Page 14 - Banking Finance January 2020

ROUNDUP

15th Fin Commission rec- Govt. targets highway projects worth Rs. 50,000-cr
ommends performance A target to award highway projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in the next three
months has been set by the government, Parliament was
based incentives informed. The projects will cover a length of 4,471 km of

15th Finance Commission has recom- highways. "Award of road projects covering a length of 4,471
mended per- km with an approximate cost of Rs 50,000 crore has been
formance targeted during next three months," Road Transport and
based incen- Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Lok Sabha in a written
tives in the reply. He added 168 road projects covering length of 3,215 km have been
form of addi- awarded since April 2019 till date.
tional grants
to states based on the agricultural PMO directs road transport ministry to rank NHs on
reforms undertaken by them after a quality, safety
series of efforts by the centre failed
because of reluctance at the state The road transport ministry has been directed by the prime minister’s office
level to adopt these laws. Several (PMO) to formulate and implement a policy for quality and
persons aware of the deliberations safety ranking of national highways using automated data
expressed that the proportion of collection and to put in place a mechanism. The PMO
grants for overall transfer to states further asked to implement these while continuing its
for specified purposes may go up to current rate of highway construction. The directions come
25% against 12-19% now and linked at the backdrop of PM Narendra Modi’s chairing the review meeting of secre-
to the adoption and implementation taries from transport sectors. It has also set a target of raising Rs 12,000 crore
of model the Contract Farming Act, by monetising completed projects during 2020-21 and constructing 11,000 km
2018 and the model Agricultural Pro- in the same time period. The targets have been set well in advance so that
duce Market Committee (APMC) Act, agencies can prepare their roadmap.
2017 among others.
No job losses after PSBS merger: Govt
4 medical devices in- It has been assured by the government to the Rajya Sabha that merger of 10
public sector banks will not lead to any job losses
cluded in national list of
and employees’ interest will be protected.
essential medicines Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh
Four medical devices — cardiac Thakur during the question hour said lending and
stents, drug eluting stents, condoms other banking services to eastern states will be
and intra uterine — have been in- improved after two Kolkata-based banks are
cluded in the national list of essen- merged.
tial medicines and ceiling on their
prices have been fixed, Union Minis- While United Bank of India will be merged with Punjab National Bank, Allahabad
ter Mansukh L. Mandaviya said in Bank will be amalgamated with Indian Bank. These two banks are headquar-
the Lok Sabha. Mandaviya said the tered in Kolkata.
maximum retail prices of 20 other “Merger of banks will strengthen the lending capacity. It has been ensured that
medical devices are monitored by no person loses job. The employees of merging banks will benefit the maximum.,”
the National Pharmaceutical Pricing he said.
Authority (NPPA) to ensure that no “We have taken enough precaution,” he said, adding that Narasimham Com-
manufacturer increases the maxi-
mittee in 1998 and Leeladhar Committee in 2008 recommended amalgamation
mum retail price of a drug more than
of the banks. “Amalgamating banks was advised to duly factor in and draw road
10 per cent of the MRP during pre- maps for converging IT systems and HR and to put in place institutional arrange-
ceding 12 months.
ments to ensure expeditious integration,” Thakur said.

14 | 2020 | JANUARY | BANKING FINANCE