State Cabinet to meet today

HYDERABAD:  THE State Cabinet will meet on Sunday at Pragathi Bhavan. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to make arrangements for the same. According to sources, the Cabinet may finalise the commencement date of the Budget session of the State Legislature, in addition to the date of Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s joint address to both the houses. Finance Minister Harish Rao is expected to present his first Budget in the Assembly in the first week of March. 

Besides this, the Cabinet is likely to take a decision on the implementation of Pattana Pragathi programme. Also, it may take a decision on the extension of retirement age of government employees from the present 58 years to 60 or 61 years. The Cabinet may also decide on extending Aasara pensions to those are 57 years of age or above. At present, the State government provides Aasara pension of `2,016 per month to around 40 lakh beneficiaries every year. Further, the State Cabinet is likely to announce a policy for Non-Resident Telanganites following Kerala’s lead.