will be increased to 3 times.
Reports are also there that the government has the required funds to meet the extra burden with the implementation of the revised pay. So, of course, the NAC is expected to vote in favour of what the government employees want.
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The Central government employees may not be happy with the news of the mere hike of Rs 3000 against their current pay Rs 18,000, but it’s not possible on the part of the government to hike more than that at least for now, said sources.
The government has ruled out any change in the minimum pay, Rs 18,000, under the 7th Pay Commission, reports The Sen Times citing a Finance Ministry source.
The government employees will get nothing more than what has been approved, the source said, adding, “there is no scope to change in pay”.
The Central government employees had demanded through the Joint Council of Action (NJAC) for increasing the minimum pay to Rs 26,000 from the present Rs 18,000. They had also threatened indefinite strike if the government doesn't increase the minimum pay.
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The National Anomaly Committee may consider their demand, but the government is in no mood to listen to any changes in the approved recommendations and it has already decided not to heed any demand.
The employees of the Public Sector Units had also made a similar demand and wanted the government to increase their minimum pay to Rs 26,000.
Worth mentioning that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said, prior to the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, that the salaries for central government employees need to be taken to a respectable level as compared to the ones in the private sector. This had added to the expectation of the government employees from the pay commission.
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Meanwhile, frustration among the Central government employees is building. They are not satisfied with the hike in salary and allowances and are feeling betrayed.
Being ‘upset, angry and dissatisfied’ with the government decision, the employees Federation has decided to take up the matter with the government.
The Standing Committee of National Council, on Monday, held a meeting where several issues were discussed, including the demand of increasing allowance and retaining the extant House Rent Allowances (HRA) percentage of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.
The union of the central government employees alleged that they have been cheated by the government on several grounds. They say:
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On the other hand, the All-India Defence Employees’ Federation also accused the government of cheating the Central government employees and making false propaganda promises for vested interests. It questioned why four months was wasted by the Empowered Committee if the government had already decided not to accept the recommended modifications.
The demands to increase the minimum pay to Rs 26,000, non-recommendation of five promotions in service career, non-withdrawal of the National Pension System and not increasing fitment benefit went unheeded by the government, alleged the Federation.
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The scheme can be purchased offline as well as online through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which has been given the sole privilege to operate this scheme, the finance ministry said in a statement.
PMVVY is a pension scheme announced by the government exclusively for the senior citizens aged 60 years and above which is available from May 4, 2017 to May 3, 2018.
"Scheme provides an assured return of 8 per cent per annum payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30 per annum effective) for 10 years. Pension is payable at the end of each period, during the policy term of 10 years, as per the frequency of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly as chosen by the pensioner at the time of purchase, the statement read.
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As per data furnished by Union Finance minister, Arun Jaitley in Parliament, since the launch of Jan Dhan accounts in August 26, 2017, Rs 1960 crore was deposited in Jan Dhan accounts in Odisha. However, the figure shot up to Rs 2,675 crore following demonetization.
On the other hand, as per the data by State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), there were 1.13 crore Jan Dhan accounts till September 30, 2016. In the period following demonetization, the total number of Jan Dhan accounts have gone up to 1.21 crore.
“Till now there is no data on the segregation as to how much amount of money has been deposited in which accounts. The account-wise data can be collected from the bank,” said chairman of SLBC, Anil Kumar.
Such an increase in deposits in Jan Dhan accounts is being seen by the ruling BJD in State as a failure of demonetization in unearthing and curbing black money.
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“In Odisha over Rs 700 cr has been deposited and same is the pattern in other states across the country. This clearly proves that the BJP has failed in controlling black money,” said BJD spokesperson, Sashibhusan Behera.
Countering BJD’s claim, Odisha BJP’s general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said, “It is a process of curbing black money and we have definitely succeeded. If someone has to criticize it from a political viewpoint then we have nothing to do with it.”
During his Budget speech in Lok Sabha today, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated, “200 years ago in 1817, a valiant uprising of soldiers led by Buxi Jagabandhu took place in Khordha. We will commemorate it appropriately.”
Besides, the Government of India will commemorate the centenary year of Champaran Satyagrah in Gujarat this year, the Union Finance Minister said.
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In his reaction, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The decision to celebrate the 200 years completion of Paika Mutiny is a big appreciation of the Centre for Odias,” adding that he is indebted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the decision.
Notably, nearly 400 Kandhas of Ghumusar in Ganjam marched towards Khurda protesting against the British and were joined by the Paikas, Daleis and Dalbeheras of Khurda later in March 1817. The rebels led by Khurda king Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mahapatra burnt many government buildings forcing the British officials to flee.
Notably, after attending the conclave, Jaitley had lunch with Naveen at his residence – Naveen Niwas- while the State BJP team was waiting for the Union minister to address their own party members. Moreover, prior to the lunch programme, Jaitley also praised the State government for its support on some of the major reforms undertaken by the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. Further speculations of a close relationship between the two parties, once bête noire, were fuelled after Naveen was named as one of the members of the committee formed by the Central government for a cashless economy.
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“Amit Shah came to Odisha and posed a few questions to CM Naveen. Arun Jaitley came to Odisha and gave the answers to the same. There is a secret alliance between the BJP and BJD, and the strength of the bond was visible during Jaitley’s visit,” said Opposition leader, Narsingh Mishra.
However, many believe Jaitley’s approach towards the State government and the ruling-party supremo seems to have sent baffling signals to the State BJP organization especially after the thunderous criticisms made by national president Amit Shah only a few days back.
In his response, State BJP president Basant Panda said, “Jaitley was called as a guest and he accepted the invitation courteously and visited Naveen Niwas. There is no politics in this and it will not affect Odisha BJP.”
On the other hand, BJD had refuted any political relationship with BJP. “There is no political relationship between BJP and the BJD. However, Odisha needs support of the Central government for which the Union minister came. Many union ministers have had lunch with Naveen Patnaik and it is not a one off phenomenon,” said BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy.
