Cabinet nod to subsidy on home loans.

THE Union cabinet on Thursday approved an interest rate subsidy of one per cent for housing loans up to Rs 10 lakh. Home loan borrowers can save up to Rs 10,000 on their monthly repayments for one year.

" Aimed at promoting low- cost housing, the subsidy will be given on the first 12 repayment installments on loans up to Rs 10 lakh for houses costing less than Rs 20 lakh," minister for information and broadcasting Ambika Soni said after a meeting of the cabinet which cleared the finance ministry proposal.

" It is expected that a cut in interest rates should reduce Equated Monthly Installments ( EMIs) of borrowers and create additional demand for housing, particularly in the low cost category," Soni said.

She added that the government has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the scheme, which will benefit about 10 lakh borrowers.

Cabinet nod to subsidy on home loans The move is expected to stimulate demand in the construction industry as well as steel and cement manufacturing industries.

Though the scheme would help borrowers in small cities, it would not be of much benefit to those looking for metro cities where the costs mostly exceed Rs 20 lakh.

The cabinet also approved packages for government employees and anti- Sikh riots victims apart from new schemes related to rural healthcare.

DA FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Ahead of the festive season, the cabinet approved a five per cent increase in dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners, with retrospective effect from July this year.

" The impact on the exchequer on account of the hike would be of the order of Rs 4,355.35 crore for a full year. The five per cent increase in the DA for the employees and dearness relief for pensioners would be over the existing rate of 22 per cent of the basic pay or pension," Soni said. The cabinet has decided to release the additional installment of DA apparently in wake of the rising prices.

PACKAGE FOR SIKH RIOT VICTIMS

The rehabilitation package for victims of the 1984 anti- Sikh riots was extended to include the left out states and Union territories.

" It is possible that all the relief supposed to have been given to the victims has not been given, so it has been extended to enable the Centre to fulfil its assurances given in Parliament," Soni said. The aim of the proposal is to fulfil the assurance given by the government in both houses of Parliament on the report of Justice Nanavati Commission.

NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION

An annual health survey will be launched in some states to get feedback on the impact of schemes under the National Rural Health Mission on health indicators like maternal mortality rate and total fertility rate. The survey would be launched in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, UP, Orissa, Rajasthan and Assam.

" The field work for the survey would be undertaken by private agencies and supervised by officers of the Registrar General of India, where several posts have been created to monitor the work of the field agencies," Soni said.

INDIA TO SIGN TERROR PACT

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for signing and ratifying the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation ( BIMSTEC) convention on cooperation in combating international terrorism, transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking. This convention would provide a strong legal framework and much needed thrust to law enforcement agencies in tackling these crimes, Soni said.

The convention, which was adopted by the joint working group on counter- terrorism, is expected to be signed at the forthcoming conference of ministers of member states. Other BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

DECKING UP NORTH AND SOUTH BLOCK

Bureaucrats and ministers in North and South Block would not be able to renovate or alter on a whim. The cabinet will set up a committee of experts, whose permission would be needed before making any changes. " These buildings are heritage structures and need to be conserved in their original form and shape to the extent possible," Soni said.

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