The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Copra for 2024 season. The MSP for milling copra (dried white part of coconut) has been set at Rs 11,160 per quintal and Rs 12,000 per quintal for ball copra for 2024.
Milling copra is used to extract oil, while ball/edible copra is consumed as a dry fruit or for religious purposes. The government nnounced Rs 250-300 per quintal increase in the MSP of copra at Rs 11,160-12,000 per quintal for the 2024 season.
A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Copra prices have fallen globally. But the Modi government has decided to provide MSP at least 50 per cent higher than the production cost. Accordingly, the copra MSP has been increased by Rs 250-300 per quintal for 2024 season," Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur informed on Wednesday.
The MSP of fair and average quality (FAQ) ball copra has been increased by Rs 250 to Rs 12,000 per quintal, while milling copra support price has been hiked by Rs 300 to Rs 11,160 per quintal for the next year, he said.
This will ensure a margin of 51.84 per cent for milling copra and 63.26 per cent for ball copra, which are well beyond 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production, an official statement said.
Cabinet approves new 4.56-km-long, 6-lane bridge on Ganga river in Bihar
Apart from this, the Union Cabinet has approved the construction of a new 4.56 km long, 6-lane bridge on the river Ganga, connecting Digha and Sonepur in Bihar, an official statement said. The total cost for the project is estimated at Rs 3,064.45 crore, including Rs 2,233.81 crore for civil construction, it added.
The bridge will make traffic faster and easier, resulting in the overall development of the state, especially north Bihar, the statement noted.
"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the construction of the new 4,556 m long, 6-lane high level/ extra dosed cable-stayed bridge across River Ganga (Parallel to Western Side of existing Digha-Sonepur Rail-Cum Road Bridge) and its approaches on both sides in the districts of Patna and Saran (NH-139W) in Bihar on EPC mode," it said.
Digha (situated at Patna and South Bank of Ganga River) and Sonepur (North Bank of Ganga River in Saran District) are presently connected by a rail cum road bridge for the movement of light vehicles only.
Therefore, the statement said, the present road cannot be used for the transport of goods and commodities, which is a major economic blockade.
The constraint will be removed by providing the bridge between Digha and Sonepur, and goods and commodities can be transported once the bridge is constructed, unleashing the economic potential of the region, as per the statement.
The work is to be implemented on an EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) model with the use latest technology like 5D-building information modelling (BIM), bridge health monitoring system (BHMS), monthly drone mapping to ensure quality of construction and operations.
New road projects in Tripura
Moreover, the cabinet has also approved the widening of the 135-km stretch of Khowai-Harina road in Tripura. The project involves investment of Rs 2,486.78 crore which includes a loan component of Rs 1,511.70 crore (JPY 23,129 million), the statement said.
The loan assistance will be from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under Official Development Assistance (ODA) scheme, it added.
The project is envisaged to facilitate better road connectivity between various parts of Tripura and to provide alternative access to Assam and Meghalaya from Tripura apart from existing NH-8.
"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for improvement and widening to two lane with paved shoulder of road from km 101.300 (Khowai) to km 236.213 (Harina) of NH-208, covering a total length of 134.913 kms in Tripura," the statement said.
The statement noted that development of the project stretch of NH-208 would not only improve Interstate connectivity between Assam and Tripura via NH-208A but also reduce the transit time and provide safer connectivity for the travellers.
The project stretch also passes very close to the Bangladesh border and it would improve connectivity to Bangladesh through Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Khowai Border Check Post, it said.
The statement said land border trade would also potentially grow with the improvement in road Network in the region through development of the project road.
The construction period for the project will be 2 years which includes the maintenance of these National Highways stretches for 5 years (in the case of flexible pavement)/ 10 years (in the case of rigid pavement) after completion of construction.
With inputs from PTI
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