The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on July 31 approved bill to regulate chit funds industry, approved increasing the strength of Supreme Court judges from 31 to 34 and raised subsidy for non-urea fertilisers, among its other decisions.
Approves bill to regulate chit funds industry
The Cabinet on July 31 approved a bill that seeks to reduce the compliance burden of the registered chit funds industry and protect the interest of subscribers, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said in New Delhi.
The Cabinet gave approval for the introduction of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in Parliament, the Information and Broadcasting Minister told reporters after the meeting.
He said the bill is aimed at fulfilling the objectives of reducing the regulatory or compliance burden of the registered chit funds industry as well as protecting the interest of subscribers.
The government had earlier in 2018 introduced a bill to regulate the chit fund industry but it lapsed, the minister said.
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2018 and later referred to a standing committee on finance for scrutiny.
The parliamentary panel had suggested the government to incorporate element of insurance coverage for subscribers, among others.
It also noted that mobilising short-term funds to meet various personal needs has been a chronic problem faced by the general public in developing countries like India.
Approves increasing strength of SC judges from 31 to 34
Against the backdrop of rising cases in the Supreme Court, the Union Cabinet on July 31 approved increasing the number of judges in the top court from the present 30 to 33, excluding the chief justice of India, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
At present, the sanctioned strength of the apex court is 30, excluding the CJI.
Once the bill to increase the number of judges gets parliamentary nod, the number of judges would go up to 33, excluding the CJI. The strength will be 34, including the CJI, the Minister told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
At present, the Supreme Court is working with its full sanctioned strength of 31, including the CJI.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 was last amended in 2009 to increase the judges’ strength from 25 to 30 (excluding the CJI).
The decision of the Cabinet came days after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the number of judges in the top court.
Raises subsidy for non-urea fertilisers, to cost ₹22,875 cr in FY20
The government on Wednesday hiked the subsidy on non-urea fertilisers to make available farm nutrients at affordable prices to farmers, a move that would cost the exchequer ₹22,875.50 crore in this fiscal.
A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The CCEA approves NBS rates for Phosphatic and Potassic [P&K] fertilisers for the year 2019-20; expected expenditure during 2019-20 to be ₹22,875.50 crore,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told media after the meeting.
The subsidy for Nitrogen has been fixed at ₹18.90 per kg, Phosphorous at ₹15.11 per kg, Potash at ₹11.12 per kg and Sulphur at ₹3.56 per kg for the current fiscal, he said.
This will help in promoting balanced use of fertilisers, the Minister added.
In 2010, the government had launched the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) programme under which a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidised phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, except for urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.
Retail prices of non-urea fertilisers such as Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP) and NPK are decontrolled and are determined by manufacturers, while Centre gives a fixed subsidy each year.
(With inputs from PTI)
