In a significant move to bolster the welfare of citizens, the Cabinet has given its nod to a proposal offering two free LPG cylinder refills to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana within the state.
The decision was taken in the state Cabinet meeting held here on Tuesday.
“This initiative aims to enhance accessibility to clean cooking fuel and alleviate the economic burden on economically disadvantaged households. The state government has allocated an approximate sum of Rs 2,312 crore for this visionary programme, which is expected to significantly impact the lives of numerous families,” Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said while briefing the reporters.
This scheme is applicable for a single connection issued under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. “The government’s pro-active measures in the realm of clean cooking fuel are expected to promote its usage, especially among economically disadvantaged sections of society. These initiatives not only offer relief from the economic challenges posed by inflation but also provide valuable financial support to the most vulnerable segments of the population,” he said.
In another decision the Yogi government has sanctioned the Foreign Direct Investment policy, which offers several incentives. These incentives encompass exemptions in land acquisition, stamp duty and capital investment. Furthermore, the government will provide special incentives for enterprises that engage in training the state’s youth through FDI.
The finance minister said the relatively low foreign investment in Uttar Pradesh through FDI, amounting to just Rs 9,435 crore, considerably less than other states. As a response to this, the FDI policy had been introduced to attract more FDI. The policy would also allow area-specific exemptions in stamp duty and registration fees in line with the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy-2022. Additionally, a 100 per cent exemption in electricity duty would be granted for a period of five years.
“Under this scheme, the Uttar Pradesh government will reimburse the training costs of a maximum of 500 individuals, up to Rs. 25,000 per person per month, over a span of five years. The government is allocating Rs 15 crore for this initiative,” he said.
The Yogi Cabinet has also decided to extend UP 112 for the next three years. The finance minister said that the main focus of the government was on the advancement of the state-level Emergency Response System (ERSS) UP 112.
“Currently, UP 112 boasts an impressive average response time of 13 minutes. Now new technology is being used in it, due to which any victim will be able to locate the UP 112 vehicle up to 50 metres. Its manpower has been increased to 875. As a result, 40 thousand people can now be attended to at the same time in a single day. In three years, this will cost Rs 597 crore 42 lakh,” the finance minister added.
The Cabinet has allotted 4.046 hectares of land in the village Atraila Pandey in Mirzapur district for setting up of Tribal Museum. There are 15 Scheduled Tribes listed in Uttar Pradesh, which reside in different areas of the state. Along with geographical disparity, there is considerable diversity in the areas of customs, lifestyle, food, and art which needs to be preserved.
“In view of this, tribal museums are to be established in the tribal dominated districts of Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Maharajganj. For the establishment of the tribal museums in question, the land has been allotted to the Culture department, Lucknow by the concerned district magistrates,” Khanna said.