The Union Cabinet has approved the revised cost of estimates for setting up 13 new Central universities. The universities are to come up in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir (two), Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

An expenditure of ₹3,639.32 crore has been approved for the recurring cost and creation of infrastructure to complete the campuses. The work will be completed within 36 months, an official statement said.

The Cabinet has also given an ex-post facto approval for an amount of ₹1,474.65 crore. This is the amount spent over and above the earlier Cabinet approval of ₹3,000 crore for these Central universities.

An ex-post facto approval to the agreement on the facilitation of visa arrangements signed between India and Maldives signed in December got the Cabinet’s nod.

The agreement provides for 90-day visa free travel for tourism, medical and limited business purposes. It also provides for easy conversion of visa free entry to medical visa as well as visas for dependents of students and those pursuing employment in each other’s territories.

A Memorandum of Understanding between India and Australia also got the Cabinet’s approval. The MoU will be signed between the Directorate-General of Mines Safety (DGMS), Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Department of Natural Resource Mines and Energy, Queensland Government, Australia through the Safety in Mines, Testing and Research Station.

The MoU will aid implementation of risk-based safety management systems, providing training, and modernising the research and development laboratory of DGMS.

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