that the GoM will be headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. On Tuesday, the UK-based Vedanta Group had said it has received market regulator Sebi’s nod to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Cairn India and will launch an open offer soon.
Cairn India, which holds 70 per cent stake in the 6.5 billion barrels Rajasthan block, does not pay any royalty and is opposed to making it cost recoverable as it will dent its profits. ONGC holds the remaining 30 per cent stake in the block. Earlier, ONGC said that royalty, like any other levy, is cost recoverable and cited provisions in the field contracts to assert its point.
The Cabinet committee on Economic Affairs approved constitution of a National Clean Energy Fund. The guidelines and modalities for approval of projects will be provided money from this fund which has been created in the Public Account of India. The Finance Bill provided for creation of corpus for the fund to be invested in entrepreneurial ventures and research in the field of clean energy technologies. An inter-minister group has been constituted to approve the schemes and projects for financing under the fund.
The Union Cabinet approved the Comprehensive Mission Document of the National Water Mission aimed at conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management. The Water Mission is one of the 8 National Missions which form the core of the National Action Plan for Climate Change.
The cabinet also approved the opening of Consulate General in Perth, which will benefit the growing Indian community in Western Australia. It will cater to some 40,000 to 45,000 Indians there. The move will also provide easier consular access to the populace of Western Australia and Northern Territory.
The Mission Document for National Water Mission was drafted by the Ministry of Water Resources through consultative process with full involvement of State Governments, concerned Central Ministries, Non-Governmental Organizations, academicians and other stakeholders.
AIR correspondent reports that five goals identified in the National Water Mission are Comprehensive water data base in public domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources; promotion of citizen and state actions for water conservation, augmentation and preservation; focused attention to vulnerable areas including over-exploited areas; increasing water use efficiency by 20 percent and promotion of basin level integrated water resources management.