Addressing the ‘Make in Odisha’ Conclave in Bhubaneswar, Jaitley said “India of course has remained one of the finest islands of growth world over. Last two years we have been the fastest growing major economy of the world and I have no doubt that we would continue to do so this year also. But the challenge for India is how to look ahead as far as the country is concerned. Therefore, some changes which are now taking place will look as difficult challenges in the immediate context but their potential for the future to bring about significant changes in the country is extremely important. I do believe that two initiatives – and I would thank the Odisha CM and his colleagues for being supportive on both those initiatives – the recent currency changes, and also the proposed GST would eventually benefit the whole country and certainly a state like Odisha. If you look at the long term impact beyond one or two quarters, once these two decisions are effectively implemented, notwithstanding the painful process of implementation itself, what would really be the impact of these decisions? As far as GST is concerned, the whole country would be one big market. There would be seamless flow of goods and services across the country. This itself would now entail a system where leakages will be blocked, a far more efficient tax system of indirect taxation would come into existence and obviously over a period of time it will not only help in the growth process but also help a consuming state like Odisha. Tax evasion will increasingly become extremely difficult because some limb of the transaction from its inception till the sale – the whole process of manufacturing, the whole journey of a particular product – will be captured somewhere on the IT backbone which is being developed for this process.”
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik thanked Arun Jaitley gracing the conclave which has been organized by the State government for attracting investments. Citing that Odisha boasts of world class infrastructure, Naveen in his address, urged the industrialists to invest in the State.
“I feel extremely happy to inform you that I was a part of the inaugural ceremony of the nine new industrial infrastructure projects and industrial units over the past 15 days, including 3 projects of Aditya Birla group, Shahi Exports and the ITC Group. I congratulate the companies and welcome them to our family. Odisha which is often been identified as a mineral rich state is a land of rich and diverse achievements comprising historical monuments, archaeological sites, traditional art, sculpture, dance and music. I request all to celebrate our rich cultural heritage by participating in the Konark Dance and International Sand Art Festival which is commencing this evening. My government has already set benchmarks in every sector. Odisha which was known for natural calamities is known for setting international standards and received global recognition for its handling of natural disasters. Who would have thought 15 years back that Bhubaneswar would top the smart city chart in the country and be in the top five of the finest smart cities of the world,” said Naveen Patnaik.
Also Read: ‘Make In Odisha’ conclave kick starts; CM hopeful of big-ticket investments
The chief minister also spoke about Vision-2025 in which state is planning to attract investments worth Rs 2.5lakh crore which will create 30 lakh new employment opportunities by the year 2025. Odisha is committed to provide all necessary infrastructure support to industries and will aim to take policy initiatives and develop world class infrastructure for industrial development, said Naveen.
The three-day conclave would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would attend the event as chief guest tomorrow.
The conclave, which is aimed at creating an enabling conducive environment for industry sector and attracting more number of investors to the state, will be attended by over 100 companies.
The state government hopes that the business summit would create opportunities for investment worth around Rs 1 lakh crore. Besides mineral and metal sectors, the government would also give focus to non-mineral sector at the summit.
Sources said eight new policies would be unveiled at the conclave, where the Chief Minister would appraise the investors about the incentives of these policies. The city is all set to welcome over 1,000 delegates at the venue while noted artist Padma Shri Sudarshan Pattnaik has created a unique sand art to welcome the guests at the airport here.
In a letter to Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley today, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said out of 6238 Gram Panchayats in Odisha 4400 do not have a bank branch.
“In the context of demonetisation of Rs, 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes along with restrictions on withdrawal, my concern is to ensure that the people living in the villages do not suffer on this account. They should continue to access benefits and services such as old age pensions, wages under MGNREGA, scholarships etc being provided to them without any difficulty. Besides, bank branches should provide services relating to withdrawal of money and exchange of old currency in a hassle-free manner,” Patnaik stated.
Apart from relaxations in withdrawals for government disbursements like old age pensions, which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has facilitated, the Chief Minister requested the Union minister to instruct the Apex Bank to urgently provide mobile banking services or to set up temporary counters in unbanked GPs for which the state government will provide requisite support and infrastructure for the benefit of 1.65 crore of people of 70 percent of GPs in Odisha constituting 47 percent of the rural population of the state.
Talking to the media here this afternoon after a meeting with senior officials of the RBI and State Bank of India (SBI), Principal Secretary, Finance, Tuhinkant Pande said the state government has decided to provide old age, widow and differently abled pensions in the state tomorrow.
“I had a meeting with the senior SBI and RBI officials, currency chairs and social sercurity officials to begin logistic operations so that the people in each GP would avail the old age and other pensions,” he added.
The principal secretary further said that for disbursement of pension among 35 lakh beneficiaries, the state government has earmarked Rs 140 crore.
He said the district collectors have been asked to make all necessary arrangements to provide pension to aforesaid persons.
BJD spokesperson Sashi Bhusan Behera said the Centre should take immediate steps in providing mobile banking services to ensure that common people especially those living in remote and inaccessible areas of the state will not face any difficulties.
“It is the lookout of the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax officials to trace out the people who have invested their black money either in real estate or in the purchase of land or gold,” Pasayat told media persons here.
Stating that Centre has taken a right decision, he, however, said the common man has faced difficulties due to demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. “In fact most of the people who have no black money are now having difficulties due to the step taken by the Centre. I think steps should be taken to sort out their difficulties at the earliest possible,” he pointed out.
The former Supreme Court Justice said he and Chairman of SIT on Black Money and former Supreme Court Justice MB Shah, in their interim report to the Supreme Court had given a proposal for demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes to substantially bring down the volume of black money in the country after taking note of the seizure of these currencies from the house of corrupt people.
The SIT has also suggested the Centre to ensure that no person can have a cash of Rs 15 lakh in his/her house.
Asked whether SIT is taking steps to trace out black money stashed in foreign banks, Pasayat said “We are making efforts in this regard and the process is on. But our first priority is to weed out black money from our country,” he noted.
Notably, in a jointly written letter to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, both the former Judges of the Supreme Court had stated that while it is a step in the right direction, a few steps would need to be taken to not only ensure that people holding black money in cash are not able to convert it into white but also to ensure that after a few months, a similar situation where the unscrupulous people are again able to store their illicit income in form of cash, does not arise.
To ensure the above the two former judges of the Apex Court had also recommended the Union minister to direct the banks to report to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) or Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on deposit of large cash in any account above a particular threshold. The threshold need not be made public or it shall encourage people who deposit black money to do so below the threshold prescribed. All such deposits be analyzed in reference to known sources of income of the person and heavy penalty and prosecution should follow in case the deposit is beyond the known sources of income of the person.
Since there are possibilities that people holding black money may also use poorer people to convert their money into white by parking the money in their bank accounts, the banks should be instructed to report any deposits not commensurate with the average transactions in those accounts. Wide publicity needs to be given the in case such cases are detected action shall be taken against both, the person holding black money as well as the facilitator.
