More bonus for DoT employees

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 28. The Union Cabinet has decided to rename the National Stadium here after the renowned hockey player, Maj. Dhyan Chand, and the Talkatora Swimming Pool Complex also here after Dr. Shyama Prasada Mookerjee, one of the founders of the Jan Sangh.

The Cabinet, which met here on Tuesday evening for about three hours, also decided to increase the bonus to the employees of the Department of Telecommunications to 71 days of emoluments instead of 51 days as approved earlier. The decision would bring them on par with their counterparts in BSNL. It would involve an additional financial outgo of Rs. 28 lakhs, bringing the total burden on the exchequer on account of bonus payments to Rs. 1.05 crores.

The Cabinet decided to allow the Shipping Corporation of India to acquire two large range-II size crude oil tankers of about 1,40,000 DWT each at a price of $ 48.7 million per vessel. The decision is expected to bring large foreign exchange savings by reducing dependence on foreign flag ships, which presently transported about 75 per cent of the country's total crude imports.

The Cabinet also decided to extend the food-for-work programme in drought and flood-hit States by a month to December 31 without any restriction or changes in the scope of the programme. After that it would be extended for a further period of three months, but restricted to areas which have been notified for the calamities.

PTI reports:

A decision on an integrated LNG policy was deferred following sharp differences among Ministries over providing fiscal incentives and mode of gas imports.

At a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting, the Law Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, said, ``the LNG policy was discussed but deferred. No final decision was taken.''

The Government had also decided to amend the Sugar Development Act 1982 to increase sugar exports and reduce burgeoning stocks, he said.

This would enable the Government to provide freight subsidies to exporters from the sugar development fund apart from financing projects to make ethanol from molasses and cogeneration of power from bagasse.

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Section  : National
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