The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the demerger of Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) from National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC) Ltd and strategic disinvestment of the demerged company (NSP) by selling government's entire stake in it to a strategic buyer, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.
With the approval, CCEA has amended its earlier decision taken on October 27, 2016, to disinvest Nagarnar Steel Plant as a unit of NMDC. The process of demerger and disinvestment will be started in parallel and disinvestment of demerged company (NSP) is expected to be completed by September 2021, CCEA said.
NSP is a 3 million tonnes per annum (mta) integrated steel plant being set up by NMDC at Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh in an area of 1,980 acres at revised estimated cost of Rs 23,140 crore (as on July 14, 2020). As on date, NMDC has invested Rs 17,186 crore in the project, out of which Rs 16,662 crore is from NMDC's own funds and Rs 524 crore has been raised from bond market.
NMDC is a listed Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Steel and the government has 69.65 per cent shareholding in the company.
Besides, the Union Cabinet also approved implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs 5,718 crore. The initiative is backed by the World Bank, which is providing financial support of $500 million (approximately Rs 3,700 crore). STARS project would be implemented as a new centrally-sponsored scheme under Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.
The project covers 6 states, namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. It seeks to support the states in developing, implementing, evaluating and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for improved labour market outcomes.
Besides this project, it is also envisaged to implement a similar Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded project in 5 states - Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Assam. All states will partner with one other state for sharing their experiences and best practices.
Among others, the Cabinet also approved a special package worth Rs 520 crore in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for a period of five years till FY24 to ensure funding of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) - in the region on a demand driven basis without linking allocation with poverty ratio during this extended period.
The Cabinet also approved MoU between India and Australia for collaboration in capacity building, research and development and making impact for sustainable groundwater management.
By Chitranjan Kumar