As per media reports, a large number of people are reported to have bought jewellery in cash on the day demonetization was announced. Cash deposits made by jewellers should be correlated with their sales and PAN number of the buyers of jewellery. The same should then be analyzed against known sources of income of PAN holders and action taken accordingly.
On putting a limit of cash holding and cash transaction, both the former Supreme Court Judges had also mentioned that the cleansing which is achieved through this demonetization measure is likely to be short lived in case systemic steps are not taken to ensure that people do not start hoarding black money in cash again.
Also read: Pasayat hints at black money trail in Odisha
They said the SIT in its previous reports had recommended putting a limit on cash transactions and also having an upper threshold on cash holding. They had reiterated that both these recommendations, if implemented, shall go a long way in ensuring that cash is not used as a medium of storing black money in the future.
"The recommendation relating to putting a limit on cash holding is specially important in this regard since with the introduction of Rs 2,000 notes, it shall be even more easier to store large amounts of money in cash. If no limit to cash holding is imposed, we may lose the benefits of demonetization quite soon," they had pointed out.
Patnaik put forth a series of demands before the Union Minister. He urged Jaitley to provide Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation from 2012-13 till current fiscal. Besides, he sought Rs 566 crore compensation from Centre towards cancellation of the Talabira-I Coal block in the State. He also demanded the State’s share in Clean Energy cess from the Centre.
The Chief Minister also invited the Union Minister to attend the Make in Odisha Conclave-2016 conclave, scheduled to be held at Janata Maidan in the state capital from November 30 to December 2.
Sources said Jaitley is scheduled to inaugurate the conclave that will showcase the investment opportunities in the State and invite corporate for investment. The three-day meet will be jointly organised by the State Government and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India. Various industries bodies, experts, investors from across the country and abroad will participate in the event.
The chief minister also discussed state's industrial development plan with the Union minister.
Announcing a special package for Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday night, Jaitley stated the Centre will bear the expenses of the project with effect from April 1, 2014, when it was declared as a national project.
However, he added the Andhra Pradesh will undertake the construction work of the Polavaram project.
Notably, Odisha and Chhattisgarh state governments are opposing the Polavaram project citing many areas of the states will be affected due to the multi-purpose irrigation project.
The Odisha government had filed a case in the Supreme Court alleging the Polavaram project was ‘illegal’ as public hearing in the areas going to be affected were not undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh government.
Reacting to the development Samir Dash, BJD spokesperson, said, “Jaitley’s statement is akin to attack on the emotions of people of Odisha. When the matter is subjudice at the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sent a notice to the Centre regarding this, the announcement of the Union Finance minister is unfortunate at this juncture is unfortunate.”
Defending the Centre’s decision Sajjan Sharma, BJP spokesperson, said, “The Centre has not given made any new announcement. As per the decision taken during the UPA regime at the Centre on creation Telengana, Andhra Pradesh was promised to get special status and the Polavaram project is part of the arrangement.”
Attacking on the Odisha government for its stand on the project, Sharma added, “The State government should make clear what kind of loss it would suffer and tell the same to the people of Odisha as well as the centre.”
Replying to a query during question hour, Finance minister Arun Jaitlety said that the national project will get the required financial assistance for construction work from the Centre through funding by Nabard.
Before Jaitley could finish his speech, the BJD MPs created uproar in the house and didn’t allow the former to continue his statement on the matter.
Pointing out that Union Water Resources minister had agreed to a tripartite discussion among governments of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and the Centre two months ago, they wondered how the government unilaterally decided to fund the project.
The Union government must back off from the move, the parliamentarians demanded.
"We met the Finance Minister and requested him to convene a high level meeting among officials of Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to solve the issues pertaining to the project. Jailtley has agreed to this," BJD MP AU Singhdeo said.
"It is very unfortunate that before all the issues of concerned states are resolved, the Centre has given go ahead to the project. This must be objected by all cutting across party lines," Congress MP Ranjib Biswal stated.
In December last year, the Centre had said it had released funds to the tune of Rs 345 crore to Andhra Pradesh government for the construction of the project.
“It has been reported overall progress of project is about 34 per cent up by the end of September 2015 with an expenditure of Rs. 7566.58 crore. It has been reported by the State Government that the project is likely to be completed by March 2018,” Union Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat had said.
Narasingha Mishra, Leader of Opposition, said, “As understood from the budget speech of Jaitley, the Union Budget for 2016-17 is like a proverbial ‘empty vessel sounds much’. Though they have proposed to hike surcharge on rich people, actually this budget will benefit private investors, corporate houses and capitalist.”
Expressing similar views, Prasad Harichandan, OPCC president: The budget is completely disappointment. In the budget, keeping the farmers, rural people and poor sections as the shield, a system has been put in place to benefit companies.”
Meanwhile, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union minister, said “This budget will give a boost to rural economy and agriculture sector. Therefore, Odisha will be benefitted the most.”
Echoing the same, Basant Panda, BJP State chief, said, “The Budget is aimed at inclusive development and focuses on youth, women, labour, and middle classes of the country. It has addressed well to development in education, job social security, health and infrastructure sectors.”
“We believe and hope that in the ensuing budget more allocation will be made for the farming sector and farmers. Besides, development of rural areas in the country should be given more focus in the budget,” BJD Parliamentary Party Leader Bhartruhari Mahatab told OTV today.
Expressing similar views, BJD MP from Kendrapara, Baijayant Panda stated, “Though the growth rate of the country’s GDP has increased, we have found that the distress still continues in the agriculture sector. Rural expenditure and earnings have also declined. Besides, joblessness in the country is also high. To set all these things right, efforts should be made to ensure that the money will be spent in a balanced way so that fiscal deficit does not go up.”
Begging to differ, Prasad Harichandan, OPCC president, said, “We expect the country’s financial condition will be brought on track in the Union Budget as during Narendra Modi’s regime the financial condition has gone haywire.”
On the other hand, Finance minister Pradip Amat said, “The Union Budget is expected to allocate funds for five under-construction medical colleges in the State. Besides, Central Sales tax (CST) compensation of more than Rs 2,500 crore regarding which we have been demanding is hoped to be addressed.”
Looking at the drought in the country, Jaitley is expected to focus on small irrigation projects, crop insurance and infrastructural development of rural areas in the Union Budget. Similarly, to give a boost to industry, the corporate tax is expected to be brought down.
For common man, the Union Finance Minister is likely to propose in the Budget to increase income tax slab so that people will save more.
To increase revenue of the country, the Budget is likely to propose for an increase in the Service Tax.
In a series of tweets, Jaitley, who is undergoing medical treatment in US said, "The UPA skeletons are tumbling out by the day. Why did all defence purchases need middlemen?"
