Ex post facto clearance for implementing One Rank One Pension

The Cabinet has given its ex post facto approval for implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP).

“Financial implications on account of grant of OROP including Pre-Matured Retirees cases would be ₹10,925.11 crore for payment of arrears and annual financial implication would be ₹7,488.7 crore. Till March 31, 2016, 15.91 lakh pensioners have been given the first instalment of OROP, which amounts to ₹2,861 crore,” a statement said.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to Recommendations on Fiscal Deficit Targets and Additional Fiscal Deficit to States during Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) award period 2015-20 under the two flexibility options recommended in its Report (volume – I).

The FFC has adopted the fiscal deficit threshold limit of 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the States. Further, FFC has provided a year-to-year flexibility for additional fiscal deficit to States. However, the flexibility in availing the additional fiscal deficit will be available to State if there is no revenue deficit in the year in which borrowing limits are to be fixed and immediately preceding year. Since the year 2015-16 is already over, the States will not get any benefit of additional borrowings for 2015-16. However, the implications for the remaining period of FFC award, i.e., 2016-17 to 2019-20, would depend upon respective States’ eligibility based on the criteria prescribed by FFC.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for development of the four laning of the Hospet-Bellary-Karnataka/Andhra Pradesh Border section of National Highway – 63 in Karnataka at an estimated cost of ₹1,621.96 crore. This includes cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road will be approximately 95.37 km.

The Cabinet also gave its ex-post facto approval to an MoU between India and Sweden on technical cooperation in the railway sector. The pact will enable technical cooperation in benchmark railways policy development, regulations, exchange of knowledge, technical expertise, innovation, sustainable solutions and research, among others. The implementation of the National Hydrology Project was also approved and it will be a central sector scheme with a total outlay of ₹3,679.7674 crore. This includes ₹3,640 crore for National Hydrology Project and ₹39.7674 crore for National Water Informatics Centre to be taken up in two stages. This will help in gathering hydro-meteorological data which will be stored and analysed on a real time basis and can be accessed by any user, the statement said.

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