Cabinet Decisions Today: Top things to know from the much-anticipated meeting

In a major development, the Union Cabinet on Thursday raised the price of ethanol for doping in petrol by 5-8 per cent. The development has been confirmed by I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar. The move will help farmers get remunerative price while also cutting down oil imports, Javadekar said. As much as 10 per cent ethanol is doped in petrol. The move also checks pollution as ethanol is environment-friendly, the minister added.

According to a statement by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following, including fixing higher ethanol price derived from different sugarcane based raw materials under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme for the forthcoming sugar season 2020-21 during Ethanol Supply Year (ESY)  2020-21 from 1st December 2020 to 30th November 2021:

(i)    The price of ethanol from C heavy molasses route be increased from Rs.43.75 per lit to Rs.45.69 per litre,

(ii)    The price of ethanol from B heavy molasses route be increased from Rs.54.27 per lit to Rs.57.61 per litre,

(iii)   The price of ethanol from sugarcane juice / sugar / sugar syrup route be increased from Rs.59.48 per lit to Rs.62.65 per litre,

(iv)   Additionally, GST and transportation charges will also be payable. OMCs have been advised to fix realistic transportation charges so that long distance transportation of ethanol is not disincentivised,

(v)   In order to offer fair opportunity to the localized industry within the State and reduce crisscross movement of ethanol, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) shall decide the criteria for priority of ethanol from various sources taking in account various factors like cost of transportation, availability, etc. This priority will limit to the excisable boundaries of the State / UT for production in that State / UT. Same order of preference will be given thereafter for import of ethanol from other States wherever required."

All distilleries will be able to take benefit of the scheme and large number of them are expected to supply ethanol for the EBP programme.

Remunerative price to ethanol suppliers will help in reduction of cane farmer’s arrears, in the process contributing to minimizing difficulty of sugarcane farmers.

Also, in another Cabinet decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister  Narendra Modi has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.

The project cost is Rs 10,211 crore. The Project will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two Phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031. The share of external funding is Rs 7,000 crore of the total project cost, and balance Rs 3,211 crore is to be borne by the concerned Implementing Agencies (IAs). The contribution of Central Government is Rs 1,024 crore as loan liability and Rs 285 crore as counter-part funding for Central Component.