"No one who cheats India can hide anywhere in the world and escape. India's diplomatic strength and more civilized international procedures will get better of him.
"If the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is honest, if he imposes a culture of honesty in governance, no person who cheats India will escape," he said.
Jaitley's remarks came in the backdrop of the extradition of Saxena and Talwar from the UAE early on Thursday morning.
The extradition comes as a major boost to the Indian agencies investigating corruption angles in two separate cases involving the two.
Talwar is accused of brokering aviation sector deals, getting government approval for foreign companies, securing favours for clients and having ties with UPA functionaries. Saxena is wanted in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper money laundering case.
A Delhi court has sent Saxena and Talwar to four-day and seven-day ED custody respectively.
"CBI has received the ultimate certificate from the one who has the best ringside seat, the Finance Minister (on leave): 'Adventurism and megalomania have overtaken investigators," he said in a series of tweets referring to the remarks of Jaitley, who was critical of the CBI planning to question eminent bankers like K.V. Kamath in the Chanda Kochhar case of cheating and fraud in the ICICI-Videocon loan case.
Jaitley had blasted the Central Bureau of Investigation for naming the "who's who of the banking industry" without concentrating on the "bull's eye" in the case.
"Glad that the Finance Minister's conscience and legal acumen have finally stirred to condemn the indiscriminate targeting of eminent bankers (in cases where the allegations are about thousands of crores of rupees)," Chidambaram said.
"They were in slumber when there was indiscriminate targeting of distinguished IAS officers (in cases where the allegations are about small sums of money)," the former Finance Minister said in an apparent reference to his own Aircel Maxis case in which a number of IAS officers have been named in the chargesheet.
"What cause are we serving or actually hurting? asks the Finance Minister. He knows the answer. The cause of justice," the Congress leader said taking a jibe at Jaitley.
"There is a fundamental difference between investigative adventurism and professional investigation," Jaitley had written in a Facebook blog post blaming the CBI for casting the net too wide, a day after the agency filed an FIR against Kochhar and others in the ICICI case.
Jaitley, who is now minister without portfolio, had said while adventurism leads to media leaks, ruins reputations and eventually invites strictures and not convictions, professional investigation targets the real accused on the basis of actual and admissible evidence and rules out fanciful presumptions.
"One of the reasons why our conviction rates are poor is that adventurism and megalomania overtake our investigators and professionalism takes the back seat," Jaitley wrote.
On Thursday, the CBI lodged an FIR against former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and industrialist V.N. Dhoot in a Rs 3,250-crore loan involving the Videocon Group and the ICICI Bank.
Goyal will hold the portfolios of Finance and Corporate Affairs on a temporary basis till the resumption of duties by Jaitley, who has now been made a Minister without portfolio, a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said.
Jaitley (66) had a kidney transplant in May last year and then too Goyal was put in charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs.
"The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, hereby directed that during the period of indisposition of Arun Jaitley, the portfolios of Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs held by him, be temporarily assigned to Piyush Goyal, in addition to his existing portfolios.
"Further, as advised by the Prime Minister, Arun Jaitley be designated as Minister without portfolio during the period of his indisposition or till such time he is able to resume his work as Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs," the communique said.
Jaitley had left for the US on Sunday for what was believed to be a medical check-up relating to his kidney ailment. However, sources said he was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, and decided to go for treatment in New York.
There was no word on when he was likely to return, but some sources said he was expected back on January 19, but others said it could be later.
Jaitley, 66, had undergone a renal transplant surgery on May 14 last year. Officials have been tight-lipped about the trip which has come at a time when the Finance Ministry is busy with the preparations of the vote-on-account budget to be presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1 -- his sixth and the last by the BJP-led NDA government in its current term.
By convention, an interim budget normally does not contain fresh proposals, especially relating to taxation measures. But the coming vote-on-account budget may spring some surprises like increase in the exemption threshold for income tax assessees and some measures to address agrarian unrest.
Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS last year in early April following which he underwent dialysis. He had a renal transplant surgery on May 14, 2018. In his absence, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal was given the additional charge of Finance Ministry on May 14.
Jaitley stopped attending office at the beginning of April and was back in North Block - the seat of Finance Ministry - on August 23.
Earlier, in September 2014, he underwent a bariatric surgery on account of severe diabetics.
Speaking on the party's political resolution on the last day of the two-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Convention here, he asked party workers to aggressively push the basic principles of the BJP's ideology and foil the opposition's attempts to create a "false narrative" through facts about the Modi government's performance.
Calling the idea of grand alliance a "coalition of rivals", he said it was a tested and failed idea with a shelf life of only a few months and that an aspirational society like India would never accept such a "scary alliance" which is characterised by policies being paralysed and a clash of ambitions of individual leaders.
"They say they can't compete with the BJP on leadership, performance or ideology, so they say they will try to fight us through alliances," he said.
He said if people accept Modi as their Prime Minister, then all the arithmetic of the alliance will fail and the chemistry at the ground level will bring Modi back as the Prime Minister.
"Last time we got 282 seats, we will cross even that mark this time," he said.
Jaitley said the next five months were purely election months and in every speech and every representation -- be it on newspapers or social media -- party workers should be focused on how can they help BJP win the election and how to make Modi the Prime Minister again.
"We have to control the narrative of the elections. We will set the agenda of the Lok Sabha polls. I urge to you proceed aggressively in that direction as there is not even a single mistake (of the government) which may force you to back down," he said.
The Finance Minister said the biggest agenda for the upcoming polls was the question of who will get the reigns of the country.
"If each worker decides that the election would be fought on issue of leadership, no force in the world can defeat us," he said adding that there was no leader among the opposition parties who could match Modi in stature and that was why they were trying to divert attention from this issue.
He said another important issue for the upcoming elections was the performance of the Modi government, adding it had actually benefited poor through a series of measures unlike the earlier governments that only gave slogans.
Accusing the opposition parties of changing the narrative by lying, he said they were using that tactic whether it came to Rafale or the alleged waiver of loans to some industrialists.
He claimed that the Prime Minister actually saved hundreds of crores of rupees by getting a 20 per cent cheaper Rafale deal and the opposition parties were not convinced even after the Supreme Court gave its last word on the issue.
On the alleged waiver of loans worth Rs 2.5 crore of some industrialists, he said the government was actually bringing back money that the earlier UPA government had lost.
"Lies cannot sustain a narrative. We will create the narrative by our performance and the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. I urge you all to aggressively bring to the people issues related to the basic principles of our ideology," he said.
