Cabinet meeting: Rail Min Piyush Goyal says Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project to be completed by end of 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the first cabinet meet since reshuffle September 3. A major cabinet reshuffle earlier this month had seen the elevation of four junior ministers -- Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal to the cabinet rank and nine fresh faces inducted as Ministers of State.

#We request everyone not create an environment of fear, send children to school: Union Min RS Prasad on death of 7-yr-old at Ryan International School

Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project will be completed approximately by the end of year 2023: Railway minister Piyush Goyal pic.twitter.com/oncGpSMQw7

— ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017

#Cabinet clears bill to double tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh

The cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, gave its approval to introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in Parliament. The amendment will put the maximum limit of gratuity of employees of the private sector as well as public undertakings and autonomous organisations under the government who are not covered under Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, at par with central government employees, which is Rs 20 lakh

#Cabinet apprised of MoU with Japan for silk sector research

The Cabinet was also apprised of an initial pact inked between the Central Silk Board and the Japan-based National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) for research in the field of silkworm and silk industries.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in November last year, is for initiating a collaborative research for developing “prolific bivoltine hybrids” of silkworm suitable for the Indian conditions.

The move would help domestic textiles and the apparel industry to produce world class silk and its products, it said.

#Cabinet approves hiving off about 66,000 mobile towers of BSNL into a separate company: Govt

The Cabinet approved hiving off mobile towers of state-run telecom firm BSNL into a separate company.

There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country, out of which BSNL owns more than 66,000.

“The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully-owned by BSNL,” an official statement said.

An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company, it added.

A tower infrastructure company owns the passive infrastructure asset and leases it to telecom service providers enabling them to minimise duplication of investments and economise on costs of operation and maintenance, leading to improvement in profitability. 

#Union Cabinet approves implementation of the scheme “Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund"

#Union Cabinet approves development of six-laning of Narasannapeta-Ranastalam section of NH-16 in Andhra Pradesh

#Cabinet approves the release of additional 1% Dearness Allowance to Central Govt employees & Dearness Relief to pensioners w.e.f. 01.07.2017