Cabinet clears faster payment for job scheme beneficiaries

NEW DELHI: In a slew of decisions, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a mechanism for faster transfer of wages into accounts of those engaged in rural employment guarantee scheme, amendments to laws for resolving arbitration cases within a fixed time line and introduction of one rank one pension for retired high court judges.

Seeking to ensure faster settlement of commercial disputes and for ease of doing business, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to amend the Arbitration Act which sets a fixed timeline for arbitrators to resolve cases. Under the amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, cleared by the Union cabinet, an arbitrator will have to settle the case within 18 months.

But after the completion of 12 months, certain restrictions have been put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on, sources said. The ordinance was cleared by the Cabinet but never sent to the President for his assent. An ordinance cleared by the Cabinet in December 2013 had fixed the timeline at nine months. But the formulation was changed after inter-ministerial discussions. The Cabinet also decided to introduce a bill in Parliament, including one to remove anomalies in pensionary benefits of high court judges elevated from the bar. This will effectively introduce the one rank one pension formula for judges.