Intervening in the debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill for upper caste quota in the Lok Sabha, he also dismissed criticism that the proposed quota would violate the basic structure of the Constitution and referred to inclusion of the word "secular" in the Constitution during the emergency.
Similarly, times have changed and there have been several developments in social and economic spheres since the making of the Constitution, he said.
"To say that SEBC is part of the basic structure and not this...what objections will there be if 10 per cent can be reserved for poor among the upper caste," he said adding that the Constitution makers thought of affirmative actions for SCs and STs and under privileged sections because of long period of discrimination against them.
"Today the time has come for (the quota of the upper caste) if we take the manifesto of all the parties which have pledged for affirmative action for the economically weaker sections. This bill ensures sabka saath, sabka vikas. It is a move for equality and will enable social upliftment," Jaitley said.
Referring to the Supreme Court judgement in the Indira Sawhney case, the Finance Minister, himself an eminent lawyer, said the apex court struck down the government notification issued during the regime of P. V. Narasimha Rao, because quota for economically weaker sections among the upper caste was not provided in the Constitution.
"Hence our decision to amend the Constitution to provide for such a reservation. There has been a talk that the 10 per cent reservation will breach the 50 per cent sealing set by the Supreme Court. The 50 per cent sealing is for Article 16 (4) relating to backwardness reservation. The rule of 50 per cent is only for reservations to backward classes made under Article 16 (4)," he said buttressing his argument that the proposed quota will not violate the Constitution.
He read out the promise of the Congress manifesto in 2014 which had said that the Congress is committed to finding a way forward for reservations for the economically weaker sections of all communities without disturbing the existing reservation for under privileged communities.
He told Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge that if his party is supporting the Bill then it should do so generously, not grudgingly.
As CPI-M member Md. Salim got up to say something, Jaitley shot back, saying that only here Communists were opposing what was being done for the weaker sections.
"Is our commitment limited only to manifestos. I appeal to the parties please support what you have written in the manifesto," he said concluding his speech.
Talking to reporters, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the court apparently has strengthened the immunity given to the CBI Director in the larger interest of fair and impartial functioning of the CBI. At the same time, the court has devised and accountability mechanism which is in accordance with the norms of fair play, he said.
"And, therefore, in accordance with the directions of the court... obviously they will be complied with and the government will act in the same manner," he said.
Jaitley, himself an eminent lawyer, said the government had taken the decision to send Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave in accordance with the recommendations of the CVC in the larger interest of fair and impartial investigation and larger credibility of the investigating agency.
The Minister said the action was taken "perfectly bona fide" because there were allegations and counter allegations made by both the officers.
"And in accordance with the recommendation of the CVC, the government had felt that in the larger interest of fair and impartial investigation and larger credibility of the CBI as an institution the two officers must recuse themselves with the CVC formulation in the form of asking them to go on leave," he said.
The Minister said that in the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, which deals with the functioning of the CBI, there are two separate provisions.
"One provision is, of course, very clear that in the matter related to the appointment, removal or transfer of the CBI Director, it can only be done by a special committee comprising Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition. There is another provision that in cases of corruption, the power of the superintendence over CBI is to be exercised by the CVC.
"The CVC has exercised that power by making that recommendation under that power of superintendence," Jaitley said, adding that he has not read the judgement of the Supreme Court.
"The government has been directed to convene a meeting," Jaitley said.
Asked whether the court verdict was a setback for the government, he replied, "I don't go by the words that it is a setback. It's an ongoing subject, it has not ended today. It is a legal matter and the legal matters should go till the end so that who is right or wrong is proved.
"And the government has said earlier that this was not a person-specific stand and that it wanted the institution's impartiality and credibility to be maintained. And when the two senior officials were making allegations and counter allegations against each other, the government with full honesty accepted the recommendation of the CVC, which today the Supreme Court judgement has reinterpreted."
Asked about the government stand on the issue, he said the government had no stand.
"The CVC is itself an independent organisation the CVC has come to a particular finding and that finding is already before the Supreme Court," he said, adding there is a judgement of the Supreme Court and wanted to know why the media should speculate.
Modi was speaking to BJP workers from Anantapuramu, Kadapa, Kurnool, Narsaraopet and Tirupati Lok Sabha constituencies via video-conference.
"Nirmala Sitharaman and Arun Jaitley had placed all facts related to the country's security in Parliament. They replied to each and every word of lies with facts and figures. After many years, Parliament witnessed such a detailed response of the government," he said, referring to last week's debate on Rafale fighter aircraft deal in Lok Sabha.
The BJP and the Congress have been engaged in a bitter duel on the purchase of the Rafale fighter aircraft from France, with the latter alleging inflated prices and kickbacks and the former defending it as one conforming to rules.
Tearing into the opposition parties, Modi said there were only two political teams in the country presently, the NDA led by the BJP and the other a "jamghat" (motley group) of dynasts.
While the BJP's mantra was "na khaunga, na khane doonga", the mantra of others (opposition) was loot in the name of every scheme, he said.
"We are the ones who protect each and every paisa of the country's money," Modi said.
Noting there was "something special" about his party, Modi warned other parties against "underestimating the power" of BJP karyakartas (functionaries).
"In some parties, what matters is one's family. In others, what matters is one's fortune. In some, both family and fortune matter. In BJP, what matters is the passion to work for the future of Bharat Mata, for the future of its 1.3 billion people," he told workers.
"We are not connected with the reason of furthering a dynasty nor are we drawn by the temptation to make money. In BJP, our karyakartas are our family and they are our fortune. And they work for Indias fortune," he said.
Responding to complaints made by BJP leaders of threats being issued by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to BJP workers, Modi said it was a "direct outcome" of "nervousness and insecurity" (of the TDP chief).
"Nowadays in the country, those who are unable to get into the people's hearts, and whom the people are not ready to accept, are adopting a violent path. Everyday, our workers are getting killed in Kerala. But still, our workers are not deterred. In AP too, there are atrocities against BJP workers," Modi pointed out.
In an apparent reference to the AP CM, Modi said, "When does a person lose his cool and become nervous? When does a person start threatening? Do you threaten someone or get angry at a political opponent if he does not matter at all?
"The threat is a direct outcome of the nervousness and insecurity. The threat means, despite such huge machinery, those in power in AP are now afraid. The threat means the BJP workers are succeeding," the PM observed.
"Remind those in AP, who underestimate the BJP, about Tripura. From zero (representation), we formed a government. The violence of the Communists (there) did not stop. Tell those in AP that the people have woken up. They have seen casteism, corruption, dynasty rule, muscle power and opportunism of the parties here," he exhorted the workers.
