(Premium) Gist of Press Information Bureau: November 2012

Contents

• Cabinet approves proposal to place 12th Plan Document before National Development Council (Free Available)
• Amendments to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (Free Available)
• Official amendments to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011 (Only For Premium Members)
• Cabinet approves amendment of the Competition Act, 2002 (Only For Premium Members)
• Cabinet approves Amendments to the Companies Bill 2011 (Only For Premium Members)

Cabinet approves proposal to place 12th Plan Document before National Development Council

The Union Cabinet today discussed the Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan document (2012-2017), and approved the proposal to place the Plan Document before the National Development Council. The Plan proposes an acceleration of growth over the plan period to reach 9 percent in the terminal year, yielding an average growth rate of 8.2 percent for the plan period as a whole. It emphasizes that the growth must be both inclusive and sustainable, and to achieve these objectives it proposes a comprehensive game plan in terms of policies and programmes. The estimates show resource availability for the Twelfth Plan at Rs.80,50,123 crore in current prices for the Centre and States taken together. This implies the public sector resources for the Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) would be 11.8 per cent of GDP as against 1096 per cent realized during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012).To achieve the targeted growth rate, the fixed investment rate should increase to 35 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) by the end of the Twelfth Plan, yielding an average fixed investment rate of 34 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) for the Twelfth Plan period as a whole. The projected average rate of gross domestic capital formation in the Twelfth Plan is 37 per cent of GDP, the projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP and the net external financing needed for macro-economic balance would average around 2.9 per cent of GDP. In a first attempt at presenting scenario analysis, the plan emphasizes that the policy agenda outlined must be substantially implemented for all the virtuous cycles to come into play that will lead to Scenario One called the “Strong Inclusive Growth”. This would also imply we can achieve inclusive and sustainable growth averaging 8.2 per cent over the Twelfth Plan period. The Plan emphasizes a broad definition of inclusiveness, which encompasses a spread of benefits to the weaker sections, including especially the SC/STs, OBCs and Minorities, and also regional balance in development. The plan emphasizes the need to speed up the pace of implementation of infrastructure projects, which is critical for removing supply bottlenecks which constrain growth in other sectors, and also for boosting investor sentiment to raise the overall rate of investment. The Plan contains ambitious programmes in health, education, water resource management, infrastructure development, and a number of programmes aimed at inclusiveness, most notably the National Health Mission (NHM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). Considerable resources are being allocated for these programmes. It proposes that beneficiary payments across a large number of schemes, which have experienced leakages in the delivery system, may be carried out through the use of the Aadhaar (UID) platform.

Amendments to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972

The Union Cabinet today approved the following amendments to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972:

1. Amendment to Section 2: Definitions of ‘Gram Sabha‘, ‘Panchayat‘, and ‘Scheduled Areas‘ have been added to the Act.

2. Amendment to Section 18: Provisions for having consultation with Gram Sabha in the event of the intention of the State Government for declaration of a Sanctuary has been included in the Act.

3. Amendment to Section 22: Records of the Gram Sabha and the Panchayat during the inquiry by the Collector on the claims to be considered by him during the process of notification of the Sanctuary.

4. Amendment to Section 33: Consultation with the Gram Sabha concerned for management and maintenance of a Sanctuary has been made mandatory.

5. Amendment to Section 35: Provisions for having consultation with Gram Sabha in the event of the intention of the State Government for declaration of a National Park has been included in the Act.

6. Amendment to Section 36D: Representative of Panchayat or tribal community have been included in the Community Reserve Management Committee.

7. Amendment to Section 38: Provision for having consultation with Gram Sabha in the event of declaration of a National Park by the State Government has been included in the Act. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj had advised additional amendments to these Sections.

Background:

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972), provides the legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals, management of their habitat and also for the regulation and control of trade in the products derived from wild animals. The Act has been amended from time to time. Due to emerging needs, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has proposed to further amend the said Act. Amendments had separately been proposed for incorporation of provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES), enhanced penalties for offences and other minor amendments.
The Union Cabinet in its Meeting held on 19th May 2011 had considered the above amendment proposal of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and approved the same.

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