With general elections less than a year away, the Union Cabinet on Thursday also the proposal for establishing a “new media wing” in the ministry of information and broadcasting for publicising UPA government’s initiatives through multiple social media platforms.
A statement issued by the government said, “The new media wing in the ministry would address the communication and dissemination requirements of the government on social media platforms. The wing would integrate the communication tools horizontally and vertically through various social media platforms.”
The Cabinet also gave its nod to key amendments suggested by BJP and Left parties to the Land Acquisition Bill. This is being done as part of its efforts to create broad-based political consensus on the key legislation.
The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011 along with amendments will be taken up for consideration in Lok Sabha next Tuesday.
Among the amendments approved by Cabinet was the one suggested by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj that instead of acquisition, the land could be leased to developers so that its ownership will remain with the farmers and would provide them with regular annual income.
When contacted, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said, “We are working our best to create an all party consensus. We are working hard to ensure the bill get passed with the cooperation of all parties in this session of Parliament.”
As promised earlier the government has agreed to set up an all-woman bank with an initial capital of `1,000 crore. Sources said, the Cabinet approved setting up the bank, which will have an initial capital of `1,000 crore.