Stating that the people of AP were looking for a change, Modi said his party had what it took to create a prosperous and progressive AP.
"They (TDP government) are not able to complete development works and that's why their defeat is certain. The ruling TDP's poor governance record is totally exposed," he added.
Responding to some party leaders complaining about a biased media, Modi said, "In India, everyone complains about the media. There are people whose lies appear everyday on the front page and prime time. Still these people complain about the media. And, if someone is not getting coverage, they also naturally complain about the media."
"Don't think people do not appreciate the truth, whatever be the propaganda of others. Explain the facts to the people. Don't waste energy on those who spread falsehood because they have no other way than telling lies," Modi told the party workers.
Noting that 2019 has begun on a positive note, PM Modi said he had seen a surge of efforts from people from all walks of life over the last few days to achieve one aim -- help BJP win maximum seats in the Lok Sabha election scheduled this year.
"The same spirit that we showed in the run-up to the 2014 election is being seen across India. These blessings, this support makes our resolve even stronger to ensure our party wins as many seats and we continue to work for India," he added.
Two days after the Lok Sabha passed a bill to amend three laws to provide legal support to the government's decision to allow voluntary linkage of Aadhaar with mobile phone numbers and bank accounts, Jaitley in his latest blogpost said the Aadhaar under the erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was "inadequate" because of its contradictions and indecision.
"The government estimates that Rs 90,000 crore have been saved in the last few years till March 2018 by the use of Aadhaar. Several duplicate beneficiaries, non-existent beneficiaries and fake beneficiaries have been eliminated.
"The Digital Dividend Report prepared by the World Bank estimates that India can save Rs 77,000 crore every year by the use of Aadhaar. The savings through Aadhaar can fund three schemes the size of Ayushman Bharat," said Jaitley.
He said the Aadhaar under the UPA being non-statutory, posed a serious legal challenge.
"The UPA itself was a divided house. While Nandan Nilekani pushed hard, a senior minister blocked it. The Prime Minister was indecisive. The enrolment continued, though at a very moderate pace.
"The UPA legislation was inadequate. It provided for the methodology by which the UID would be issued. It did not contain adequate safeguards on privacy. It did not mention for which purpose the UID would be used," he said.
Listing out the benefits of Aadhaar, Jaitley said that in the last 28 months, over 122 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued, covering 99 per cent of the country's adult population.
Pointing out that 2,579 crore authentications have been undertaken till date, Jaitley said: "Everyday, 2.7 crore authentications are done. UIDAI has the capacity of 10 crore transactions to be authenticated per day," he said.
"Many state support schemes, including some by the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism have been linked to Aadhaar. 22.80 crore of PAHAL and Ujjwala beneficiaries are given cooking gas subsidies through DBT in their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
This apart, "58.24 crore ration card holders stand linked. 10.33 crore MGNREGA card holders get wage payment through DBT in their bank accounts. So do the 1.93 crore beneficiaries and other beneficiaries of the national social assistance programme. The Income Tax Department has already linked 21 crore PAN card holders with their Aadhaar numbers," Jaitley said.
"In most schemes the DBT takes place to the beneficiaries' 63.52 crore bank accounts that had been linked with the unique identity as on December 15, 2018. The total number of subsidy transactions through Aadhaar are almost about 425 crore. The total amount of subsidy transferred through Aadhaar now equals Rs 169,868 crore.
"With the elimination of middlemen, the benefits go directly to the bank accounts. This is a unique technology implemented only in India. The monies saved through Aadhaar is money fruitfully employed for the poor elsewhere," he added.
"The Grandson of the 'Emergency dictator' displays his real DNA - attacks and intimidates an independent Editor," Jaitley tweet, apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi and his grandmother late Indira Gandhi who imposed Emergency rule in the country.
"Why are the pseudo liberals silent? Waiting for the Editors Guild's response," Jaitley said in another tweet.
On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi described Modi's interview to a news agency as "staged" and said that it was conducted by a pliable journalist.
Smita Prakash, the news editor, who interviewed Modi, described the Congress leader's remarks as a "cheap shot" saying she was asking questions and not answering.
"Dear Rahul Gandhi, cheap shot at your press conference to attack me. I was asking questions, not answering. You want to attack Modi, go ahead but downright absurd to ridicule me. Not expected of a President of the oldest political party in the country," she tweeted.
Intervening in a debate on the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal in the Lok Sabha, he said it was a tragedy that the nation's "grand old party is today headed by a gentleman who doesn't even understand what a combat aircraft is".
Jaitley said the Congress and Gandhi were resorting to the simple argument of "Rs 500 (crore) versus Rs 1,600 (crore)" -- an apparent reference to the difference in the price of aircraft in contracts signed by the UPA government and the current government.
"There is a reason for that. Some people and families in India only understand the arithmetic of money... They don't understand national security but only 'paisa'," he said.
Without naming the Gandhi family, he asked why was it that one family's name came up in the Bofor's case, the National Herald case and the AugustaWestland case.
"Had it been one case, I would have given them the benefit of doubt. But three is a bit too much."
Referring to a dialogue in the famous James Bond movies, the Finance Minister said: "If it happens once, it's happenstance; if it happens twice, it's a coincidence; but if it happens thrice, then it's a conspiracy.
"And today conspirators who have played with India's national security have the audacity to raise questions on a defence deal."
Dismissing Rahul Gandhi's allegations of irregularities in the Rafale deal, Jaitley said he "took unprecedented liberties with truth" while making those charges.
"Some people have a natural dislike for truth. From first to last -- every word spoken (by Gandhi) in the last few months has been utterly false.
"It is a big tragedy for the country's most grand old party which was once led by remarkable leaders that it is today being led by a gentleman who doesn't even have the basic understanding of what a combat aircraft is."
The supplementary demand was tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on December 20 seeking Parliament's approval for additional expenditure of Rs 85,948.86 crore.
Responding to a debate over it, Jaitley said the Modi government had enabled connecting villages by building roads and ensured that there wasn't any villages left where there is no electricity.
"Through 'Ayushman Bharat' lakhs of people have availed free healthcare in villages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also helped the poor providing them with cooking gas at cheaper rates," he said amid slogan shouting by opposition members including the Congress, AIADMK and the TDP over different issues besides the Rafale fighter jet deal.
He also said the principal Opposition party, which has been raising concerns over institutional independence, needs "serious introspection".
