Cabinet okays amendment to railway land policy, 300 cargo terminals to be developed in 5 years

New Delhi, Sep 07: The Union Cabinet has approved the policy on long-term leasing of Indian Railways' land to implement the PM Gati Shakti framework, Union Minister Anurag Thakur announced on Wednesday.

With employment generation potential of about 1.2 lakh jobs, the policy will also bring more revenue to Railways. Over 300 Cargo Terminals to be developed in 5 years.

The move will also make the privatisation of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) more attractive. Interested investors in CONCOR had earlier conveyed to the government that the land licensing fee was very high. They also urged the government to increase the lease tenure.

Cabinet approves PM SHRI schools

The Cabinet also announced that it has approved the launch of a new centrally sponsored scheme for setting up PM SHRI Schools (PM Schools for Rising India).

Under the scheme, in five years, that is, between 2022 and 2027, the Centre plans to strengthen as many as 14,600 schools at a cost of Rs 27,360 crore. These schools - including Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas - would then emerge as PM SHRI Schools, the Cabinet said.

PM SHRI Schools will showcase all components of the National Education Policy 2020, act as exemplar schools and also offer mentorship to other schools in their vicinity. The PM SHRI schools will deliver quality teaching for the cognitive development of students and will strive to create and nurture holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st century skills.

Scheme of PM SHRI schools (PM ScHools for Rising India) is to be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a total project cost of Rs. 27360 crore which includes a central share of Rs. 18128 crore for the period of five years from year 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Cabinet approves Kochi Metro Rail project's 2nd phase

The Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of the Kochi metro Rail Phase II of Kochi Metro Rail Project from JLN Stadium to Infopark via Kakkanad, at a cost of Rs.1,957.05 crore, with a length of 11.17 Kms and 11 stations. The preparatory works for Phase-II including road widening of Seaport Airport Road are progressing well.

Phase-I in Kochi from Aluva to Petta, covering a length of 25.6 Km with 22 stations at an estimated completion cost of Rs.5181.79 crore is fully operational.

Kochi Metro Phase 1A project of viaduct of 1.80 km between Petta to SN Junction with an approved cost of Rs.710.93 crore. The Project is being implemented as state sector project. Presently all construction activities related with the Project is over and the Project is ready for inauguration.

Kochi Metro Phase 1 B Project of 1.20 Km from SN Junction to Thripunithura Terminal is under construction as state sector project.

Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Maldives

The Union Cabinet has ex-post facto approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 02nd August, 2022 between the National Disaster Management Authority of the Republic of India and the National Disaster Management Authority of the Republic of Maldives on cooperation in the field of Disaster Management.

The MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Maldives will be benefited from the Disaster Management mechanisms of each other and it will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building in the field of Disaster Management.

Cabinet approves signing of memorandum of Understanding between India and United Arab Emirates

The Union Cabinet Narendra Modi has approved to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Government of India and the Ministry of Education of the Government of United Arab Emirates on cooperation in the field of Education. The objective of the MoU is to further strengthen our ongoing educational collaboration between India and UAE and widen the scope of our engagements.

An MoU was signed in 2015 with UAE in the field of Education which expired in 2018. In 2019, at a meeting between Education Ministers of the two countries, UAE side proposed to sign a new MoU. The new MoU incorporates changes brought in by the National Education Policy 2020 in India's education ecosystem.

This MoU aims to promote Exchange of Information Education, Capacity Development of Technical and vocational Education and Training (TVET) teaching staff, Facilitation of academic collaboration between Higher Education Institutions in both the countries for offering Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes and any such other areas agreed upon.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The Union Cabinet granted ex post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on mutual recognition of academic qualifications signed on 25.04.2022.

Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between India and UK aims to promote academic collaboration and student mobility. The request from UK side to grant recognition to their One Year Masters Programme was considered, and during the meeting between the Education Ministers of the two countries held on 16 December 2020 in New Delhi, a decision was taken to set up a joint task force for this purpose.

The first meeting was held on 04th February, 2021 and subsequently after detailed deliberations and negotiations both sides agreed on the draft MoU.

The MoU aims to facilitate the mutual recognition of educational qualifications, periods of study undertaken, documents related to academic degrees/qualifications and accreditation by educational institutions within the two countries. Professional degrees like Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Para-Medical Education, Pharmacy, Law, and Architecture are out of the purview of this MoU. It will also facilitate establishment of Joint/Dual degree courses between Higher Education Institutions, one of our objectives under NEP 2020 for Intel-nationalisation of Education.