Leather industry granted ₹2,600 cr special package
NEWDELHI: The Union cabinet on Friday approved a set of proposals aimed at creating new jobs, improving the 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 3 lakh new jobs in the next three years and assist in the formalization of 2 lakh 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 government’s scheme will give a fillip to leather clusters,” he said.
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.
At the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet gave its nod to a bill that will end the existing system of regulation of medical education through Medical Council of India with the setting up of a National Medical Commission (NMC). The proposed NMC Bill calls for creating a new body to regulate medical education with four autonomous boards that will deal with undergraduate and postgraduate education, registration of medical practitioners and enforcement of medical ethics.
The health ministry worked with the Niti Aayog on the MCI’s restructuring—at the prompting of Modi who suggested that a new commission as a policymaking body for medical education be formed.
This followed the recommendation made by a parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare, given the perception of corruption in MCI.