The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a slew of proposals, including the introduction of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill that aims to provide at least 100 days of employment a year to casual labourers.
The Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004, is likely to cost the government at least Rs 9, 000 crore (Rs 90 billion). Initially, the Centre intends to guarantee employment in 150 backward districts.
The Cabinet also approved a concession agreement for the Rs 1,380 crore (Rs 13.8 billion) greenfield airport near Hyderabad.
In addition, a proposal to introduce information and communication technology in schools, with an outlay of Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) during the Tenth Plan, also got the green light. The centrally sponsored scheme will cover 9,380 secondary and higher secondary schools.
The government also approved the finance ministry's proposal to acquire 109 vessels at a cost of Rs 153.85 crore (Rs 1.54 billion) to strengthen the marine capabilities of the Customs department.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a Rs 1,001 crore (Rs 10.01 billion) restructuring package for Indian Telephone Industries and scrapped the restructuring plan for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam since the public sector company is back in the black.
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2004, which will give equal rights to women in ancestral property, and the Right to Information Bill were also cleared.
The Bills would be introduced during the current session of Parliament, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Jaipal Reddy told reporters.
It also cleared a new rural electricity scheme along with a Rs 464 crore (Rs 4.64 billion) transmission line for National Thermal Power Corporation's Kahalgaon power project.
The Cabinet approved the enactment of legislation for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in central government services.
Reddy said the objective of the legislation would be to clear ambiguities and provide coherence and clarity regarding reservation in central government jobs for these sections.
The Cabinet also decided to refer the long-pending Lokpal Bill to a group of ministers, which is to be constituted soon.
Some of the other decisions include restoring central university status to the University of Allahabad and repealing the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and replacing it with a new Bill to be called Prevention of Child Marriage Bill, 2004.
