Increasing the benefits for 41,000 health workers by about ₹1,000 a month, creating a ₹7,522 crore special fisheries and aquaculture infrastructure fund, and making available funds for a new railway line are the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) here today.

Fisheries fund

The CCEA has given its approval for the creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF). The approval entails an estimated fund size of ₹7,522 crore. Under FIDF, fishermen and entrepreneurs can borrow for over five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23. The maximum repayment will be 12 years, inclusive of moratorium of two years on repayment of principal, said a release.

The total fund will accrue from Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs), which will raise ₹5,266.4 crore and ₹939.48 crore budgetary support from the Government. Also, beneficiaries will have to contribute ₹1,316.6 crore. The NLEs are National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, National Cooperatives Development Corporation and all scheduled banks.

The creation of fisheries infrastructure facilities both in the marine and inland fisheries sectors will help augment fish production to achieve its target of 15 million tonne by 2020 set under the blue revolution; and to achieve a sustainable growth of eight-nine per cent thereafter to reach 20 mt by 2022-23.

Higher pay for ASHA workers

The CCEA has approved the increase in supervisory visit charges for ASHA (Accredited Social Health Acitivist) facilitators from ₹250 per visit to ₹300 per visit for 2018-2019 to 2019- 2020 with effect from October 2018 (to be paid in November, 2018). ASHA facilitators will undertake about 20 supervisory visits a month. With the proposed increase, ASHA facilitators will receive about ₹6,000 a month against ₹5,000. The move will benefit 41,405 ASHA facilitators.

The move follows a recent Cabinet nod, which increased the benefits.

The ASHA facilitators will be enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana as part of ASHA benefit package.

Bahraich-Khalilabad rail link

The CCEA has given its nod to a new railway line between Bahraich and Khalilabad through Bhinga, Shravasti, Balrampur, Utraula, Domariyaganj, Mehdawal and Bansi. The length of the new broad gauge line will be 240.26 km, and will cost about ₹4,939.78 crore. The project will be completed by 2024-25 and will lie in the North Eastern Railway. This project will generate direct employment during construction for about 57.67 lakh man-days, said the release.

It will provide a direct broad gauge route to the project area, boosting the economic development of the region, apart from providing an alternative route of Bahraich-Khalilabad and connect border districts to each other.

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