Decisions of the Council of Ministers Headed by the Chief Minister

• 15 Jun 2023

Why in News?

• On June 14, 2023, in the cabinet meeting held at Mantralaya under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, several other important decisions including the approval of 'Cooperative Policy of Madhya Pradesh, 2023' were taken.

Key Points:

• To encourage the students, under the new scheme, the cabinet has decided to provide e-scooties to the students who have secured first position in all government higher secondary schools of the state.
  • If more than one student has the highest marks then all of them will get the benefit of the scheme.
  • Scooty will be provided in areas where e-scooty is not available.
  • About 9 thousand students will benefit from the scheme.
  • A provision of Rs 135 crore has been made in the budget for the year 2023-24 for the implementation of the scheme.
  • It is worth mentioning that provision has been made for a new scheme to increase the convenience of students to reach schools and to reduce dependence, to encourage them for higher education, to instill self-confidence.
• According to the announcement of the Chief Minister, the order issued by the Scheduled Caste Welfare Department on April 15, 2023, for increasing the income limit for 'Scholarship to Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe students' from Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 8 and endorsed to give foreign study scholarship to the students belonging to Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes for humanities subjects as well.
  • Along with this, consent was given to increase the annual income limit of post matric scholarship for Scheduled Tribe students studying in non-government institutions to Rs.8 lakh.
  • It is worth mentioning that the Tribal Affairs Department has abolished the income limit for Scheduled Tribe students studying in government and government-aided educational institutions. With the increase in the income limit, students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will get wide opportunities to get education.
• While approving the 'Cooperative Policy of Madhya Pradesh, 2023', the cabinet has authorized the cooperative department to prepare and implement a time-bound action plan.
  • This cooperative policy will pave the way for making cooperatives a mass movement in the state.
  • Committees will be formed in new areas through co-operatives and employment opportunities will be created.
  • Changes will also be made in the cooperative law of the state as per the requirement and action will be taken to remove the internal & structural deficiencies of the cooperative. Along with this, information technology will be used on a large scale in the cooperative.
  • Agricultural credit, urban credit, cooperative marketing, cooperative housing, consumer cooperative, cooperative seed production and marketing, small forest produce cooperative societies, dairy cooperative, cooperative fisheries, etc. are major areas in cooperative policy.
• The cabinet has agreed to the state government's payment security guarantee and its format for the 600 MW capacity Omkareshwar floating solar project.
  • It is worth mentioning that the 600 MW floating solar project is being constructed in two phases on the Omkareshwar reservoir of Narmada River.
  • Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project will be one of the largest floating solar projects in the country and the world.
  • Omkareshwar project is one of the country's multi-purpose projects, where along with irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, solar energy will also be produced, and tourism will also be promoted.
• The cabinet has given approval for amendment in the 'Chief Minister's Youth Internship for Professional Development Program' (CMYIPDP) in line with the Chief Minister's announcement at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis under the Department of Public Service Management.
• The honorarium of interns in the CMYIPDP program will be increased from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. The appointment of interns will now be done at the block level as well as at the panchayat level.
• The cabinet has approved Rs 338 crore 83 lakh 6 thousand for the construction works of 11 higher secondary school buildings under the CM Rise scheme under Tribal Affairs Department.
• It is worth mentioning that in the first phase, 95 schools have been selected as CM Rise Schools in the Tribal Affairs Department. Out of this, construction work is to be done for a total of 11 schools in Dhar, Mandla, Jhabua, Betul, Alirajpur, Khargone and Ratlam districts.
• The cabinet has decided to give administrative approval to 2 revised group water supply schemes costing Rs 2,002 crore 62 lakh and 29 new group water supply schemes costing Rs 15,995 crore 98 lakhs for implementation by the Public Health Engineering Department through Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam.