Government approves auctions in eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at base price of Rs 96,000 crore
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved key decisions related to the auction of telecom spectrum bands, PM Matsya Kisan Samriddhi Saha Yojana, Fisheries & Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund, and railway projects.
The Union Cabinet approved the auctions in eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of ₹96,317.65 crore. In 2021, the Union Government decided to conduct spectrum auctions every fiscal year to bring transparency in the process, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur at the Cabinet briefing in Delhi on Thursday. Here is the list of key announcements made by the Union Cabinet on Thursday, February 8.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved auctions in eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of ₹96,317.65 crore.
Telecom operators would be able to present their bid for all the available spectrum in 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands will be put on auction
“The spectrum that is remaining after the year 22-23 auction will be done now, The auction of the selected bands will done according to service area wise,” said Anurag Thakur
There is also a proposal to approve the auction of 5 MHz spectrum reserved for the National Capital Region Transport Corporation in the year 2022.
Multi-tracking Railway projects
The Cabinet also approved CCEA for six multi-tracking Railway Projects. The total capital outlay of Rs12,343 crore will go to states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland. These projects will enhance rail connectivity, improve transportation efficiency, and boost economic growth in different regions.
PM Matsya Kisan Smariddhi Sah Yojana
To formalise the unorganised fisheries sector, facilitate institutional finance to MSME and promote aquaculture insurance, the Union Cabinet also approved PM Matsya Samriddhi Sah Yojana, which is a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
Briefing the media about the scheme, Anurag Thakur said the new sub-scheme will be for fishermen, fish farmers, fish workers, micro and small enterprises, and fish farmers producers organisations, among others.
Under the scheme, the government will invest around ₹6,000 crore over four years from 2023-24 to 2026-27 fiscal years in all states and Union Territories for the formalisation of the fisheries sector with a focus on MSMEs.
Around 50% of the planned investment, ie ₹3,000 crore will be received from public finance including the World Bank and the AFD external financing. The rest of the investment is estimated to come from the beneficiaries and private sector, reported PTI referring to an official statement.
The new scheme will generate employment of around 1.7 lakh with a special emphasis on 75,000 women. The ‘National Fisheries Digital Platform’ created under the scheme will provide 40 lakh small and micro-enterprises work-based identities.
Extension of Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund
In another decision, the Union Cabinet announced the extension of the Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) for another three years up to 2025-26 within the already approved fund of ₹7,522.48 crore and budgetary support of ₹939.48 crore. The fund was created in 2018-19 with a total fund size of ₹7,522.48 crore to address the infrastructure requirement for the fisheries sector.
A total of 121 fisheries infrastructure projects of ₹5,588.63 crore received a green signal from the government in the last five years during the previous phase of implementation of FIDF from 2018-19 to 2022-23, a total 121 fisheries infrastructure projects with an investment of ₹5,588.63 crore have been approved for creation of various fisheries infrastructures.
