Himachal gets Rs.243.43 crore for rural roads

October 8th, 2009 SHIMLA - Hydropower major Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam that owns and operates the 1,500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project in Himachal Pradesh has declared a dividend of Rs.320 crore for 2008-09. "We have declared a dividend of Rs.320 crore for 2008-09.

September 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will have over 146,000 km of new roads connecting thousands of villages across the country by 2010-11, Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi said Tuesday.

September 9th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh has cleared 13 industrial proposals worth Rs.330 crore including those of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Johnson and Johnson, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Wednesday.

August 24th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh-based knitting and weaving products firm Winsome Textile has outlined a Rs.143-crore expansion programme after banks approved its debt restructuring plan, a top company official has said. "After getting clearance from banks for debt restructuring, we have plans to invest Rs.143 crore in three divisions -- spinning, dyeing and power," managing director Ashish Bagrodia told IANS.

July 27th, 2009 SHIMLA - Pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy and fast moving consumer goods manufacturer Proctor and Gamble (P&G) are among nine companies that have been allowed to set up units in Himachal Pradesh, a senior official said Monday. "Ranbaxy and Procter and Gamble (P&G) Monday got permission from the state government to set up units in the state," industries director Manoj Kumar told IANS.

July 27th, 2009 SHIMLA - The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs.135 crore to the Himachal Pradesh government for developing rural infrastructure, an official statement said Monday. "Nabard has sanctioned Rs.135 crore to Himachal Pradesh for the year 2009-10.

July 25th, 2009 SHIMLA - The Himachal Pradesh government Saturday demanded a hike in the financial assistance provided to it under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). "We have urged the central government to provide us an additional grant of Rs.24 crore annually to reimburse the hike in wages under NREGS," state Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Thakur told reporters.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Highlights of the union budget for the current fiscal presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha Monday: - Agriculture debt waiver extended by six months - Outlay for national rural health mission increased by Rs.2,057 crore from the Rs.12,070 crore provided in the interim budget - Allocation towards National Rural Employment Guarantee Act increased by Rs.39,100 crore - Allocation for Bharat Nirman scheme increased by 45 percent - Rs.20 billion for rural housing - Rural electrification scheme to get Rs.7,000 crore more - Tax department to work on early introduction of Saral 2 forms - Stimulus for print media extended from June 13 to Dec 31 - Rs.1,000 crore to accelerate irrigation projects - Agriculture development fund increased from Rs.2.87 lakh crore to Rs.3.25 lakh crore - Market development assistance scheme for exporters increased by 148 percent to Rs.124 crore - Pre-shipment interest subvention set at 2 percent for textile exporters - Will make sufficient funds for infrastructure development - Allocation for national highways development stepped up by 23 percent - Allocation for urban poor schemes to be raised to Rs.39,730 crore in 2009-10 - LNG infrastructure to be expanded - Allocation for Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission raised by 87 percent to Rs.12,887 crore

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has allocated a whopping Rs.39,100 crore for the Congress-led government's flagship scheme under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), a hefty 144 percent hike over the previous budget estimates. Reiterating the government's commitment to the scheme that promises 100 days of employment to rural youth, the finance minister said in his budget speech Monday that 4.47 crore households were covered under NREGA last year as against 3.39 crore earlier.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has increased its outlay for rural roads by 57 percent to Rs.12,000 crore ($2.5 billion) in the budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday in parliament. "Rural roads have been identified as one of the six components of Bharat Nirman with the goal to provide connectivity to all villages with a population of 1,000 (500 in the case of hilly or tribal areas) with an all-weather road by 2009," said a finance ministry statement.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In keeping with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's inclusive growth mantra, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday announced a slew of schemes for the aam aadmi (common man). The major measures announced in his union budget for 2009-10 are: - Allocation towards National Rural Employment Guarantee Act increased by Rs.39,100 crore - Agriculture debt waiver extended by six months - Outlay for national rural health mission increased by Rs.2,057 crore from the Rs.12,070 crore provided in the interim budget - Allocation for Bharat Nirman scheme increased by 45 percent - Rs.20,000 crore for rural housing - Rural electrification scheme to get Rs.7,000 crore more - Agriculture development fund increased from Rs.2.87 lakh crore to Rs.3.25 lakh crore - Allocation for urban poor schemes to be raised to Rs.39,730 crore - LNG infrastructure to be expanded - National Housing Bank to get Rs.2,000 crore for rural housing funds - Higher education outlay increased by Rs.2,000 crore over interim budget - Income tax exemption limit for senior citizens increased by Rs.15,000, for women and others by 10,000 each - Duties on life saving drugs reduced - Allocation for the minority affairs ministry raised to Rs.1,740 crore - Banking services in under-banked areas to be increased, scheme allocated Rs.100 crore - Rs.1,000 crore to accelerate irrigation projects - Allocation for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission raised by 87 percent to Rs.12,887 crore

June 2nd, 2009 SHIMLA - The Himachal Pradesh government has cleared nine industrial proposals worth Rs.256.99 crore, including one of Essar Group, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Tuesday. "We have cleared proposals of nine industrial houses, including Essar Group, Paragon Knits, Gujarat Flour Chemical, UB Biscuits and Wind Turbine Equipment," he told reporters.

March 1st, 2009 SHIMLA - The Planning Commission has allocated Rs.27 billion for Himachal Pradesh for 2009-10, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said Saturday. 'The annual plan for Himachal Pradesh has been fixed at Rs.2,700 crore (Rs.27 billion), which is Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) more than last year,' Dhumal told reporters.

February 27th, 2009 SHIMLA - The central government has sanctioned over Rs.350 crore (Rs.3.5 billion) for the proposed Bhanuppali-Bilaspur railway line in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said in the state assembly Thursday. 'The Railways informed us (the government) yesterday that Rs.350.33 crore has been sanctioned for starting work on first 20-km stretch of the railway line,' Dhumal said while making a suo-motu statement.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has allocated Rs.1.31 trillion (Rs.131,317 crore) for its flagship programmes in the coming fiscal. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the interim budget for 2009-10 to parliament Monday, said Rs.301 billion (Rs.30,100 crore) would be made available to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) for the next financial year.