Industry Odisha Bureau, Jun 4: In a bid to allay the impacts of West Asia crisis and the global crude oil volatility on the Indian economy, the Union Cabinet has reportedly accorded its seal of approval for nearly Rs 20,000 crore package meant for price stabilization fund (PSF) for aviation fuel and a cleaner transport in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).
As per reports, the approximately Rs 20,000 crore package comprises: “Rs 10,000 crore worth Aviation Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (AFPSF) and Rs 9,585 crore worth Clean Transport Scheme (CTS) for Delhi-NCR.”
The objective behind the approval of Rs 10,000 crore for AFPSF has been reported to “prevent soaring global aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices from sharply increasing airline costs and passenger fares.”
By means of this approval, the Union Government will reportedly “provide interest-free advances to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) following which the OMCs will supply ATF to airlines at a government-approved benchmark price. If international ATF prices rise above that level, OMCs will be compensated from the approved Rs 10,000 crore AFPSF. Once prices normalize, the OMCs will repay the support amount back to the Consolidated Fund of India.”
The objective behind the Rs 9,585 crore CTS for Delhi-NCR will reportedly “accelerate the replacement of older, polluting commercial vehicles with cleaner BS-VI and electric vehicles, while the expected beneficiaries would be approximately 2.07 lakh vehicle owners-comprising 1.91 lakh trucks and 16,329 buses across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.”
Apart from the above-mentioned two major approvals, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also reportedy “approved over ₹24,000 crore worth of highway projects, including a major coastal highway in Odisha.”
The noteworthy approval meant for Odisha is reportedly the proposed “160.18 km coastal highway from Rameswar to Paradip under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) at an estimated cost of Rs 8,300.79 crore.”
Reportedly, the objective behind this Odisha Coastal Highway is claimed to “improve coastal connectivity, boost logistics and tourism, and support industrial development around Paradip.”
