Leather industry gets ₹2,600 crore special package

NEW DELHI: The Union cabinet on Friday approved a set of proposals aimed at creating new jobs, improving ease of doing business and spurring development in the North-east.

A ₹2,600 crore special package was announced for the leather and footwear industry, which, law and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, had the potential to generate over 300,000 new jobs in the next three years and assist in the formalisation of 200,000 jobs.

While China is currently ahead in the leather sector, rising wages and other domestic factors in that country offer India a chance to corner a greater chunk of the international market, said Prasad. The cabinet also approved the continuation of the National AYUSH Mission till March 31, 2020 with an allocation of ₹2,400 crore to establish new hospitals, upgrade clinics, and strengthen existing drug labs.

In another decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), besides extending the non-lapsable central pool of resources meant for spurring development in the North-east till March 2020, also approved the North-east Special Infrastructure Development Scheme to boost spending on health, education and creation of physical infrastructure in order to spur development in the region.

CCEA also approved capital investment subsidy amounting to ₹265 crore for four industrial units located in the North-east.

A set of amendments to the Specific Relief Act 1963 were also cleared for tabling in Parliament. They are expected to improve ease of doing business by removing contract-related bottlenecks in the execution of public projects.

Once the law is amended, it will ensure that public works contracts happen without unnecessary delays.