OBC panel term extended by 6 months

Therefore its term was extended.

The commission will now have to submit its report by July 31. Set up on October 2, 2017, the commission is headed by Justice G Rohini (retired).

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday also increased the allocation for setting up of permanent campuses of six National Institutes of Technology (NIT) at a total cost of Rs 4,371.90 crore for 2021-2022. The NITs are in the states of the Northeast and the UT of Puducherry. The initial outlay for these NITs in 2009, Javadekar said, was Rs 250 crore each, which was inadequate.

He said these NITs, approved by the UPA government, are a “classic case of how not to start an initiative if you haven’t prepared the ground for it”.

The Cabinet also approved the closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited (HFL), located in Telangana. After the two former Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were merged into one UT last year, the Cabinet has decided to make Daman the capital of the new UT. It has approved changes to Acts and Regulations dealing with Goods and Services Tax (GST), Value Added Tax (VAT) and state excise.

Asked about the International Monetary Fund downgrading India’s GDP growth forecast, Javadekar dismissed it and said that “we are on our revival”. He said the Budget, to be presented on February 1, will give more clarity on the government’s plan of action.

He said: “Our fundamentals are very strong, and therefore nobody should create a pessimistic view about the Indian economy….. There are ups and down in the world economy and that reflects on every country – it is reflecting on China, it is reflecting on India also.”