The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 1,832 crore festive bonus for around 1.13 million railway employees.

Union minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that 11,27,000 railway employees would receive a bonus of approximately Rs 1,800 crore.

The payment of the productivity-linked bonus (PLB) to railway employees is done every year just before the festive season begins.

The productivity-linked bonus amount is equivalent to 78 days' wages of the eligible employees across categories, including drivers and guards, track maintainers, station masters, technicians, supervisors, technician helpers, controllers, ministerial staff, and pointsmen, among others.

Cabinet approves one-time grant for three PSU OMCs

He also said that the Cabinet had approved Rs 22,000 crore as a one-time grant to three PSU oil marketing companies for their losses in domestic LPG.

He said the international prices of LPG rose by over 300 percent between June 2022 and June 2022, and the increased cost was not fully passed on to consumers. During this period, LPG prices increased by 72 percent.

"The OMCs suffered significant losses between 2020 and 2022, and therefore the government is making a one-time grant to three such companies," Thakur said. Meanwhile, sources told CNBC-TV18 that Rs 22,000 crore was approved against a demand of Rs 28,000 crore by the OMCs.

Development in the northeast

The Union Cabinet also approved the PM Development Initiative for North East and has allocated Rs 66,000 crore for the 2023-26 period.

"The initiative is meant to increase infrastructure development in the northeast," the minister said.

Kandla Port

The Cabinet also approved measures for developing a multi-purpose cargo (other than container/liquid) berth off Tuna Tekra at the Gulf of Kutch at Kandla on a build, operate and transfer under the public-private-partnership model.

The cabinet has also approved the development of a container terminal at Deendayal Port in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 4,539.84 crore, Thakur said.

First Published:Oct 12, 2022 4:01 PM IST