"This is an irrefutable evidence of what the Congress did to our investigative agencies. Those who have recently shown a belated concern for institutional independence should seriously introspect as to what they did to the CBI when they were in power," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
He was referring to the judgement delivered by special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh-Tulsiram Prajapati and Kausar Bi's alleged encounter killings case.
The court acquitted all the 22 accused saying "witnesses and proofs provided were not satisfactory".
The court also said it was targeted "to act upon a script" and "anyhow implicate political leaders".
Jaitley slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his veiled dig at the Narendra Modi-led Central government over judicial verdicts in the case, saying "no one killed...they just died".
"The Congress President on the day of the judgement raised the issue 'that nobody killed Sohrabudin'. It would have been more appropriate if he had asked the right question, namely who killed Sohrabudin case investigation, he would have got the right answer," he said.
He said the Special CBI Judge, Mumbai, who deals with CBI cases has acquitted all the accused in the Sohrabudin case.
"More relevant than the order of the acquittal is the observation of the judge that in the investigation, from the very beginning, the investigating agency did not investigate the case professionally in order to find out the truth but to divert it towards certain political persons," he said.
The senior BJP leader also shared a letter written to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 27, 2013 as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha about the alleged politicisation of the investigation in the Sohrabudin, Tulsi Prajapati, Ishrat Jahan, Rajinder Rathore and Haren Pandya cases.
"Every word of what I have said in the letter, over the next five years, have proven to be true," he said.
Special CBI Judge S.J. Sharma in a strong indictment of the CBI had said that the entire investigation was targeted to act upon a script to achieve the said goal and in the process of its zeal to anyhow implicate political leaders.
"It clearly appears that the CBI was more concerned in establishing a particular preconceived and premeditated theory, rather than finding out the truth," said Special Judge Sharma.
Messias, whose organisation, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, is one of the oldest travel and industry collectives in the state, said that if concerns of the tourism industry are not addressed soon, it may meet the fate of the state's mining industry, which has been virtually defunct for six years due to excessive exploitation of natural resources and poor management.
"This season has not been up to the expectations at all. Hotel bookings are around 50 per cent, whereas some years ago, it used to be nearly fully booked during the Christmas and New Year period," Messias told IANS.
Goa is one of the top beach and nightlife tourism destinations in the country, attracting more than seven million tourists in recent years. The barometer of a good tourism season has invariably been the Christmas-New Year festive week, when a bulk of the tourists make a beeline to Goa.
But this year and, to some extent the season of 2017-18, has been a dampener to the tourism and travel industry in state. While the Tourism Department has claimed, that it was unable to provide official statistics of tourist arrivals up to December this year, travel industry experts claim that arrival of foreign tourists, especially those from the UK and Russia, who form bulk of the numbers, have dropped to 30 per cent from 50 per cent.
"This can be seen from the drop in the number of charter flights. Goa saw nearly 7,000 tourists from the UK last year until November, while in the corresponding period this year, the number is only 4,000-odd," a travel industry official said, requesting anonymity.
Similar is the case with Russia, whose outbound tourists are rushing to other winter tourism markets such as Egypt and Turkey, which were slack over the last few years due to volatile socio-political conditions in the respective countries.
But Messias claims that it is not geo-politics, which has led to a desertion of Goa as a favoured destination among international tourists. The reasons are more native, he says.
"We have failed in our marketing strategies. We need to take a re-look at marketing of Goa. We have been participating in travel marts overseas, but it has not been effective. Marketing is not done by professionals, but by politicians," Messias says.
He also listed a range of factors which have cast a gloom on the festive spirit of Goa.
"There are infrastructure problems in Goa, because of development work being carried out in the peak season," Messias says, even as the state's key arterial roads have seen traffic jams due to construction of bridges, highway expansion and poor road maintenance.
Airline fares to and from Goa and local hotel costs also shoot up during peak period, which deter domestic tourists from travelling to Goa, when a package to destinations such as Sri Lanka and Thailand are cheaper, he said.
One of the biggest problems, Messias said, has been the impact of Goods and Services Tax on the trade.
"The high rate of GST has added to the problem. Hotel rooms with a tariff above Rs 7,000 fall in the 28 per cent GST bracket. So the price really escalates," Messias said, adding that hotel industry stakeholders were lobbying with Union Minister Arun Jaitley for a relief.
Messias also said, that there needs to be a comprehensive study of the state's carrying capacity vis-a-vis tourists, if the industry does not wish to go the way of more haphazardly managed sectors such as mining, real estate and taxi operations.
"Right now the hotel industry has become like real estate, mining, taxi, industries. There is too much exploitation. We need to sit across the table and work on the tourism master plan and other factors before the tourism industry faces the same fate as the mining industry," Messias said.
There was no response from the Tourism Ministry despite repeated requests for a comment.
"Most hospitals internationally have some of the largest endowments. The social sector in India gets funded more on a community basis, except for this new beginning that we started in the last four years when we started the corporate social responsibility," Jaitley added while speaking an event in AIIMS here.
Under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to shell out at least 2 per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
The Finance Minister also noted that charities in India are still largely depended on social endowments while in developed countries hospitals receive large endowments due to factors like inheritance tax.
"Most hospitals internationally have some of the largest endowments which come to the educational institutions from their alumni. Once they are successful in life, they keep supporting the institutions with those endowments. Some IITs have started that experiment now in India. But still it's not very largely prevalent," he added.
He said the country should eventually have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure which would have only slabs of zero and five per cent and a standard rate, with luxury and "sin goods" as an exception.
"A future roadmap could well be to work towards a single standard rate instead of two standard rates of 12 per cent and 18 per cent. It could be a rate at some mid-point between the two. Obviously, this will take some reasonable time when the tax will rise significantly," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Regarding the highest tax slab of 28 per cent, the Minister said with the GST transformation completed, India was close to completing the first set of rate of rationalisation by phasing out the highest slab except in luxury and sin goods.
"The sun is setting on the 28 per cent slab... Today, barring tobacco products and some luxury goods, almost all items had been transferred from 28 per cent slab to 18 and 12 per cent.
"Only cement and auto parts are items of common use which remain in 28 per cent slab. Our next priority will be to transfer cement into a lower slab. All other building materials have already been transferred to 18 and 12 per cent... The 28 per cent slab is now a dying slab," he said.
Attacking the Congress and other opposition parties, Jaitley said their criticism of the GST was "ill-informed" and "motivated".
He said during the pre-GST regime, a large number of commodities were taxed heavily and that the Congress legacy was a 31 per cent indirect tax.
"Those who oppressed India with a 31 per cent indirect tax and consistently belittled the GST must seriously introspect. Irresponsible politics and irresponsible economics is only a race to the bottom," he added.
Jaitley said the political noise outside the GST Council was inconsistent with the harmony inside as at its 31 meetings, the body has "behaved with utmost responsibility" taking several thousand decisions unanimously and with consensus.
Referring to the government falling short of the collection targets, the Minister said the targets set in the GST regime were unprecedentedly high, with a 14 per cent increase over 2015-16 tax collections guaranteed.
"Thus, even when 18 months have not been finished since the launch of GST, on this day every state has a target of improving its revenue with three 14 per cent increases compounded annually over the base year of 2015-16. This is close to a 50 per cent being reached in the second year itself," he said.
"It is almost an unachievable target. Yet six states have already achieved it, another seven are within a striking distance of achieving it and only 18 are still more than 10 per cent away from achieving it."
Jaitley said that those states which do not achieve the target of 14 per cent are paid out of the compensation cess.
"The requirement of compensation cess in the second year is expected to be much lower than the first year," he said, adding the average monthly tax collected in the first year was Rs 89,700 crore as compared to Rs 97,100 crore per month in the second year.
"This increase in the tax collection has to be factored keeping in mind the significant rate reduction which has taken place in the GST" which amounts to about Rs 80,000 crore per year, he said.
"The Council has approved the proposal to form a seven-member GoM to study the revenue trend, including analysing reasons for structural patterns affecting revenue collection in some of the states," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said after the meeting.
The study would include the underlying reasons for deviation from revenue collection targets vis-a-vis original assumptions discussed during the design of the GST system, its implementation and related structural issues, he said.
"There is improvement in many states, but we are behind target because we have a very stiff target. From the base year 2015-16, three increases of 14 per cent compounded annually, this year's target would be nearly 50 per cent above the base year. Falling short of target by 5 to 10 per cent is due the stiff target," he said.
However, Jaitley said the shortfall in GST collection would be made up by higher direct taxes and non-tax revenue, which are moving ahead of the schedule, and that the government is confident of meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent.
He said the GST collection in consuming states of North East, along with manufacturing and consuming states like Maharashtra and West Bengal showed significant improvement. Even Bihar that had a higher VAT percentage introduced in base year 2015-16 due to imposition of prohibition showed significant improvement.
"Even the lagging states showed improvement in the second year compared to first year of GST launch. Some states did not have improvement and it was decided to study those," the minister said.
Lagging states Bihar and Meghalaya improved their collection by 18 per cent, J&K by 11 per cent, Jharkhand 10 per cent, Rajasthan 8 per cent, Odisha 6 per cent and Chhattisgarh 5 per cent. Deficits fell from 26 to 17 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and 30 to 19 per cent in Tripura.
States that did exceedingly well are Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Assam. They either turned positive or are within 1-6 per cent of their target.
States that could not improve their GST collections compared to last year are Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Kerala and Gujarat maintained status quo.
"Overall, there is increment. The first year average was about Rs 89,000 crore a month, the second year average is around Rs 96,000 crore to Rs 97,000 crore. We would have been happier had the increase been higher but we have to factor in the fact that for hundreds of commodities the GST regime has brought the rates down. GST has not raised a single rate."
Jaitley said pan-India the revenue would have been higher on higher manufacturing revenues but the shortfall in services largely due to excessive competition in two sectors of telecom and airlines that the GST collection was adversely impacted.
While he said the GST Council cannot do anything about the two sectors but plans to take up the other two reasons that led to a lower collection in January meeting. These are taxation of residential property and extension of composition scheme to small service providers.
As for the GOM to analyse the collection shortfall among states, he said it would be assisted by a committee of experts from the Central and state governments and the National Institute of Public Finance and Planning (NIPFP).
The GoM in turn would give its recommendation to the GST Council. The members of the GoM and the committee of experts would be announced in due course of time.
"Given the future potential of the Indian economy and the fair process followed under the Code, it is a great opportunity for investors who are seriously thinking about investing in India," he said through a video conference at an event in New York.
Jaitley said India's economy is growing faster than some of its contemporaries amongst the emerging economies and it is likely to maintain this high growth rate of at least 7-8 per cent over the next decade, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
He was addressing fund houses and law firms at a conference on "Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code - A New Paradigm for Stressed Assets", hosted by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and the Consulate General of India, New York, USA on Wednesday.
"There can't be a better opportunity than the present one which is being offered through the Code. This is the right time and right place to be in India for these kinds of investments," he said noting the number of stressed assets available for takeover is extremely large.
Prior to the IBC, he said the scattered regime had impacted the domestic private investment with over capacities in certain sectors coupled with "unacceptably high" levels of non-performing assets in the banking system, hindering growth.
Jaitley said the government not only enacted the Code expeditiously but is also implementing it at an unprecedented pace. Despite the initial teething troubles, which the government is addressing, the outcome has been better than anticipated.
"The only downside has been that in some of the cases because of appeals and counter-appeals and litigations, the process has got somewhat delayed. But then the Supreme Court has stood up to the occasion," he said.
The participants were keen to understand the process certainty, time certainty and outcome certainty.
"We are running the Ayushman Bharat scheme while the states also have their own schemes. The Centre and the states need to merge the health schemes so that the merged resources start benefiting the patient", Jaitley said at the 15th Health Summit by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
"If we have a federal institution, its essentially a welfare issue. Every state stands to benefit if a federal institution comes up. If it can be done for the GST then doing it for the healthcare sector should be of least resistance", he said.
The Finance Minister added that the Centre has increased revenue for the healthcare sector every year but the challenge remains proper implementation of funds.
"Central revenues have increased. We have funds, but the challenge is implementing. Even though health predominantly was in the domain of the state governments, it was never a top priority in many states. Build at least three healthcare institutes in every district and let the states handle it," he said.
Jaitley noted that the opening up of the domestic market post 1991 has improved the condition of healthcare, especially in the sector of insurance. The government has also taken important steps in that direction, like opening up of the insurance sector to foreign direct investment.
"Today when we look back, public and private partnership growth has been satisfactory but needs to be faster, considering the population we have. Healthcare and insurance run simultaneously. Central government employees have their schemes so do the state ones. The others went to healthcare schemes which are also picking up," he said.
The decision was taken in a High Level Committee (HLC) meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here.
"The HLC approved the additional assistance from National Disaster Response Fund," said the statement.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and senior officials of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance and Agriculture and NITI Aayog were present at the meeting.